#LADYRAGEFACTS
#14 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Robin Yvette Allen (born June 11, 1975), better known by her stage name The Lady of Rage, is an American rapper and actress best known for collaborations with several Death Row Records artists, including Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg on the seminal albums The Chronic and Doggystyle.
She has been described as "one of the most skillful female MCs" with a "mastery of flow" and "hard-corelyrics".
In the summer of 1988, the Lady of Rage met Shahkim of the Original Outlaw Brothers, a rap group fromQueens, New York.
From the moment Shahkim heard her rap, he was convinced she was the best female rapper around.
After convincing her he could get her a record deal, he brought her into his group. The members of the Outlaw Brothers made Rage a member of the group and they eventually were signed to a production deal with the L.A. Posse (who went on to produce several big hits for LL Cool J).
At the time, the LA Posse had several artists within their group including, MC Breeze and The Real Roxanne.
They also had several relationships with different labels. Rage, along with all the artists in the camp worked diligently out of Chung King Studios in lower Manhattan recording, writing and more recording.
In 1991, Lady of Rage met with Chubb Rock, providing vocals for his track, "Bring Em Home Safe" on his The One album, which she recorded under the name of 'Rockin’ Robin'.
Dr. Dre then discovered her after the L.A. Posse let him listen to some of the tracks on their album and the vocals she recorded for the L.A. Posse's They Come in All Colors in 1991.
She appeared on several tracks from Dr. Dre's 1992 classic The Chronic album, and onSnoop Doggy Dogg's Doggystyle in 1993.
In 1994, she had a hit single with "Afro Puffs" (from the soundtrackto Above the Rim) which reached #5 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
She also made an appearance on Tha Dogg Pound's album Dogg Food on the track "Do What I Feel". Though she had made more than a dozen appearances on soundtracks as well as albums from her Death Row Records cohorts, the Lady of Rage didn't release an album until '97.
Her debut solo album,Necessary Roughness, was released in June 1997 and peaked at #7 on the Billboard R&B Album chart and 32 on the Billboard 200Albums chart.
Her solo album was originally called Eargasm and was continually pushed back - it was meant to have been the next album on Death Row Records afterThe Chronic, and then afterDoggystyle, before finally being released in 1997.
After the release of her album and a guest-appearance with Gang Starr alongside Kurupt ("You Know My Steez (Three Men and a Lady Remix)") in 1998, Rage left Death Row Records and the music industry to focus on acting, appearing in an episode of Kenan & Kel.
The Lady of Rage then went on to be featured in the television sitcom, The Steve Harvey Show onThe WB as Coretta Cox, a recurring role she played from 1997 to 2000. she also had a role in Next Fridayas Baby D, big sister of Day Day's ex-girlfriend.
In 2000, she made another rapping appearance on Snoop Dogg's "Set It Off" on his album Tha Last Meal, a solo track "Unfucwitable" on Snoop Dogg Presents...Doggy Style Allstars Vol. 1 and "Batman & Robin", which appeared on Snoop Dogg's Paid tha Cost to Be da Bossalbum.
In 2007 she signed to Shante Broadus' label, Boss Lady Entertainment, and recorded a street album called From VA 2 LA.
She also made appearances on Bigg Snoop Dogg Presents…Welcome to tha Chuuch: Da Albumand Cali Iz Active.
She is currently a part of the FEM (Females Earning Money) Movement along with fellow female rappers Babs (of Da Band),Lady Luck, and Amil.
In 2008, she performed with MC Lyte, Yo-Yo, and Salt-n-Pepa at the BET Hip Hop Awards.
In the summer of 2010 she joined Snoop Dogg during his headlining set at theRock the Bells festival concert series, along with Warren G, RBX and Tha Dogg Pound for a performance of the classic Doggystyle album in its entirety.
Rage is currently part of the group N'Matez, along with Daz Dillinger,Kurupt, and RBX.
