Foxy Brown Biography

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Foxy Brown (born Inga Marchand on September 6 1979 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rapper of Afro-Trinidadian descent [1] known for her solo work as well as numerous collaborations and a brief stint as part of hip-hop supergroup The Firm, while following footsteps of Brooklyn native Lil' Kim. She has released three albums: Ill Na Na (1996), Chyna Doll (1999), and Broken Silence (2001) while also being featured on Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album (1997). After a bitter split with her record label Def Jam in 2003, Brown ended up in label limbo. In 2004 childhood friend and collaborator Jay-Z signed Brown to Def Jam and his Roc-A-Fella Records label, when he became the president of the company.

In 2005, while in the midst of recording her fifth studio album (her fourth, Ill Na Na 2: The Fever, was shelved in 2003) Black Roses, Brown faced another hardship when she was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss. The hearing impairment took 100% of Brown's hearing, but 20% was restored after an operation to repair it. A later operation restored 100% of her hearing [2]. Brown also landed in legal trouble when two manicurists who alleged that she assaulted them during a 2004 altercation pressed criminal charges against her.

1995-1996: the Ill Na Na era

While still a teenager, Brown won a talent contest in Brooklyn, and was invited to freestyle on stage. At that time, production team Trackmasters were working on LL Cool J's Mr. Smith album, and they decided to let her rap over "I Shot Ya." The single became a hit, prompting Brown's work with Total, Toni Braxton, and Case, as well as her induction into the Firm posse (led by Nas and also including AZ and Cormega).

Before she had released any material at all, Foxy Brown appeared on several 1995-1996 singles, including her first credit, LL Cool J's "I Shot Ya," as well as Total's "No One Else" remix, Jay-Z's "Ain't No Nigga", Toni Braxton's "You're Makin' Me High" remix, and Case's "Touch Me, Tease Me" along with Mary J. Blige. The success led to a major-label bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and by March Brown had signed with the Def Jam label.

In 1996 Brown released her debut album Ill Na Na to mixed reviews but strong sales. The album was produced by Trackmasters, and featured appearances from Blackstreet, Method Man, and Kid Capri. It hit number seven its first week on the U.S. album chart. Despite some positive reviews, Ill Na Na was heavily criticized for its explicit lyrics, particularly because Brown was only sixteen years old at the time of the recording. The album went on to go platinum and launched two hit singles. Fellow raunchy female rapper and Brooklyn native, Lil' Kim, appeared on the music scene shortly before Brown and the media immediately created a rivalry between once good friends Brown and Kim.

1997-1998: Firm Allstars

The East Coast gangsta rap supergroup The Firm never lived up to its excessive hype and instead became a brief footnote in the careers of its main participants. Including Brown the foursome included three other New York rappers â?? (Nas, AZ and Nature â?? but was actually the pet project of its producers: Nas Escobar (as he referred to himself at the time), Steve "Commissioner" Stoute, Dr. Dre, and The Trackmasters.

An early form of the Firm appeared on "Affirmative Action," a standout song from Nas' second album, It Was Written. Foxy Brown, AZ and Cormega joined Nas for the song â?? each taking a verse â?? and it became an album highlight as well as a much-talked-about song on the streets. The Firm's only album sold poorly but charted well upon its release. Although debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 and selling over one million copies, the album quickly fell off the charts and was highly criticized as a flop.

Brown went on to release a single "Big Bad Mama" featuring Dru Hill from Def Jam's How to Be a Player soundtrack. It became a major hit and set Brown up to launch another album.

1999-2000: The Chyna Doll

In 1999 Foxy Brown released her second album Chyna Doll which made chart history when it became the first album by a female rap artist to enter the Billboard 200 at #1, even though its first single "Hot Spot" failed to reach the U.S. top fifty. Chyna Doll was certified platinum by the RIAA (shipping over one million copies), but it did not live up to the high expectations of her record label.

Later that year, Brown was a spokesmodel for Calvin Klein Jeans. At the end of 1999, Brown and her fiancé Kurupt ended their five year relationship. By the year 2000, several of Brown's friendships in the industry, such as those with Jay-Z and Nas, became strained. Brown suffered from depression and entered rehab for an addiction to prescription painkillers. Also in 1999 Brown appeared on the cover of Essence magazine's August issue. The article was titled "Dignity or Dollars". In it Brown stated she wanted to clean up her image, even appearing clothed a lot more than she had previously and it countered the negative press she received for her Vibe magazine cover shot in which she posed wearing a silver bikini and suggestively holding her crotch.

