Da Brat, born Shawntae Harris, is one of America’s finest female rappers. She has been in the music industry for over three decades and has released several singles and albums. Many people are of the opinion that she paved the way for many female rappers and entertainers in the American rap music industry.
Da Brat’s music career started in 1992 and broke out in the mid 1990s with the release of her debut studio album titled Funkdafied. The album sold over a million copies, making her the first female solo rapper to have a platinum-certified debut music album.
Additionally, the lead single of the album also titled “Funkdafied” reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Da Brat is a recipient of several awards, including three Billboard awards. Similarly, she has been nominated for the Grammy Award twice.
Despite enjoying so much popularity and commercial success early in her career, Da Brat struggled with several legal troubles at the latter years of career, making her declare bankruptcy. She filed for bankruptcy in 2018 listing debts of under 8 million US dollars and assets of just $100,000.
Da Brat is an American rapper, actress, and TV personalty with a net worth of $100,000. In this post, you will find everything you need to know about the veteran rap star.
| Full Name | Shawntae Harris |
| Stage Name | Da Brat |
| Date of Birth | April 14, 1974 |
| Age | 49 Years (2023) |
| Place of Birth | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | African-American |
| Education | Kendood Academy, Academy of Scholastic Achievement |
| Source of Wealth | Music, Film, Television |
| Profession | Rapper, Actress |
| Sexual Orientation | Lesbian |
| Partner | Jesseca Dupart |
| Net Worth | $100,000 |
Early Life and Biography
Shawntae “Da Brat” Harris was born on April 14, 1974 in Chicago, Illinois to David Ray McCoy and Nadine Brewer. Her father was a businessman while her mother was a city bus driver.
Shawntae spent her childhood living in two different households as her parents never got married. She stayed part-time with her grandmother and her mother.
Her childhood years was spent in the West Side district of Chicago. Shawntae attended an Apostolic church in the area and was a member of the church choir, singing four times weekly.
She attended the Kendood Academy in Chicago. There, she participated in several activities and competed in track and field events, as well as in basketball games. She switched schools and in 1992, she completed her studies at the Academy of Scholastic Achievement after meeting their graduation requirements.
Career
After graduating from the Academy of Scholastic Achievement in 1992, Harris entered a local rap competition sponsored by Yo! MTV Raps, where she emerged the winner. Upon winning the contest, she met rap group Kris Kross, who linked her up with Jermaine Dupri, their music producer.
Dupri would later signed her to his record label So So Def Label. Upon getting a record deal, Shawntae adopted “Da Brat” as her stage name. Her boss Jermaine Dupri marketed her as the female version of rapper Snoop Dogg, as she was one of the early female artists to adopt his rap technique.
Da Brat released her first music album titled “Funkdafied” in 1994, which was a big hit. The nine-track album sold over one million copies within a short time and was certified platform. The lead single of the album also titled “Funkdafied” reached the 6th spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 and ranked #1 on the Rap Singles chart, spending over three months on the chart. Also, another single from the album titled “Give It 2 Your” reached the 26th position on the Hot 100 chart.
In 1996, she released her sophomore studio album “Anuthatantrum,” which reached the fifth spot on the US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums. The album featured the song “Ghetto Love” featuring T-Boz of the American girl group, TLC.
Da Brat album’s success made her a hot commodity and other artists were keen on featuring her in their songs. Notably, she was one of the most featured female artists of the 1990s. Some of the artists she worked with during the aforementioned period include Lil Kim, Destiny’s Child, Brandy, Missy Elliot, and Mariah Carey, where she was featured on the song “Always Be My Baby” and “Honey.
In 1996, she made her debut in the film “Kazaam” alongside Shaq. The next year, she was featured in the song “Sock It 2 Me” from Elliot’s first music album “Supa Dupa Fly.”
Her work on “Not Tonight (Remix)” with Left Eye from TLC, Lil’ Kim, Missy Elliot, and Angie Martinez got her a Grammy nomination in 1998 for the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group category.
In 1999, she was featured on the remix of Destiny’s Child’s single dubbed “Jumpin’ Jumpin’.” On April 11, 2000, Da Brat returned with the release of her third studio album “Unrestricted.” The album was a great work but failed to exceed or replicate the impact of her previous two albums.
In 2001, she peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop singles chart alongside rapper Ludacris on the remix of Mariah Carey’s song “Loverboy.” That same year, she jumped on Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor (Remix).”
In 2002, Da Brat was featured in Mariah Carey’s ill-fated movie “Glitter.” Her fourth music album “Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz” was released on 15 July, 2003. The album peaked at #6 and #17 on the Top R&B Albums and Billboard Hot 200 charts respectively. That same year, she appeared on the fourth season of VH1’s “The Surreal Life.”
In 2004, she her work “Got It Poppin’” earned her another Grammy Award nomination in the Best Female Rap Solo Performance category. The next year, she appeared on the remix of the Dem Franchize Boyz’s song “I Think They Like Me” alongside Jermaine Dupri.
In 2006, Da Brat toured New York, Long Island, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., and Atlanta with Mariah Carey, performing her verses on the songs “Honey” and “Heartbreaker.” The following year, she collaborated with Kelly Rowland on the song “Gotsta Go” from the “Ms. Kelly” studio album. She featured in the fifth season of VH1’s “Celebrity Fit Club” in 2007.