*Rapping technique
Lady of Rage describes much of her rapping technique in the book How to Rap - she notes the importance of having a strong vocabulary, writing poetry, having different styles of flow, using 'rests', researching lyrics,taking your time to write lyrics, working with producers, doing guide vocals, and her compound rhymes in the track 'Unfucwitable' are broken down.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Lisa (Left Eye ) Lopes
R.I.P #LISALEFTEYELOPESFACTS
#13 TOP FEMALERAPPER
ACTIVE: 1990-2002
Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, dancer, musician, and songwriter.
She achieved fame as a member of the R&B girl group TLC. Lopes contributed her self-written raps to many of TLC's hit singles, including "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "What About Your Friends", "Hat 2 da Back", "No Scrubs", "Waterfalls", "Girl Talk".
She won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.
On April 25, 2002, Lopes was killed in an automobile accident in La Ceiba, Honduras when she swerved off the road to avoid hitting another vehicle. She was thrown from her own vehicle and later died from her injuries. The last days of her life were documented from March 30, 2002 until her death on April 25, 2002. The footage included the accident that took her life and was made into a documentary called The Last Days of Left Eye.
It aired on VH1's rock docs on May 19, 2007, eight days prior to what would have been Lopes' 36th birthday.
Lisa Lopes was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Wanda, a seamstress, and Ronald Lopes, an Army staff sergeant.
She had two younger siblings, Ronald and Raina. Her father has been described by music journalist and academic Jacqueline Springer, as an "oppressively" strict and demanding disciplinarian
Lopes' parents separated when she was still at school and for the later years of her childhood, she was raised by her paternal grandmother. She attended Girls' High School.
She was of Afro-Cape Verdean and African American descent.
TLC
TLC (band)
At the age of 17, having heard of an open casting call for a new girl group through her boyfriend at the time, Lopes moved to Atlanta to audition.
TLC started off as a female trio called 2nd Nature. The group was renamed TLC – derived from the first initials of its then three members – Tionne, Lisa and Crystal.
Things did not work out with Crystal Jones, and TLC's manager Perri "Pebbles" Reid brought in Damian Dame backup dancer Rozonda Thomas as a third member of the group. To keep the "initial" theme of the band's name, Rozonda needed a name starting with C, and so became Chilli—a name chosen by Lopes.
Band mate Tionne Watkins became T-Boz which was derived from the first letter of her first name and "Boz," which is slang for "boss".
Lopes was renamed "Left Eye", after a compliment from a man who once told her he was very attracted to her because of her left eye. Lopes emphasized her nickname by wearing a pair of glasses with the left lens covered with a condom, in keeping with the group's promotion of safe sex, wearing a black stripe under her left eye and, eventually getting her left eyebrow pierced.
The group arrived on the music scene in 1992 with the album Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip.
With four singles, it sold six million copies worldwide; TLC became a household name. 1994 saw the release of CrazySexyCool, which sold over 23 million copies worldwide and cemented TLC as one of the biggest female groups of all time.
TLC's third album,FanMail, was released in 1999 and sold over 14 million copies worldwide.
Its title was a tribute to TLC's loyal fans and the sleeve contained the names of hundreds of them as a "thank you" to supporters.
During the recording of FanMail, a public conflict began amongst the members of the group.
In the May 1999 issue of Vibe magazine, Lopes said, "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me."
In response to Lopes' comments, Watkins and Thomas stated to Entertainment Weekly that Lopes "doesn't respect the whole group" and "Left Eye is only concerned with Left Eye". In turn, Lopes sent a reply through Entertainment Weekly issuing a "challenge" to Watkins and Thomas to release solo albums and let the public decide who was the "greatest" member of TLC:
“I challenge Tionne Watkins (T-Boz) andRozonda Thomas(Chilli) to an album entitled "The Challenge"... a 3-CD set that contains three solo albums. Each [album]... will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000...I also challenge Dallas 'The Manipulator' Austin to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure LaFace would not mind throwing in a $1.5 million dollar prize for the winner.”
