Foxy Brown
Encyclopedia
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand (born September 6, 1978), better known as Foxy Brown, is an American
rapper
known for her solo work as well as numerous collaborations with other artists and her brief stint as part of hip hop music
group The Firm. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, her father Keith Stahler abandoned the family at a young age to pursue his career at ERAC records. Her albums include Ill Na Na
in 1996, followed by Chyna Doll in 1999, and Broken Silence in 2001. She also performed in the 1997 self-titled album
by the Firm, the only album to be released by that group to date. Throughout her career, Brown has held an extensive arrest record and served some time in jail.
After 2002, she continued recording verses for herself and other artists but did not release any albums; she left the Def Jam label in 2003, thus canceling the release of her Ill Na Na 2 album. However, she returned to the label in January 2005 after Jay-Z
signed her back to begin work on her new album Black Roses
. In December 2005, she began suffering from hearing loss, which put her career on hiatus until the next summer, a few months after surgery. A fourth studio album, which originally was a mixtape, was released in May 2008 following many delays spawned by a jail sentence that Brown served for assault.
who were working on LL Cool J
's Mr. Smith
album were in attendance that night and were impressed enough to let Brown rap over "I Shot Ya." She followed this debut with appearances on several RIAA platinum and gold singles
from other artists, including remixes of songs "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton
. Brown was also featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film The Nutty Professor
, on the songs "Touch Me Tease Me" by Case
and "Ain't No Nigga
" by Jay-Z
. The immediate success led to a label bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and in March, Def Jam Records won and added the then 17-year old-rapper to their roster.
In 1996, Brown released her debut album Ill Na Na
to mixed reviews but strong sales. The album sold over 109,000 copies in the first week, and debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 album charts. The album was heavily produced by Trackmasters, and featured guest appearances from Jay-Z
, Blackstreet
, Method Man
, and Kid Capri
. The album went on to go platinum
and launched two hit singles: "Get Me Home" (featuring Blackstreet
) and "I'll Be" (featuring Jay-Z
).
Following the release of Ill Na Na, Brown joined fellow New York-based hip hop artists, Nas
, AZ
and Nature
to form the supergroup
known as The Firm. The album was released via Aftermath Records and was produced and recorded by the collective team of Dr. Dre
, The Trackmasters, and Steve "Comissioner" Stout of Violator Entertainment. An early form of The Firm appeared on "Affirmative Action", from Nas' second album, It Was Written
. A remix of the song, and several group freestyles
were in the album, Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album
. The album entered the Billboard 200
album chart at #1 and sold over half a million records and is RIAA certified gold.
In March 1997, she joined the spring break
festivities hosted by MTV
in Panama City, Florida
, among other performers including rapper Snoop Dogg
, pop group The Spice Girls, and rock band Stone Temple Pilots
. Later, she joined the Smokin' Grooves tour hosted by the House of Blues
with the headlining rap group Cypress Hill
, along with other performers like Erykah Badu
, The Roots
, OutKast
, and The Pharcyde
, the tour set to begin in Boston, Massachusetts in the summer of 1997. However, after missing several dates in the tour, she left it.
after surpassing one million copies in shipments.
and Jay-Z
. The first single from the album was "Oh Yeah
", which featured her then-boyfriend, Jamaica
n dancehall
artist Spragga Benz
. The track "Na Na Be Like" was produced by Kenya Fame Flames Miller and Nokio from Dru Hill. "Na Na Be Like" was also on the Blue Streak Soundtrack.
The album debuted on the Billboard Charts at #5, selling 130,000 units its first week. Like previous albums, Broken Silence also sold over 500,000 records and was certified gold by the RIAA.
In the same year, Brown recorded a song for the action-comedy film Rush Hour 2
, Blow My Whistle
, which is a collaboration with Japanese-American singer-songwriter
Hikaru Utada, and was written by Utada herself alongside Pharrel Williams and Chad Hugo
. The song is included on Def Jam
's Rush Hour 2 Soundtrack
, which peaked the 11th spot on both the Billboard 200
and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
and also the 1st on the Top Soundtracks. "Blow My Whistle" was produced by The Neptunes
.
featured rappers Birdman, her brother Gavin, Loon
, and N.O.R.E.