Brown's personal problems continued to escalate. On March 6, 2000, Brown crashed her Range Rover in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Her injuries were minor but police arrested her for driving while her license had been suspended for not paying two parking tickets.

2001-2003: Broken Silence

In 2001, Brown released the critically acclaimed Broken Silence album. The first single "BK Anthem" was gritty and more underground than any of Brown's previous singles. It gave "props" to her hometown, Brooklyn, and famous rappers such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z. The song's music video had a similarly urban and home-grown feel, and was made like it was cheaply recorded from a home video camcorder. The second single from the album "Oh Yeah", which featured her then boyfriend Jamaican reggae artist Spragga Benz, marked Brown's debut in the reggae/dancehall genre of music. Brown's record label Def Jam didn't put forth the same promotion as they had with her two previous albums, although music critics hailed Broken Silence as Brown's most personal and introspective work to date. The album became Foxy's lowest selling album to date. The album sold over 500,000 copies and went gold.




In 2002, Brown received her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Rap Solo Performance for her single "Na Na Be Like" from the Broken Silence album.

In 2003, Brown returned to the music scene briefly on a DJ Kayslay's single called "Too Much For Me". In April Brown appeared on popular New York radio jock Wendy Williams' radio show, and revealed the details of her relationship with Def Jam President at the time, Lyor Cohen and Sean P. Diddy Combs. Brown accused both of illegally trading her recording masters. She also announced that Cohen shelved her long awaited fourth album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever because of her refusal to accept new contractual terms. Brown tearfully revealed that the overwhelming stress from Def Jam resulted in her having a miscarriage (she was expecting her first child with boyfriend Spragga Benz). Less than 24 hours after the interview was broadcast, Ill Na Na 2: The Fever mysteriously surfaced online for downloading and bootlegging. A few months later Brown appeared on the cover of the popular hip-hop magazine XXL, and shared her desire to leave Def Jam. In late 2003 Brown was released from the label.

2004-Present: The Rebirth

In 2004, Brown reunited with her childhood friend Jay-Z, when he became the president of Def Jam and signed her to his subsidiary, Roc-A-Fella Records. Later that year, Brown joined Jay-Z and a slew of other hot hip-hop acts on his "Jay-Z and Friends" tour. Brown also began recording her fourth solo album, Black Roses. Later that year, Brown was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with two manicurists over a payment dispute.

In April 2005, female rapper Jacki-O alleged that she and Brown got into a physical altercation at a recording studio in Miami, Florida. Jacki said that Brown came in the studio during her session and expected her to "bow down" to her. She said that Brown constantly belittled her, and a heated argument ensued. Jacki alleged that verbal altercation eventually escalated into fist fight with Brown hitting the ground. While Brown did admit that there was definitely a verbal disagreement, she denied that it ever turned physical. Brown said that Jacki was "disrespectful" and that she exaggerated the incident to gain publicity for her upcoming project. [3]
[4]
[5]

On December 5, 2005, her attorney Joseph Tacopina said that Brown is almost totally deaf and that he cannot communicate with her verbally any more. Brown told reporters on December 15 that she was diagnosed with sudden hearing loss in May while she was recording her upcoming album.

Shortly after Tacopina spoke to the public about her hearing condition, news spread that Brown had fired him. According to reports, Tacopina was never given permission by Brown or her agent to discuss her medical condition to reporters.

On December 15, 2005, Brown held an emotional press conference in New York City, where she revealed that she is now 100% deaf due to sensorineural hearing loss. She also revealed that she had not heard another person's voice since May 2005. Brown underwent surgery in early 2006 in hopes of restoring her hearing. Post recovery, Brown said that she plans to finish working on her fourth solo album, Black Roses, for a 2006 release, but will probably be pushed back to the first quarter of 2007. At the conference, Brown was surrounded by many supporters, including supermodel Tyson Beckford, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons, Kimora Lee Simmons and rapper Doug E. Fresh.