T-Boz and Chilli declined to take up the "challenge," though Lopes always maintained it was a great idea.
Things were heated between the ladies for some time, with Thomas speaking out against Lopes, calling her antics "selfish", "evil", and "heartless."
TLC then addressed these fights by saying that they are very much like sisters that have their disagreements every now and then as Lisa stated, "It's deeper than a working relationship. We have feelings for each other, which is why we get so mad at each other. I usually say that you cannot hate someone unless you love them. So, we love each other. That's the problem."
Solo career
After the release of FanMail, Lopes began to expand her solo career. She became a featured rapper on several singles, including Spice Girl Melanie C's "Never Be the Same Again", which topped the charts in thirty five countries, including the United Kingdom.
She was also featured on "U Know What's Up", the first single from Donell Jones' second album,Where I Wanna Be, and she rapped a verse in "Space Cowboy" with 'N Sync on their 2000 album,No Strings Attached.
On October 4, 2000, Lopes co-hosted the MOBO Awards alongside Trevor Nelson, where she also performed "U Know What's Up" with Jones.
She also collaborated on "Gimme Some" by Toni Braxton from her 2000 album The Heat.
In 2001, she appeared in a commercial for Gap Inc. Three years earlier in 1998, Lopes hosted the short-lived MTV series, The Cut. A handful of which would be pop stars, rappers, and rock bands who would compete against each other and were judged. The show's winner, which ended up being a male-female rap duo named Silky, was promised a record deal and funding to produce a music video, which would then enter MTV's heavy rotation.
A then-unknown Anastacia finished in third place, but ended up securing a record deal after Lopes and the show's three judges were impressed by her performance.
In July 2001, Lopes appeared on the singers' edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire along with Joey McIntyre, Tyrese, Nick Lachey, and Lee Ann Womack.
She dropped from a $125,000 question and won $32,000 for charity. She would later appear again in the audience alongside Tyrese.
A year later, in 2002, the episode of her drop was shown and was dedicated to her.
Lopes created "Left Eye Productions" to discover new talent. She mentored the R&B trio Blaque, and helped them secure a record deal with Columbia Records.
Their self-titled debut album was executive-produced by Lopes, who also made a cameo appearance in their music video "808" and also rapped in their second music video "I Do". Lopes was also developing and promoting another new band called Egypt.
They worked with Lopes on her second album under her new nickname, N.I.N.A., meaning New Identity Not Applicable.
Supernova
Lopes spent much of her free time after the conclusion of TLC's first headlining tour supporting Fanmail recording her debut solo album,Supernova.
It includes a song titled "A New Star is Born", which is dedicated to her late father. She told MTV News:
“That track is dedicated to all those that have loved ones that have passed away. It's saying that there is no such thing as death. We can call it transforming for a lack of better words, but as scientists would say, 'Every atom that was once a star is now in you.' It's in your body. So, in the song I pretty much go along with that idea. ... I don't care what happens or what people think about death, it doesn't matter. We all share the same space.”
Other tracks covered personal issues, including her relationship with NFL football player Andre Rison. In 1994, Lopes infamously burned down Rison's Atlanta mansion, resulting in the loss of all his possessions.
Among the album's thirteen tracks was also a posthumous duet with Tupac Shakur that was assembled from the large cache of unreleased recordings done prior to his murder in 1996.
Initially scheduled for release on a date to coincide with the eleventh anniversary of her grandfather's death, Arista Records decided to delay, then cancel the American release.[
The album was eventually released in August 2001 in various foreign countries. The Japan import includes a bonus track called "Friends", which would later be sampled for "Give It to Me While It's Hot" on TLC's fourth album 3D.
N.I.N.A.
After numerous talks with Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, Lopes severed her solo deal with Arista (despite remaining signed to the label as a member of TLC) and signed with Knight's Tha Row Records in January 2002, intending to record a second solo album under the pseudonym "N.I.N.A." (New Identity Not Applicable).