Malkam Dior was to be the first single off of her upcoming album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever. The next year, she was featured on DJ Kayslay's single "Too Much for Me" from his Street Sweeper's Volume One Mixtape. She also appeared on Luther Vandross
' final studio album Dance with My Father
. That April, Brown appeared on popular New York
radio DJ Wendy Williams' radio show, and revealed the details of her relationships with Lyor Cohen
, president of Def Jam Recordings
at the time, 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 over personal disagreements. Therefore, "Stylin'" was released on the compilation album The Source
Presents: Hip Hop Hits Vol. 6 in December 2002.
in August 2007. Brooklyn's Don Diva, was released as a street album on May 13, 2008 after many delays triggered by her prison sentence. It is compiled of many tracks previously un-released from her shelved albums. The album peaked at #83 on the Billboard 200
chart, #8 on the Independent Albums
chart, and #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
chart.
and Asian
descent. Around 2001, she was engaged to Spragga Benz
. Brown suffered hearing loss from May 2005 to June 2006. During that time, she opted not to wear a hearing aid, and she had someone tap beats on her shoulder while she recorded music. In June 2008, rumors that Brown was engaged to rapper Rick Ross
began to circulate after Brown and Ross were together on a cover photo of Hip Hop Weekly magazine. After the publication of that issue, Ross stated that he was not engaged to anyone.
, North Carolina
when they told her they did not have an iron available. When she missed a court appearance, an 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
.
for using obscene language, but was neither charged nor arrested. In 2000, she announced she was suffering from depression
and entered rehab
at Cornell University Medical College for an addiction to prescription painkillers
, in particular, morphine
, at one point stating that she could not perform or make records unless she was on the drug.
in Kingston, Jamaica
from July 26, 2002; she would be arrested if she ever would return to the country. Nicola White, clerk of the Kingston Criminal Court, told the New York Post
that Brown illegally evaded a body search at the airport and punched a policewoman in the stomach. Brown's publicist, Marvette Britto, argued that Brown felt that she was being "detained" at the airport. Originally, a hearing for Brown was scheduled for July 28, 2002, but Brown failed to show up. Thus, on late December 2002, an arrest warrant
was set up for Brown skipping the hearing.
Amidst her legal troubles, Brown entered a confrontation with radio host Egypt
on New York City radio station WWPR-FM
("Power 105.1").
, and almost running over a stroller with a baby inside. The New York Times reported that Brown moved from Brooklyn to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
without informing officials, but Brown's lawyer Alan Stutman stated that Brown's mother owned the Englewood Cliffs residence in question.
during a dispute over a $20 bill that she refused to pay, and she in April 2005 pleaded not guilty to assault
charges and entered three years of probation
effective October 2006. For that incident, she would also take anger management
classes. Female rapper Jacki-O
, in April 2005, alleged that she and Brown got into a physical altercation at a recording studio in Miami, Florida
, saying that Brown came into the studio during her session and expected her to "bow down" to her. The next month, Brown denied any such altercation in an interview with the Miami, Florida
hip-hop radio station WEDR
. Joseph Tacopina, Brown's attorney, stated on December 6, 2005 that he could no longer communicate with Foxy Brown verbally due to her sudden hearing loss. Judge Melissa Jackson suspended Brown's assault case for two weeks.
On September 7, 2007, New York Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson sentenced Foxy Brown to one year in jail for violating her probation that stemmed from the 2004 fight with two manicurists in a New York City nail salon. No mention was made during the trial by anyone about Brown expecting a baby. On September 12, 2007, her representatives stated the rapper was not pregnant in response to claims by her lawyer that she was. On October 23, 2007, Brown was given 76 days in solitary confinement
due to a physical altercation that took place on October 3, 2007 with another prisoner. According to the prison authorities, Brown, the next day after the incident, was also verbally abusive toward correction officers and refused to take a random drug test
. Prison authorities reported on November 27 that she was released "from solitary confinement...for good behavior", and Brown was finally released from prison on April 18, 2008.
