Biography and career

1994–1997: Ill Na Na

While still a teenager, Brown won a talent contest in Park Slope, and was invited to rap on stage at a KRS-One concert. At the time, production team Trackmasters were working on LL Cool J's Mr. Smith album, the pair were in attendance that night and being impressed, they decided to let her rap over "I Shot Ya."

Brown followed her 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 as they added the then 16-year old talent 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).

1997–1998: The Firm

Following the release of Ill Na Na, Brown joined fellow New York based hip hop artists, Nas Escobar, 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 Escobar, Foxy Brown, AZ and Nature present: The Firm. The album entered the Billboard 200 Album chart at #1, selling 218,000 copies in its first week in stores. Despite strong first-week sales, the album quickly fell off the charts.

1999–2000: Chyna Doll

On January 26, 1999 Foxy Brown released her oft-delayed second album Chyna Doll which made Billboard Chart history when it became the first album by a female rap artist to enter the charts at #1, selling 179,000 copies in its opening week. The album's lead single "Hot Spot" failed to enter the top 50 of the Billboard pop charts, same as the follow-up single, "I Can't" (featuring Total). Chyna Doll has been certified platinum after surpassing one million copies in sales.

By 2000, several of Brown's friendships in the industry, including those with Jay-Z and Nas, became strained. Brown announced she was suffering from depression and entered rehab at Cornell University Medical College for an addiction to prescription painkillers, in particular, morphine, even stating that she couldn't perform or make records unless she was on the illegal drug.

Brown went into damage control mode and attempted to clean up her image with a spread in Essence magazine's August 2000 issue. The article, entitled "Dignity or Dollars", discussed Brown's run-ins with the law, as well as her stint in rehab and nice family upbringing. In it Brown stated she wanted to clean up her image and counter what was projected by the Vibe magazine cover, in which she had appeared in a string bikini.

2001–2003: Broken Silence

In 2001, after two years of artistic silence, Brown released Broken Silence. The single "BK Anthem" showcased Brown changing to a "street" image, rather than the pop-star image that failed with the release of Chyna Doll . The track gave "props" to her hometown, Brooklyn, and famous rappers such as The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z. Def Jam decided to release a music video for the record, which had a similarly urban and home-grown low-budget feel, and was made as if from a home video camcorder. The second single from the album "Oh Yeah", which featured her then boyfriend Jamaican dancehall artist Spragga Benz, marked Brown's debut in the reggae/dance hall genre of music. The album debuted on the Billboard Charts at #5, selling 131,000 units its first week.

In 2003, Brown returned to the music scene briefly on DJ Kayslay's single called "Too Much For Me" from his Street Sweeper's Volume One Mixtape. That April, Brown appeared on popular New York radio jock Wendy Williams' radio show, and revealed the details of her relationships 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 over personal disagreements. Less than 24 hours after the interview was broadcast, Ill Na Na 2: The Fever appeared online for downloading and illegal bootlegging.

2004–Present

In 2004, Brown reunited with her old friend and mentor Jay-Z, when he became the president of Def Jam and signed her to its subsidiary, Roc-A-Fella Records. Later that year, Brown joined Jay-Z and several other hip-hop acts on his Jay-Z and Friends tour. Brown began recording her fourth solo album, Black Roses. Though never officially released as a single, the track "Come Fly with Me" (featuring Sizzla), received airplay mostly on hip-hop radio stations. Tracks such as "The Art of War" and a remix of 112's "You Already Know" followed. Later that year, Brown was allegedly involved in a physical altercation with two manicurists over a $20 fee which Brown allegedly refused to pay.

Controversy continued to follow Brown in April 2005, when 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 into the studio during her session and expected her to "bow down" to her. She claimed that Brown constantly belittled her and that a "heated argument" ensued. Jacki alleged that the verbal altercation eventually escalated into a fist fight, with Brown being on the receiving end. Brown later admitted that there was definitely a verbal disagreement, though she denied that it ever turned physical.

On December 5, 2005, outside of Manhattan criminal court, Brown's attorney Joseph Tacopina stated he wanted to confirm rumors that Brown was almost totally deaf and claimed that he could no longer communicate with her verbally. 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 because his statements had contradicted Brown's statements as to when she was totally deaf.