She was recording with David Bowie for the project, who she was also trying to get involved with the fourth TLC album. The project was also to include several songs recorded with Ray J along with close friend Missy Elliott.
After Lopes' death in April 2002, Death Row Records still had plans to release the album in October 2002, but after legal issues with Arista Records, the album was cancelled. In 2011, all the tracks from the album were uploaded onto YouTube featuring artists from Tha Row Records. Lopes's unreleased songs were also sampled by TLC for their fourth album 3D after she died. Another track, "Too Street 4 T.V", was released on the soundtrack to the film Dysfunktional Family.
Eye Legacy, Forever... The EP and "Fantasies"
In 2008, Lopes' family decided to work with producers at Surefire Music Group to create aposthumous album in her honor,Eye Legacy. Originally set to be released October 28, 2008, the release date was pushed back to November 11, then to January 27, 2009.
The song "Crank It", which features Lopes' sister Reigndrop, was released as a promotional single. The first official single from the album, "Let's Just Do It", was released on January 13, 2009 and features Missy Elliott and TLC. The second official single, "Block Party", features Lil Mama andClyde McKnight. The album largely consists of reworked versions of tracks from the Supernova album. In November 2009, Forever... The EP was released which contained international bonus tracks not used on the Eye Legacy album. The EP was only available to download. An unreleased track featuring Lopes was uploaded to SoundCloud on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of her death by block Starz Music.
A portion of the proceeds from the song "Fantasies", which features rapper Bootleg of The Dayton Family, will go to the Lisa Lopes Foundation.
Personal life
Lopes was often vocal about her personal life and difficult past. She readily admitted that she had come from an abusive, alcoholic background and struggled with alcohol problems herself. These problems became headline news in 1994, when she set fire to Andre Rison's tennis shoes in a bathtub, which ultimately spread to the mansion they shared, destroying it. Lopes claimed that Rison had beaten her after a night out, and she set fire to his shoes to get back at him. However, she said burning down the house was an accident. Lopes later revealed that she did not have a lot of freedom within the relationship and was abused mentally and physically, having released all her frustrations on the night of the fire.
Lopes, who was sentenced to five years probation and therapy at a halfway house, was never able to shake the incident from her reputation. Her relationship with Rison continued to make headlines, with rumors of an imminent wedding, later debunked by People magazine.
Lopes revealed on The Last Days of Left Eye documentary that her meeting with a struggling mother in rehab left a big impression on her. She subsequently adopted the woman's 8-year-old daughter. Ten years previously, she had adopted a 12-year-old boy.
Lopes had several large tattoos. Most prominent was a large eagle on her left arm, which she said represented freedom. Later, she added the number "80" around the eagle, which was Rison's NFL number while in Atlanta.
She also had a tattoo of a moon with a face on her foot in reference to Rison's nickname, Bad Moon. On her upper right arm was a large tattoo of the name Parron, for her late step brother who died in a boating accident, arching over a large tattoo of a pierced heart. Her smallest tattoo was on her left ear and consisted of an arrow pointing to her left over the symbol of an eye, a reference to her nickname.
Roughly two weeks before her own death, Lopes was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a ten-year-old Honduran boy.
As reported in Philadelphia Weekly, "It is commonplace for people to walk the roads that wind through Honduras, and it's often difficult to see pedestrians." The boy, Bayron Isaul Fuentes Lopez, was following behind his brothers and sisters when he stepped off the median strip and was struck by the van driven by Lopes' personal assistant. Lopes' party stopped and loaded the boy into the car, and the Philadelphia Weekly goes on to explain that "Lisa cradled the dying boy's bleeding head in her arms" while "Someone gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as they rushed him to a nearby hospital."
Lopez died the next day and Lopes paid approximately US$3,700 for his medical expenses and funeral, and later compensated the family around US$925 for their loss, although it was apparently agreed upon by the authorities and the boy's family that his death was an "unforeseeable tragedy", and no blame was placed on Lopes or the driver of the van.