Following her arrest, Brown appeared in court where she pleaded "not guilty" to the charge and was released on a $5,000 bail. If convicted, she faces up to seven years imprisonment.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
rapper
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
known for her solo work as well as numerous collaborations with other artists and her brief stint as part of hip hop music
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
group The Firm. Raised in Brooklyn, New York, her father Keith Stahler abandoned the family at a young age to pursue his career at ERAC records. Her albums include Ill Na Na
Ill Na Na
Ill Na Na is the debut album by American rapper Foxy Brown. It was released in the United States on November 19, 1996, and on September 29, 1997 in the United Kingdom. The album spawned Brown's first hit single, "I'll Be", featuring hip-hop artist Jay-Z...
in 1996, followed by Chyna Doll in 1999, and Broken Silence in 2001. She also performed in the 1997 self-titled album
The Album (The Firm album)
The Album, also known as The Firm: The Album, is the debut studio album of American hip hop supergroup The Firm, released October 21, 1997 on the Interscope-subsidiary label Aftermath Entertainment.-Background:...
by the Firm, the only album to be released by that group to date. Throughout her career, Brown has held an extensive arrest record and served some time in jail.
After 2002, she continued recording verses for herself and other artists but did not release any albums; she left the Def Jam label in 2003, thus canceling the release of her Ill Na Na 2 album. However, she returned to the label in January 2005 after Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
signed her back to begin work on her new album Black Roses
Black Roses (Foxy Brown album)
Black Roses is the fourth studio album from American hip-hop artist Foxy Brown. The album was at first slated to be released sometime in July 2005 but was delayed due to sampling problems and lack of promotion from her former label, Def Jam Records...
. In December 2005, she began suffering from hearing loss, which put her career on hiatus until the next summer, a few months after surgery. A fourth studio album, which originally was a mixtape, was released in May 2008 following many delays spawned by a jail sentence that Brown served for assault.
Early career, Ill Na Na, The Firm
While still a teenager, Brown won a talent contest in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Members of the production team TrackmastersTrackmasters
The Trackmasters are the successful production duo of Poke and Tone , sometimes credited as Poke & Tone, best known for their commercial hit records in the late 90s and early 2000s. Throughout their career they have worked with various hip-hop and R&B artists including R...
who were working on LL Cool J
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith , better known as LL Cool J , is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and actor...
's Mr. Smith
Mr. Smith (album)
-Track Notes:* No Airplay - edited on both the Edited and Explicit Versions of the Album, However the Explicit only backmasks on the song, the Edited version even edits the intro....
album were in attendance that night and were impressed enough to let Brown rap over "I Shot Ya." She followed this debut with appearances on several RIAA platinum and gold singles
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
from other artists, including remixes of songs "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton
Toni Braxton
Toni Michelle Braxton is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Braxton has won six Grammy Awards, seven American Music Awards, and five Billboard Music Awards and has sold over 60 million records worldwide...
. Brown was also featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film The Nutty Professor
The Nutty Professor (1996 film)
The Nutty Professor is a 1996 science fiction-romantic comedy film starring Eddie Murphy. It is a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, starring Jerry Lewis. The original music score was composed by David Newman. The film won an Academy Award for Makeup.Murphy plays benevolent university...
, on the songs "Touch Me Tease Me" by Case
Case (singer)
Case Woodard, stage name Case, is an American R&B singer who was born in New York City.-Music career:After stints with R&B group Future and a duo called Black, Case got work co-writing and singing background for artists including Usher, Christopher Williams and Al B. Sure. Case finally felt close...
and "Ain't No Nigga
Ain't No Nigga
"Ain't No Nigga" is the second single from rapper Jay-Z's debut album Reasonable Doubt . It features a long verse of rapping from a then 16-year old Foxy Brown.-Background:...
" by Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
. The immediate success led to a label bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and in March, Def Jam Records won and added the then 17-year old-rapper to their roster.