In 2011, she made a remix Kelly Rowland and rapper Lil Wayne on the song “Motivation.” On July 2, 2013, she released a single “Is It Chu?.” Some of her popular songs are “Loverboy,” “I Think They Like Me,” “Funkdafied” and “In Love wit Chu.”
Also, Da Brat has appeared in over fifteen TV shows since 1984 and has starred in several movies, including Glitter, Kazaam, and Rhyme Reason. Since July 2015, she has been a co-host of the Rickey Smiley Morning Radio Show and starred in the Dish Nation cast of Atlanta.
Da Brat made a cameor appearance in the reality television series “The Rap Game” to mentor up-and-coming music artists. She has ben appearing in the Growing up Hip Hop: Atlanta reality TV series since 2017.
In 2021, she featured in the television series The Chi, portraying LaPorsha in one of the episodes titled Candyman.
Controversies, Legal and Financial Problems
In October 2007, Da Brat assaulted a lady Shayla Stevens at a Halloween party at the Atlanta-based Studio 72 nightclub. That fateful night, she got into a heated argument with the hostess and when the nightclub hostess walked away to get her manager, Da Brat attacked her from behind and hit her face with a rum bottle.
The police were alerted and on their arrival, they arrested Da Brat, who was jailed. The rapper pleaded guilty to aggravated assault charges against her in court and was sentenced to 3 years in jail, 7 years of probation, as well as 200 hours of community service.
In May 2010, she was temporarily released from prison on a work release and she completed her prison sentence on February 28, 2011, and was officially released from jail. After her release from prison, Da Brat launched a web series titled “Brat Chronicles: In Transition” on YouTube, which was about her life experiences.
After her release from prison, her victim Shayla Stevens began a civil trial, which began from 24 February 2004 to 26 February 2014. In February 2014, the nightclub hostess she assaulted was awarded $6.4 million to cover her injuries as well as the past and future loss of earnings due to her condition.
Since she was indebted to several people, it was normal to file for bankruptcy. Filing for bankruptcy will mean that her creditors and debtors would have to readjust and schedule their payment plans. She filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August 2018.
In her filing, Da Brat listed assets of $108,700 in assets and liabilities of $7.8 million, which included the $6.4 million she owned her assault victim.
Da Brat reporetdly owed Sony Music $1.255 million. She had debts elsewhere, including $12,000 to Ally Bank, a thousands of dollars to the IRS and Georgia Department of Revenue. She claimed her assets were a Jeep Wrangler worth $23,000, a 1999 Mercedes 238i worth $5,000, and a 2014 BMW 328i costing $9,300. She declared average monthly expenses of $10,500.
She reported $75,000 as income from the start to the year to the moment she filed for bankruptcy. In 2016, she listed a total of $92,000 in income.
Some months after the filing, the assault nightclub victim filed another lawsuit demanding the rapper’s debt to remain intact and not wiped clean by the bankruptcy filing. Also, the assault victim reported that the original $6.4 million debt had increased to $8 million with interest. As of 2018, Shayla claimed not to have received a penny from Da Brat since the court ruling in February 2018.
Shayla had tried various methods to squeeze some money off Da Brat, looking for her properties and income sources to lay hold on. In 2018, for instance, she featured in a stage adaption of 1996’s hood classic titled “Set It Off.”
Consequently, Shayla Stevesn fired off a subpoena to Ticketmaster, the company selling tickets to the play. She demanded the compmay give her the contract with Da Brat as well as her earnings from the show.
Personal Life
Having concealed information about her sexuality, relationship, and personal life for years, Da Brat took to Instagram on March 26, 2020 to announce her relationship with Jesseca Dupart, a businesswoman.
Da Brat’s partner Jesseca is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Kaleidoscope Hair Products. Jesseca and De Brat started their reality TV show titled “Brat Loves Judy,” which premiered on WE TV on 5 August, 2021.
Brat has been arrested and imprisoned severally. In 2001, she was found guilty of battering a woman with a rum bottle in a nightclub in Atlanta, Georgia. She was fined $1,000 and spent a year in probation.
She was arrested and jailed for the same offense some years later. She stroke a nightclub hostess with a rum bottle and was jailed for three years and spent 7 years in probation. On February 28, 2011, her producer Dupro announced her release from jail after completing her sentence.
While filing for bankruptcy in 2018, Da Brat listed vehicles such as the 1999 Mercedes 238i, which was worth $5,000 USD as she claimed, a 2014 BMW 328i worth $15,000, and a Jeep Wrangler worth $23,000. Collectively, the total value of the cars in her collection was $43,000.
Da Brat Net Worth
Da Brat’s net worth is around $100,000. While she made a lot of money as a musician from album sales, live performances, tours, films and TV shows, she lost millions due to mismanagement and legal troubles.
Her debut album “Funkdafied” was her best-selling studio album. The album sold more than a million units, and it was certified platinum. She was the second female artist to sell over a million copies of her album after Salt N Pepa.
She made her first appearance on TV in 1994 in All That. In 1996, she made her debut in the film Kazaam. With heavy competition from Cardi B, Nicki Minaj, and other female acts in the music industry, it may be impossible for Da Brat to drop hit songs or albums as she did in the 1990s. However, the rapper must find profitable business ventures to pay the debts and be financially free.