In the documentary The Last Days of Left Eye, Lopes is shown in a local funeral home choosing a casket for the child. Earlier in the documentary, Lopes mentioned that she felt the presence of a "spirit" following her, and was struck by the fact that the child killed in the accident shared her last name, even thinking that the spirit may have made a mistake by taking his life instead of hers.
Charity
Shortly after the death of Lisa Lopes, her family started the Lisa Lopes Foundation, a charitable group dedicated to providing neglected and abandoned youth with the resources necessary to increase their quality of life. Her spiritual motto is the one that she used for her foundation: "Energy never dies...It just transforms." Her foundation went into various underdeveloped villages and gave away brand new clothes to needy children and their families.
In 2012, the Foundation began hosting an annual music festival, known as "Left Eye Music Fest", in Decatur, Georgia.
On April 25, 2002, in La Ceiba, Honduras, while driving a rented Mitsubishi Pajero around a bend in the road, Lopes swerved to the right slightly then again to the left as she tried to avoid a collision with another vehicle that was in her lane ahead of her (it is not clear as to the direction of travel of the other vehicle at the time of the accident). The vehicle rolled several times after hitting two trees, throwing Lopes and three others out of the windows.
She died of neck injuries and severe head trauma, and was the only person fatally injured in the accident. Raina Lopes, in the front passenger seat, was videotaping at the time, so the last seconds leading up to the swerve that resulted in the fatal accident were recorded on video. In the video, Lisa appears to not be wearing a seat belt.
Her funeral was held at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia on May 2, 2002.
Thousands of people attended her funeral. Engraved upon her casket were the lyrics to her portion of "Waterfalls":
"Dreams are hopeless aspirations, in hopes of coming true, believe in yourself, the rest is up to me and you."
Lopes was buried at Hillandale Memorial Gardens, in Lithonia, Georgia.
In a statement to MTV, producerJermaine Dupri remembered Lopes:
"She was determined to be something in life. She was a true Hip-Hop star. She cared about some press. She was the star out of the group. She was the one who would curse on TV. She had the tattoos. You could not expect the expected. When you see Lisa, you could expect something from her. That is the gift she carried."
Controversy over leaked autopsy photos led to a protest by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
In response, Earnhardt, Jr. and his DEI teammates Michael Waltrip and Steve Park painted a single black stripe next to the left headlight decals of their Chevrolet Monte Carlos for the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway to protest about the display of her autopsy photos.
A similar controversy had befallen Earnhardt, Jr. himself after his father's death in the Daytona 500 a year earlier.
A documentary showing the final 27 days of Lopes' life, titled The Last Days of Left Eye, premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in April 2007, for an audience that included many of Lopes' contemporaries, including Monica,Ronnie DeVoe, 112, Big Boi,India.Arie, and CeeLo Green.
VH1 and VH1 Soul broadcast the documentary on May 19, 2007. Much of the footage was shot with a hand-held camera, often in the form of diary entries filmed by Lopes while on a 30-day spiritual retreat in Honduras with family and members of the R&B group Egypt.
In these entries, she reflected on her personal life and career. A calmer side of her personality was on display, showing interests in numerology and yoga.
She was in the process of setting up an educational center for Honduran children on 80 acres (32 ha) of land she owned called CAMP YAC as well as another center, CREATIVE CASTLE
#13 TOP FEMALERAPPER
ACTIVE: 1990-2002
Lisa Nicole Lopes (May 27, 1971 – April 25, 2002), better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, dancer, musician, and songwriter.
She achieved fame as a member of the R&B girl group TLC. Lopes contributed her self-written raps to many of TLC's hit singles, including "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "What About Your Friends", "Hat 2 da Back", "No Scrubs", "Waterfalls", "Girl Talk".
She won four Grammy Awards for her work with TLC.