In 1996, Brown released her debut album Ill Na Na
Ill Na Na
Ill Na Na is the debut album by American rapper Foxy Brown. It was released in the United States on November 19, 1996, and on September 29, 1997 in the United Kingdom. The album spawned Brown's first hit single, "I'll Be", featuring hip-hop artist Jay-Z...
to mixed reviews but strong sales. The album sold over 109,000 copies in the first week, and debuted at #7 on the Billboard 200 album charts. The album was heavily produced by Trackmasters, and featured guest appearances from Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
, Blackstreet
Blackstreet
Blackstreet is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by Thomas Taliaferro and Teddy Riley, the inventor of New Jack Swing known for his work as a member of Guy. Chauncey Hannibal and Levi Little were signed under production and management contracts with Thomas Taliaferro and were merged into what...
, Method Man
Method Man
Clifford Smith , better known by his stage name Method Man is an American hip hop artist, record producer, actor and member of the hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He took his stage name from the 1979 film The Fearless Young Boxer, also known as Method Man. He is one half of the rap duo Method Man...
, and Kid Capri
Kid Capri
David Anthony Love, Jr , also known by his stage name Kid Capri, is an American musician.He was born in the Bronx, New York City, New York, USA....
. The album went on to go platinum
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
and launched two hit singles: "Get Me Home" (featuring Blackstreet
Blackstreet
Blackstreet is an American R&B group founded in 1991 by Thomas Taliaferro and Teddy Riley, the inventor of New Jack Swing known for his work as a member of Guy. Chauncey Hannibal and Levi Little were signed under production and management contracts with Thomas Taliaferro and were merged into what...
) and "I'll Be" (featuring Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
).
Following the release of Ill Na Na, Brown joined fellow New York-based hip hop artists, Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
, AZ
AZ (rapper)
Anthony Cruz , better known as AZ is a Grammy-nominated American rapper of Dominican & African American descent. He is known for being a long time and frequent rhyme partner of Nas, and also a member of hip-hop group The Firm alongside Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega and Nature.In a countdown of the 10...
and Nature
Nature (rapper)
Jermain Baxter , better known as Nature, is an American rapper, best known for his association with fellow Queensbridge-born rapper Nas.-Career:...
to form the supergroup
Supergroup (music)
In the late 1960s, the term supergroup was coined to describe "a rock music group whose performers are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups"....
known as The Firm. The album was released via Aftermath Records and was produced and recorded by the collective team of Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
, The Trackmasters, and Steve "Comissioner" Stout of Violator Entertainment. An early form of The Firm appeared on "Affirmative Action", from Nas' second album, It Was Written
It Was Written
It Was Written is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released July 2, 1996 on Columbia Records in the United States. Following the moderate sales success of his acclaimed debut album, Illmatic , Nas chose to focus his efforts in a more mainstream direction...
. A remix of the song, and several group freestyles
Freestyle rap
Freestyle rap commonly refers to rap lyrics which are improvised through a acapella or with instrumental beats, i.e. performed with no previously composed lyrics, or "off the top of the head"...
were in the album, Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album
The Album (The Firm album)
The Album, also known as The Firm: The Album, is the debut studio album of American hip hop supergroup The Firm, released October 21, 1997 on the Interscope-subsidiary label Aftermath Entertainment.-Background:...
. The album entered the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart at #1 and sold over half a million records and is RIAA certified gold.
In March 1997, she joined the spring break
Spring break
Spring break – also known as March break, Study week or Reading week in the United Kingdom and some parts of Canada – is a recess in early spring at universities and schools in the United States, Canada, mainland China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, the United...
festivities hosted by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
in Panama City, Florida
Panama City, Florida
-Personal income:The median income for a household in the city was $31,572, and the median income for a family was $40,890. Males had a median income of $30,401 versus $21,431 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,830...