In October 2006, Foxy Brown was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to undergo anger management classes for the physical altercation in a nail salon in 2004. "This is only the first time in two years that I'm pleased with Judge Jackson," Brown told the Associated Press. Brown was reported to have received an excellent report from probation. She added that the experience had been positive because "probation forces one into structure". "It is making me grow up," she said. "I have matured a lot since I started the anger management and realized how much that i needed it."

In May 2007, Black Hand Entertainment announced that they signed a management deal with Foxy Brown . When asked about Black Hand as a management home, Brown said, "I needed to connect with a person who understood my struggle completely from where I came to where I traveled today." Chaz Williams, Black Hand CEO, stated "Her focus is keen, and her music speaks for itself.". The release of her album Black Roses has been scheduled for September 6, 2005

On July 22, 2007, MTV.com reported that there are plans for Brooklyn Don Diva, a "mixtape", to be released before Black Roses .

On August 14, 2007, Foxy was dropped from Def Jam. She then went on to jumpstart her own label, Black Rose Entertainment, which will be distributed by independent record label Koch Records . Brown's next album Brooklyn's Don Diva is scheduled to be released in December 2007 .

On August 21, 2007, Foxy Brown announced that she is pregnant with her first child and planning to get married. Later reports have revealed that Brown lied to gain sympathy from the judge during one of her trials.

On September 7, 2007, she was sentenced to one year in jail and is currently serving that sentence. No mention was made during the trial by anyone about Brown expecting a baby. (See Legal issues below.) On September 12, 2007, her representatives stated the rapper isn't pregnant. The revelation came as her manager and Koch Records announced that Brown would release a new album while serving her one-year jail sentence. .

Controversies

Legal issues

• On January 25, 1997, 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, 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.
• On March 6, 2000, Brown crashed her Range Rover in Flatbush, Brooklyn. She was charged with driving without a license, since her license had been suspended for not paying two parking tickets. But she hasn't been arrested on that charge since.
• 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 country.
• On August 29, 2004, Brown allegedly attacked two manicurists in Chelsea, Manhattan during a dispute over a $20 bill that she refused to pay. She was not charged for the incident until March 7, 2005. She has denied the charges and initially rejected misdemeanor plea deals on May 6 and August 9, 2005. On October 25, 2006, Brown was sentenced to three years probation and anger management counseling. Orders of protection were authorized by the court for the manicurists .
• On December 23, 2005, Brown was handcuffed in a Manhattan, New York courtroom after a verbal confrontation with the 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, not as a sign of disrespect but to show, as she subsequently claimed, that she had no gum in her mouth. 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.
• On February 15, 2007, Brown was arrested for an incident in Broward County, Florida . According to the arrest report, Brown was applying beauty products in the bathroom of the Queen Beauty Supply store when an employee knocked on the door and told her the business was closed so it was time to leave. She refused and threw hair glue at the employee, the report said. Brown then spat on the man as he called 911, staining his shirt. A police officer found her in the shopping plaza and tried to get her to return to the store. When the officer placed a hand on her arm to escort her to the store, Brown swatted it away, then started swinging her arms and struggling with the officer, the report said. The officer had to "use a take-down maneuver to gain control" of Brown, according to the report. No one was injured.
• On March 1, 2007, Foxy Brown pleaded guilty to a probation violation for leaving New York state without permission .
• On March 22, 2007, Broward County Judge Joel Lazurus issued an arrest warrant for the arrest of Foxy Brown for her failure to appear in court for the February 2007 incident in Florida. The judge subsequently withdrew the arrest warrant, Brown appeared in court and pleaded not guilty .
• On May 7, 2007, police were called in Brooklyn after a young mother claimed Foxy Brown, in a silver Range Rover, almost ran her down along with her baby in a stroller . No charges were filed.
• On August 14, 2007, Foxy Brown turned herself in for the felony assault charge resulting from hitting her neighbor with a BlackBerry .
• On August 22, 2007, Judge Melissa Jackson ordered Foxy Brown jailed until a September 5 hearing for allegedly violating her probation after her arrest in the Blackberry incident. She was immediately taken into custody. Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Melissa Jackson said Brown's sentence will continue the six months' probation she is already serving. But Jackson warned that if there are any other probation infractions, "I'm reserving the right to resentence you to jail for one year."
• 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. "I'm not going to give you any more chances," Judge Jackson told Brown. "I hope you turn your life around and never again have to stand in a court of law." With time off for good behavior for her detention that began in August 2007, Brown will be eligible for parole in May 2008.
• On October 12, 2007, Brown refused three times to board a Rikers Island bus for a Brooklyn court date related to the BlackBerry incident - once because "she needed more time to primp", authorities said. She finally appeared before the Court on October 16, 2007 and pleaded not guilty.
• 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, Foxy Brown, the next day after the incident, was also verbally abusive toward correction officers and refused to take a random drug test.