Brown successfully had surgery which allowed her to recover 100% of her hearing ability, after a year of deafness. There has been speculation that Foxy Brown's new album tentively entitled "Black Roses" would be released on Christmas Eve. Fans, and the media have mistakingly reported December 24th, as the exact day for release. This however, is false -- in the United States, the shelve date for new media releases is Tuesday. In 2006, Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. To clear information up, fans and the media should speculate that Brown merely meant that the album would be released before Christmas Eve, or in a meaningful time frame appropriate for Christmas Eve.

Legal run-ins

• On January 25, 1997, the 17-year-old Brown spat on two hotel workers in Raleigh, North Carolina when they told her they didn't have an iron available. When she missed a court appearance, another arrest warrant was issued and she finally turned herself in on April 30, 1997. She eventually received a 30-day suspended sentence and was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service. [6] [7]
  
• On March 6, 2000, Brown crashed her Range Rover in Flatbush, Brooklyn. Her injuries were minor but police arrested her for driving while her license had been suspended for not paying two parking tickets. [8]
  
• On July 26, 2002, Brown was arrested in Kingston, Jamaica for an altercation with a policewoman at Norman Manley International Airport. When she missed a court appearance two days later, Jamaican authorities announced that she would be arrested if she returned to the island. [9]
  
• On August 29, 2004, Brown allegedly attacked two manicurists in Chelsea, Manhattan during a dispute over a bill. She was not charged for the incident until March 7, 2005. She has denied the charges and even rejected misdemeanor plea deals on May 6 and August 9, 2005. [10] [11] [12]. On October 25, 2006, Brown was sentences to three years probation and anger management counseling, orders of protection were authorized for the manucurists. [13][14]
  
• On December 23, 2005, Brown was handcuffed in a Manhattan, New York courtroom after an exchange with a judge. Brown was in court to finalize a plea deal stemming from the August 2004 incident. Judge Melissa Jackson thought Brown was chewing gum and asked her to get rid of it. Brown responded by opening her mouth and sticking her tongue out. Judge Jackson ordered Brown cuffed to a bench for fifteen minutes, but when a female court officer attempted to handcuff her they got into a heated exchange over a bracelet the rapper was wearing. Judge Jackson alleged that Brown also struck the officer. When Brown refused to apologize, she was threatened with thirty days in jail. She eventually apologized to the court. The confusion was that she stuck out her tongue to show that she had no gum, not to disrespect the judge. [15] [16]
  

According to the New York Postâ??s Page Six, the rapperâ??s headline-making extra curricular activity â?? including assaults, court dates and an unfortunate hearing impairment â?? is proving to be too much extra drama for Def Jam president Jay-Z.

A source tells the paper: "Jay-Z is furious at Foxy's lack of productivity on her album 'Black Roses.' He is also mad because Foxy was talking out of school about him and [Def Jam artist] Rihanna and saying things that weren't true.â??

"The album has been plagued as a result of Foxy's hearing loss, constant legal woes and horrible publicity. Regardless, the label has poured tons of money into her project, pushed the album back four times, and Foxy still hasn't been able to produce anything but embarrassing editorial features," the insider continued. "Def Jam planned to release her album around the release of her book, 'Broken Silence,' but Foxy has since lost her publishing deal with Simon & Schuster and has been vigorously shopping her book to others."

According to Page Six, Brown was even in talks to appear on â??The Oprah Winfrey Showâ?? to discuss her many woes, as well as the upcoming album and book, but those plans have been dropped as well.

The newspaper is also reporting that rumors within Def Jam has the artist on the verge of being dropped from the label altogether.

"Foxy has absolutely no idea that she is about to get the ax from Jay," says the source. "She's been trying to get meetings with him, and he isn't even returning her phone calls."

Brown has no rep to call for confirmation, according to Page Six, but the publication quotes a friend of the rapper who insists: "Foxy left Simon & Schuster, not the other way around, and she's about to announce a deal with another book publisher. Her album is fine."

"Recently, she responds on the rumours, and said that she not was being dropped from DefJam. She said "They don't drop me, i'm one of the bestselling artists."