, among other performers including rapper Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, pop group The Spice Girls, and rock band Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
. Later, she joined the Smokin' Grooves tour hosted by the House of Blues
House of Blues
House of Blues is a chain of 13 live music concert halls and restaurants in major markets throughout the United States. House of Blues first location was in Cambridge's Harvard Square. It was opened in 1992 by Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of Hard Rock Cafe, and Dan Aykroyd, star of The Blues Brothers...
with the headlining rap group Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill
Cypress Hill is an American hip hop group from South Gate, California. Cypress Hill was the first Latino hip-hop group to have platinum and multi-platinum albums, selling over 18 million albums worldwide...
, along with other performers like Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu
Erica Abi Wright , better known by her stage name Erykah Badu , is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Her work includes elements from R&B, hip hop and jazz. She is best known for her role in the rise of the neo soul sub-genre, and for her eccentric, cerebral musical...
, The Roots
The Roots
The Roots is an American hip hop/neo soul band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are famed for beginning with a jazzy, eclectic approach to hip hop which still includes live instrumentals...
, OutKast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
, and The Pharcyde
The Pharcyde
The Pharcyde are an alternative hip hop group based in South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani , Slimkid3 , Bootie Brown and Fatlip . DJ Mark Luv was the group's first DJ, followed by producer J-Swift and then J Dilla...
, the tour set to begin in Boston, Massachusetts in the summer of 1997. However, after missing several dates in the tour, she left it.
Chyna Doll
Chyna Doll was released in January 1999. It sold 173,000 copies in its opening week. However, its sales quickly declined in later weeks. The album's lead single, "Hot Spot", failed to enter the top 50 of the Billboard pop charts, as did the follow-up single, "I Can't" (featuring Total). Chyna Doll has been certified platinumRIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
after surpassing one million copies in shipments.
Broken Silence
In 2001, Brown released Broken Silence. The single "BK Anthem" showcased Brown changing to a "street" image and giving a tribute to her hometown, Brooklyn, and to famous rappers such as The Notorious B.I.G.The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace , best known as The Notorious B.I.G., was an American rapper. He was also known as Biggie Smalls , Big Poppa, and The Black Frank White .Wallace was raised in the Brooklyn borough...
and Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
. The first single from the album was "Oh Yeah
Oh Yeah (Foxy Brown song)
"Oh Yeah" is the first single from Afro-Trinidadian American female hip-hop artist Foxy Brown's third album Broken Silence.-Single information:"Oh Yeah" was officially released in May 2001 in the United States...
", which featured her then-boyfriend, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
artist Spragga Benz
Spragga Benz
-Career:He began his career around 1991. Once known to his friends as "Spaghetti" , but this was later shortened to Spragga. The Benz in his name comes from the sound system for which he used to work for, L.A. Benz, and it is through this that he found his way into the music industry at a Dubplate...
. The track "Na Na Be Like" was produced by Kenya Fame Flames Miller and Nokio from Dru Hill. "Na Na Be Like" was also on the Blue Streak Soundtrack.
The album debuted on the Billboard Charts at #5, selling 130,000 units its first week. Like previous albums, Broken Silence also sold over 500,000 records and was certified gold by the RIAA.
In the same year, Brown recorded a song for the action-comedy film Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour 2 is a 2001 martial arts action comedy film. This is the second installment in the Rush Hour film series. A sequel to the 1998 film Rush Hour, the film stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker who respectively reprise their roles as Inspector Lee and Los Angeles police detective James Carter...
, Blow My Whistle
Rush Hour 2 (soundtrack)
Rush Hour 2 Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2001 action-comedy film, Rush Hour 2. It was released on July 31, 2001 through Hollywood Records and Epic Records. The soundtrack was a success making it to 11 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and 1 on the Top Soundtracks, and...
, which is a collaboration with Japanese-American singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Hikaru Utada, and was written by Utada herself alongside Pharrel Williams and Chad Hugo
Chad Hugo
Charles Edward Hugo is an American musician and record producer. He is best known as one half of the music production and writing duo The Neptunes and as a member of the funk/rock band N.E.R.D. He is a saxophonist, pianist and guitarist...
