Da Brat
High-energy 90s rap with a distinctive rapid-fire flow and deep G-Funk grooves. Perfect for high-swagger summer drives and nostalgic house parties.
High-energy 90s rap with a distinctive rapid-fire flow and deep G-Funk grooves. Perfect for high-swagger summer drives and nostalgic house parties.
Da Brat brings a relentless, percussive energy that defined the mid-90s So So Def sound. Her music is a masterclass in rhythmic pocket, blending the laid-back funk of the West Coast with the sharp, technical lyricism of the Midwest. It feels like a humid Atlanta night where the bass is thick and the flow is even thicker.
What truly sets her apart is the 'brat' persona: a tomboyish, high-velocity delivery that challenged the hyper-feminized tropes of her era. She doesn't just rap over the beat; she dances through it with internal rhymes and sudden bursts of double-time speed that keep the listener leaning in. Her collaboration with Jermaine Dupri created a sonic signature of polished soul samples and heavy, trunk-rattling drums.
Start with the album 'Funkdafied' to hear the historic moment she broke the platinum ceiling. The title track is an essential entry point for anyone wanting to understand how 70s funk was reimagined for the hip-hop generation.
Shawntae Harris-Dupart (née Harris; born April 14, 1974), known professionally as Da Brat, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, she began her career in 1992 and signed with Jermaine Dupri's So So Def Recordings two years later to release her debut studio album, Funkdafied (1994). Receiving platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it became the first album by a female hip hop solo act to do so. The album was supported by the 1994 lead single of the same name, which peaked at number six on Billboard Hot 100, along with her guest appearance alongside Lisa Lopes, Missy Elliott and Angie Martinez on Lil' Kim's 1997 single "Not Tonight". Furthermore, "Funkdafied" peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot Rap Songs chart, while "Not Tonight" peaked at number three. Her second album, Anuthatantrum (1996) spawned the single "Ghetto Love" (featuring T-Boz), while her third, Unrestricted (2000) peaked at number five on the Billboard 200. During the late 1990s–2000s, she guest performed on Dem Franchize Boyz's single "I Think They Like Me", the remixes of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy", "Always Be My Baby", and "Honey", and the 1999 mashup "I Still Believe/Pure Imagination". With Carey, she released the 2003 duet "Gotta Thing For You", a hip hop-inspired version of the Bobby Caldwell song "What You Won't Do for Love". Harris has received two Grammy Award nominations.
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Shares boom bap, pop rap, gangsta rap (subgenres); confident, playful, rebellious (moods)
Shares analog warmth, sample based, studio polished (production style); boom bap, pop rap (subgenres)
Shares analog warmth, sample based, studio polished (production style); boom bap, pop rap, contemporary r&b (subgenres)
Shares boom bap, pop rap, contemporary r&b (subgenres); urban night, basement show, road trip (atmosphere)
Shares gangsta rap, pop rap, boom bap, rebellious (subgenre)
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