Foxy Brown

Real Name: Inga Fung Marchand

D.O.B.: September 6th, 1979 Park Slope, Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York

Label: Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam Recordings.

Foxy Brown, the sex siren of hip-hop has stayed true to her gritty and hard-hitting sexual image as a solo emcee. She is best known for her work in numerous collaborations with other artists, and her brief stint as part of hip-hop music group The Firm. She is of mixed Afro-Trinidadian and Asian descent. Albums released under her name have included Ill Na Na in 1996, followed by Chyna Doll in 1999, and Broken Silence in 2001. She performed also in the 1997 self-titled album by the Firm, the only album to be released by that group to date.

After 2002, she continued recording verses for herself and other artists but did not release any albums. In April 2003, she announced on the Wendy Williams radio program on radio station WBLS that she would leave Def Jam Recordings, thus leaving her album Ill Na Na 2 unreleased; it was initially to be released in May 2003. 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.

In August 2007, she was signed to Koch Records. Her fourth album was released in May 2008 following many delays.

1994-1998

While still a teenager, Brown won a talent contest in the Park Slope neighbourhood of Brooklyn, New York. 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 début album, Ill Na Na to mixed reviews but strong sales. The album sold over 109,000 copies in the first week, and debuted at number seven 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 super-group 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 "Commissioner" 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 number one.

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.

In March 1997, she joined the spring break festivities hosted by the MTV cable television network 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.