. The song is included on Def Jam
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
's Rush Hour 2 Soundtrack
Rush Hour 2 (soundtrack)
Rush Hour 2 Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2001 action-comedy film, Rush Hour 2. It was released on July 31, 2001 through Hollywood Records and Epic Records. The soundtrack was a success making it to 11 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and 1 on the Top Soundtracks, and...
, which peaked the 11th spot on both the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
and also the 1st on the Top Soundtracks. "Blow My Whistle" was produced by The Neptunes
The Neptunes
The Neptunes are a record production duo consisting of Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, who are credited with contributing the sound for many successful hip hop, R&B and pop artists in the late-1990s and 2000s...
.
Ill Na Na 2: The Fever
In 2002, Brown returned to the music scene briefly with her single "Stylin'", whose remixRemix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
featured rappers Birdman, her brother Gavin, Loon
Loon (rapper)
Amir Junaid Muhadith best known by his stage name Loon, is an African-American rapper that was formerly part of P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records, where he released his self-titled debut album, Loon. He has also made many guest appearances on songs of the R&B and hip hop genres. He is best known for his...
, and N.O.R.E.
N.O.R.E.
Victor Santiago, Jr., best known by his stage name N.O.R.E. or Noreaga , is an American rapper of Puerto Rican descent...
Malkam Dior was to be the first single off of her upcoming album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever. The next year, she was featured on DJ Kayslay's single "Too Much for Me" from his Street Sweeper's Volume One Mixtape. She also appeared on Luther Vandross
Luther Vandross
Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...
' final studio album Dance with My Father
Dance with My Father
-Production:*Executive Producer: Luther Vandross*Producers: Luther Vandross, Nat Adderley Jr., Shep Crawford, Marcus Miller*Re-mix Producers: Eddie F., Kay Gee, Darren Lighty*Engineers: Ray Bardani, Paul J...
. That April, Brown appeared on popular New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
radio DJ Wendy Williams' radio show, and revealed the details of her relationships with Lyor Cohen
Lyor Cohen
Lyor Cohen is the North American Chairman and CEO of Recorded Music for Warner Music Group . He has been a pioneer in the development of hip hop music and influential in the development of hip hop music acts, including Beastie Boys, Foxy Brown, LL Cool J, Jam Master Jay, Nas, Run-D.M.C...
, president of Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
at the time, and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs
Sean Combs
Sean John Combs , also known by his stage names Diddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur. He has won three Grammy Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards, and his clothing line earned a Council of Fashion Designers of America award. He was originally...
. 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 over personal disagreements. Therefore, "Stylin'" was released on the compilation album The Source
The Source (magazine)
The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988...
Presents: Hip Hop Hits Vol. 6 in December 2002.
Brooklyn's Don Diva
Brown signed to Koch RecordsKoch Records
E1 Music , the primary subsidiary of E1 Entertainment LP, is the largest independent record label in the United States. It is also distributed by the Universal Music Group in Europe under the name E1 Universal...
in August 2007. Brooklyn's Don Diva, was released as a street album on May 13, 2008 after many delays triggered by her prison sentence. It is compiled of many tracks previously un-released from her shelved albums. The album peaked at #83 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, #8 on the Independent Albums
Independent Albums
The Billboard Independent Albums is a chart of the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays in the United States, compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels...
chart, and #5 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
chart.
Personal life
She is of mixed Afro-TrinidadianAfro-Trinidadian people
Afro-Trinidadian and Tobagonian people are people of Trinidad and Tobagonian descent who are largely of African descent. Black, Negro or Creole are common terms used to describe Afro-Trinidadians. Social interpretations of race in Trinidad and Tobago is often used to dictate who is of African...
and Asian
Asian American
Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,...
descent. Around 2001, she was engaged to Spragga Benz
Spragga Benz
-Career:He began his career around 1991. Once known to his friends as "Spaghetti" , but this was later shortened to Spragga. The Benz in his name comes from the sound system for which he used to work for, L.A. Benz, and it is through this that he found his way into the music industry at a Dubplate...