Discography

Albums

Singles

Guest/Soundtrack Appearances

• 1995: "I Shot Ya (Remix)" (with LL Cool J, Keith Murray, Fat Joe and Mobb Deep; from Mr. Smith)
  
• 1996: "Touch Me, Tease Me" (with Case and Mary J. Blige; from Case)
  
• 1996: "Affirmative Action" (with Nas; from It Was Written)
  
• 1996: "No One Else (Remix)" (with Total, Da Brat and Lil' Kim; from Total)
  
• 1996: "You're Makin' Me High (Remix)" (with Toni Braxton; from Secrets)
  
• 1996: "Ain't No Nigga" (with Jay-Z; from Reasonable Doubt)
  
• 1997: "Release Some Tension" (with SWV; from Release Some Tension)
  
• 1997: "The Party Don't Stop" (with Mia X and Master P; from Unlady Like)
  
• 1997: "Sunshine" (with Jay-Z and Babyface; from In My Lifetime, Vol 1.)
  
• 1997: "Love Is All We Need/All We Need Is Love (Remix)" (with Mary J. Blige; from Share My World)
  
• 1997: "Friend" (with Puff Daddy; from No Way Out)
  
• 1998: "I Gotta Know" (with Playa; from Cheers 2 U)
  
• 1998: "Trial Of The Century" (with AZ; from Pieces Of A Man)
  
• 1999: "Paper Chase" (with Jay-Z; from Vol 2. Hard Knock Life)
  
• 2000: "Thong Song (Remix)" (with Sisqó; from Nutty Proffesor 2:The Klumps)
  
• 2001: "Blow My Whistle" (with Utada Hikaru; from Rush Hour 2)
  
• 2001: "Picture This" (with Benzino; from The Benzino Project)
  
• 2003: "If It Ain't One Thing" (with Luther Vandross; from Dance With My Father)
  
• 2003: "Whatcha Gonna Do" (from Bringing Down The House Soundtrack )
  
• 2003: "Too Much For Me" (DJ Kayslay featuring Nas, Baby and Foxy Brown; from The Streetsweeper Vol 1)
  
• 2003: "Talkin' To Me" (with Amerie; from Amerie - Talkin' To Me Remixes)
  
• 2004: "Does He Love Me" (with Keshia Chante; from Keshia Chante)
  
• 2004: "Got It Locked" (with Pitch Black; from Pitch Black Law)
  
• 2004: "Pretty Girl Bullshit" (with Mario Winans; from Hurt No More and Bad Boys 2)
  
• 2004: "More or Less" (with Shyne; from Godfather Buried Alive)
  
• 2004: "The Gang" (with Shyne; from Godfather Buried Alive)
  
• 2004: "Hatian Mafia" (with Wyclef Jean; from Welcome to Haiti: Creole 101)
  
• 2005: "You Already Know" (with 112; from Pleasure & Pain)
  
• 2006: "Hmm Hmm (Remix)" (with Beenie Man; from Undisputed)
  
• 2006: "Ring The Alarm (Remix)" (with Beyoncé ; from B'Day)
  

Trivia

• Foxy Brown and rival Lil' Kim were reportedly offered one million dollars each to do a duet album titled Thelma & Louise but it was never recorded.
  
• Foxy Brown was supposed to collaborate with alternative rock singer Fiona Apple but so far has not due to the album being pushed back. She also has reportedly done a song with another alternative singer Dido, for her unreleased album Black Roses.
  
• Foxy Brown is friends with Mýa,Wyclef Jean, Lauryn Hill, Amerie, Tyson Beckford, Naomi Campbell, Kimora Lee and Russell Simmons, among other celebrities.
  
• Foxy Brown likes beefing with numerous artists including Jacki-O, Ms. Jade, Eve, Nas, Natina Reed of Blaque, Kurupt, Charli Baltimore, and Lil Kim.
  
• Fellow female rapper Shawnna is a fan of Foxy Brown.
  
• Foxy Brown has appeared on several magazine covers including XXL, Vibe, The Source, King, Esscense and Jet.
  
• Foxy Brown recently got her hearing back as she had told in an interview, "I just got my hearing back. It's a miracle", she said. "I literally went from the operating table straight into the studio with Jay-Z. Now I'm looking forward to my new album, which is dropping Christmas Eve."
  
• Foxy Brown reconciled with Queen Pen at the Hip-Hop Summit.
  

External links

• Foxy Brown at IMDb
  
• Foxy Brown at NNDB
  

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