Power 105.1 controversy

On November 22, 2006 Foxy Brown appeared at New York radio station Power 105.1 for an interview with morning show hosts Egypt and Donnell "Ashy" Rawlings. As the interview began to air, Ashy made remarks and took several shots at Foxy's recent hearing loss. Through the rest of the interview Brown refused to answer to Ashy, excluding him from her conversation with Egypt. The interview became acrimonious when Ms. Brown was asked by Egypt to explain rumors that she had been dropped from her record label. Ms. Brown switched stories, first insisting she was still "signed to Jay" and then contradicting that by saying she was the one who "initiated leaving Def Jam ... they could never drop [Foxy Brown]" The DJs then asked the rapper questions including details on her recent conviction for assault, but she declined to answer, berating the DJs for being "disrespectful" and reminding Egypt that, "I told you when I called you what type of questions I wanted for my interview." At this point, Egypt ended the interview, stating: "Foxy, you leave the room ... this interview is over" . A sound clip of the interview, during which Brown leaves the New York radio station, then surfaced on various blogs and websites.

Date of birth

In the artist's own MySpace Account, her date of birth is shown as 6 September 1979. However, the police report of her arrest in 15 February 2007 shows her date of birth to be 6 September 1978. The accuracy of the police report has not been disputed by Foxy Brown or her representatives, who assert, nonetheless, that her year of birth is 1979. Foxy Brown herself has added to the controversy when, in the DVD entitled Sub-0, recorded in 2006, she stated that she is only 26, but went on to state that, while she has been in the hip hop industry since the age of 14, she has been in the industry for 14 years. This would make her 28 years old.

Discography

Albums

Ill Na Na

Chyna Doll

Broken Silence

Singles

Guest and soundtrack appearances

• 1995: "I Shot Ya (Remix)" (with LL Cool J, Keith Murray, Fat Joe and Mobb Deep; from Mr. Smith)
• 1995: "Hooked On You (Remix)" (with Silk; from Silk - Hooked On You Remixes)
• 1996: "One For The Money (Remix)" (with Horace Brown; from Horace Brown - One For The Money Remixes)
• 1996: "Touch Me, Tease Me" (with Case and Mary J. Blige; from Case)
• 1996: "No One Else (remix)" (with Total feat. Lil' Kim & Da Brat)
• 1996: "Affirmative Action" (with Nas); "Watch Them Niggas" (with Nas); from It Was Written
• 1996: "You're Makin' Me High (Remix)" (with Toni Braxton; from Secrets)
• 1996: "Ain't No Nigga" (with Jay-Z; from Reasonable Doubt)
• 1996: "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)
• 1998: "Dollar Bill" (with R.Kelly; from R. (album))
• 1998: "Paper Chase" (with Jay-Z; from Vol 2. Hard Knock Life)
• 2000: "Thong Song (Remix)" (with Sisqo; from Nutty Professor 2:The Klumps)
• 2000: "What's Your Fantasy (Remix)" (with Ludacris Trina & Shawnna; from Back For the First Time)
• 2000: "More" (with Cham (singer); from Wow...The Story)
• 2001: "Blow My Whistle" (with Utada Hikaru; from Rush Hour 2)
• 2001: "Picture This" (with Benzino; from The Benzino Project)
• 2002: "Tell Me What You Want" (with Alison Hinds; (Previously Unreleased)
• 2002: "Dope Boyz (Remix)" (with T.I.; from I'm Serious)
• 2002: "Affirmative Action (Remix)" (with Nas; from From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes EP)
• 2002: "Nothing (Remix)" (with N.O.R.E. and P.Diddy); from God's Favorite
• 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)
• 2004: "Stop" (with Jay-Z and R.Kelly; from Unfinished Business)
• 2005: "You Already Know (Remix)" (with 112; from Pleasure & Pain)
• 2006: "Hmm Hmm (Remix)" (with Beenie Man; from Undisputed)