. Brown suffered hearing loss from May 2005 to June 2006. During that time, she opted not to wear a hearing aid, and she had someone tap beats on her shoulder while she recorded music. In June 2008, rumors that Brown was engaged to rapper Rick Ross
Rick Ross
Rick, Ricky or Richard Ross may also refer to:* Rick Ross , American rapper* Richard J. Ross, a Massachusetts State Senator* Richard Ross , an American photographer...
began to circulate after Brown and Ross were together on a cover photo of Hip Hop Weekly magazine. After the publication of that issue, Ross stated that he was not engaged to anyone.
Assault on hotel workers
On January 25, 1997, Brown spat on two hotel workers in RaleighRaleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
when they told her they did not have an iron available. When she missed a court appearance, an arrest warrant was issued and she finally turned herself in on April 30, 1997. She eventually received a 30-day suspended sentence
Suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation...
and was ordered to perform 80 hours of community service
Community service
Community service is donated service or activity that is performed by someone or a group of people for the benefit of the public or its institutions....
.
Obscene language on stage
On July 3, 1999, Brown was escorted off the stage by police at a concert in Trinidad and TobagoTrinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
for using obscene language, but was neither charged nor arrested. In 2000, she announced she was suffering from depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and entered rehab
Drug rehabilitation
Drug rehabilitation is a term for the processes of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment, for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and so-called street drugs such as cocaine, heroin or amphetamines...
at Cornell University Medical College for an addiction to prescription painkillers
Opioid
An opioid is a psychoactive chemical that works by binding to opioid receptors, which are found principally in the central and peripheral nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract...
, in particular, morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
, at one point stating that she could not perform or make records unless she was on the drug.
Car crash; driving without a license
On March 6, 2000, Brown crashed her Range Rover in Flatbush, Brooklyn and thus was arrested for driving without a license.Confrontation with police at Jamaica airport
Police threatened Brown with arrest following an altercation at the Norman Manley International AirportNorman Manley International Airport
-Cargo :The following Cargo/Courier serve Norman Manley International Airport:-Accidents and incidents:*On 17 July 1960, the captain of a Vickers Viscount of Cubana de Aviación hijacked the aircraft on a flight from José Martí International Airport, Havana to Miami International Airport, Florida...
in Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
from July 26, 2002; she would be arrested if she ever would return to the country. Nicola White, clerk of the Kingston Criminal Court, told the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
that Brown illegally evaded a body search at the airport and punched a policewoman in the stomach. Brown's publicist, Marvette Britto, argued that Brown felt that she was being "detained" at the airport. Originally, a hearing for Brown was scheduled for July 28, 2002, but Brown failed to show up. Thus, on late December 2002, an arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
was set up for Brown skipping the hearing.
Amidst her legal troubles, Brown entered a confrontation with radio host Egypt
Egypt (media personality)
Egypt is a correspondent for “The Maury Show“, entertainment reporter for BET’s “The Black Carpet”, national radio personality in over 60 cities with Premiere Radio Networks, and co-host of the formerly syndicated WB daytime TV hit “Home Delivery”....
on New York City radio station WWPR-FM
WWPR-FM
WWPR-FM, also known as "Power 105.1", is an urban contemporary radio station that features hip hop and R&B licensed to New York City that serves the Greater New York area....
("Power 105.1").
Assaulting store employee; BlackBerry incident; other 2007 altercations
Brown pleaded not guilty in March 2007 to assaulting a beauty supply store employee. Her other arrests during 2007 included leaving New York state without permission during probation, hitting a neighbor with a BlackBerryBlackBerry
BlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
, and almost running over a stroller with a baby inside. The New York Times reported that Brown moved from Brooklyn to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
Englewood Cliffs is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 census, the borough population was 5,281. The borough houses the world headquarters of CNBC and the American headquarters of Unilever, and is home to both Ferrari and Maserati North America.Englewood Cliffs...
without informing officials, but Brown's lawyer Alan Stutman stated that Brown's mother owned the Englewood Cliffs residence in question.
