Biography of Foxy BrownInga Marchand, born September 6, 1978 (see Date of birth below, under Controversies), in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States, better known as Foxy Brown, is an American rapper of Afro-Trinidadian and Asian descent. She is known for her solo work as well as for her numerous collaborations, and her brief stint as part of hip-hop music group The Firm. She has released three albums: Ill Na Na (1996), Chyna Doll (1999), and Broken Silence (2001) while also being featured on Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album (1997). Currently, she is signed to Koch Records.
While still a teenager, Brown won a talent contest in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, 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.[2] 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.[4] 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 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, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album. 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.
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.
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 left 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.
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