Assault on two manicurists; jail time
On August 29, 2004, Brown attacked two manicurists in Chelsea, ManhattanChelsea, Manhattan
Chelsea is a neighborhood on the West Side of the borough of Manhattan in New York City. The district's boundaries are roughly 14th Street to the south, 30th Street to the north, the western boundary of the Ladies' Mile Historic District – which lies between the Avenue of the Americas and...
during a dispute over a $20 bill that she refused to pay, and she in April 2005 pleaded not guilty to assault
Assault
In law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
charges and entered three years of probation
Probation
Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...
effective October 2006. For that incident, she would also take anger management
Anger management
The term anger management commonly refers to a system of psychological therapeutic techniques and exercises by which someone with excessive or uncontrollable anger & aggression can control or reduce the triggers, degrees, and effects of an angered emotional state...
classes. Female rapper Jacki-O
Jacki-O
Angela Kohn , better known as Jacki-O, is a Haitian American rapper from Miami, Florida, who is currently signed to her own label Jack Movement Entertainment. She got her first break in 2003 with the bawdy sex rap "Nookie" which garnered the MC comparisons to fellow Southern rappers Mia X and Trina...
, in April 2005, alleged that she and Brown got into a physical altercation at a recording studio in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, saying that Brown came into the studio during her session and expected her to "bow down" to her. The next month, Brown denied any such altercation in an interview with the Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
hip-hop radio station WEDR
WEDR
WEDR is an urban-formatted radio station serving the South Florida region and licensed to Miami, Florida. WEDR has an unusually wide music selection for a mainstream urban-formatted radio station that ranges from typical hip-hop and R&B to reggaeton. This is because South Florida is a very...
. Joseph Tacopina, Brown's attorney, stated on December 6, 2005 that he could no longer communicate with Foxy Brown verbally due to her sudden hearing loss. Judge Melissa Jackson suspended Brown's assault case for two weeks.
On September 7, 2007, New York Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson sentenced Foxy Brown to one year in jail for violating her probation that stemmed from the 2004 fight with two manicurists in a New York City nail salon. No mention was made during the trial by anyone about Brown expecting a baby. On September 12, 2007, her representatives stated the rapper was not pregnant in response to claims by her lawyer that she was. On October 23, 2007, Brown was given 76 days in solitary confinement
Solitary confinement
Solitary confinement is a special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is isolated from any human contact, though often with the exception of members of prison staff. It is sometimes employed as a form of punishment beyond incarceration for a prisoner, and has been cited as an additional...
due to a physical altercation that took place on October 3, 2007 with another prisoner. According to the prison authorities, Brown, the next day after the incident, was also verbally abusive toward correction officers and refused to take a random drug test
Drug test
A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen – for example urine, hair, blood, sweat, or oral fluid / saliva – to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites...
. Prison authorities reported on November 27 that she was released "from solitary confinement...for good behavior", and Brown was finally released from prison on April 18, 2008.
Violation of order of protection
On July 22, 2010, Brown was charged with one count of criminal contempt, which is a class E felony (the least severe), for violating an order of protection. The charge stems from an incident during the evening of July 21st 2010, in which it was claimed that Brown swore at and then mooned her neighbour Arlene Raymond, to whom she had thrown her BlackBerry, in 2007. Following the BlackBerry incident, Raymond has a restraining order against Brown.Following her arrest, Brown appeared in court where she pleaded "not guilty" to the charge and was released on a $5,000 bail. If convicted, she faces up to seven years imprisonment.
Discography
- Ill Na NaIll Na NaIll Na Na is the debut album by American rapper Foxy Brown. It was released in the United States on November 19, 1996, and on September 29, 1997 in the United Kingdom. The album spawned Brown's first hit single, "I'll Be", featuring hip-hop artist Jay-Z...
(1996) - Chyna Doll (1999)
- Broken Silence (2001)
- Black Roses (2012)
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Woo Woo (film) Woo is a 1998 romantic comedy film, directed by Daisy V.S. Mayer, and starring Jada Pinkett Smith in the title role. Tommy Davidson co-stars.-Plot:... |
Fiancée |
| 2004 | Fade to Black | Herself |