On April 25, 2002, Lopes was killed in an automobile accident in La Ceiba, Honduras when she swerved off the road to avoid hitting another vehicle. She was thrown from her own vehicle and later died from her injuries. The last days of her life were documented from March 30, 2002 until her death on April 25, 2002. The footage included the accident that took her life and was made into a documentary called The Last Days of Left Eye.
It aired on VH1's rock docs on May 19, 2007, eight days prior to what would have been Lopes' 36th birthday.
Lisa Lopes was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Wanda, a seamstress, and Ronald Lopes, an Army staff sergeant.
She had two younger siblings, Ronald and Raina. Her father has been described by music journalist and academic Jacqueline Springer, as an "oppressively" strict and demanding disciplinarian
Lopes' parents separated when she was still at school and for the later years of her childhood, she was raised by her paternal grandmother. She attended Girls' High School.
She was of Afro-Cape Verdean and African American descent.
TLC
TLC (band)
At the age of 17, having heard of an open casting call for a new girl group through her boyfriend at the time, Lopes moved to Atlanta to audition.
TLC started off as a female trio called 2nd Nature. The group was renamed TLC – derived from the first initials of its then three members – Tionne, Lisa and Crystal.
Things did not work out with Crystal Jones, and TLC's manager Perri "Pebbles" Reid brought in Damian Dame backup dancer Rozonda Thomas as a third member of the group. To keep the "initial" theme of the band's name, Rozonda needed a name starting with C, and so became Chilli—a name chosen by Lopes.
Band mate Tionne Watkins became T-Boz which was derived from the first letter of her first name and "Boz," which is slang for "boss".
Lopes was renamed "Left Eye", after a compliment from a man who once told her he was very attracted to her because of her left eye. Lopes emphasized her nickname by wearing a pair of glasses with the left lens covered with a condom, in keeping with the group's promotion of safe sex, wearing a black stripe under her left eye and, eventually getting her left eyebrow pierced.
The group arrived on the music scene in 1992 with the album Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip.
With four singles, it sold six million copies worldwide; TLC became a household name. 1994 saw the release of CrazySexyCool, which sold over 23 million copies worldwide and cemented TLC as one of the biggest female groups of all time.
TLC's third album,FanMail, was released in 1999 and sold over 14 million copies worldwide.
Its title was a tribute to TLC's loyal fans and the sleeve contained the names of hundreds of them as a "thank you" to supporters.
During the recording of FanMail, a public conflict began amongst the members of the group.
In the May 1999 issue of Vibe magazine, Lopes said, "I've graduated from this era. I cannot stand 100 percent behind this TLC project and the music that is supposed to represent me."
In response to Lopes' comments, Watkins and Thomas stated to Entertainment Weekly that Lopes "doesn't respect the whole group" and "Left Eye is only concerned with Left Eye". In turn, Lopes sent a reply through Entertainment Weekly issuing a "challenge" to Watkins and Thomas to release solo albums and let the public decide who was the "greatest" member of TLC:
“I challenge Tionne Watkins (T-Boz) andRozonda Thomas(Chilli) to an album entitled "The Challenge"... a 3-CD set that contains three solo albums. Each [album]... will be due to the record label by October 1, 2000...I also challenge Dallas 'The Manipulator' Austin to produce all of the material and do it at a fraction of his normal rate. As I think about it, I'm sure LaFace would not mind throwing in a $1.5 million dollar prize for the winner.”
T-Boz and Chilli declined to take up the "challenge," though Lopes always maintained it was a great idea.
Things were heated between the ladies for some time, with Thomas speaking out against Lopes, calling her antics "selfish", "evil", and "heartless."
TLC then addressed these fights by saying that they are very much like sisters that have their disagreements every now and then as Lisa stated, "It's deeper than a working relationship. We have feelings for each other, which is why we get so mad at each other. I usually say that you cannot hate someone unless you love them. So, we love each other. That's the problem."
Solo career
After the release of FanMail, Lopes began to expand her solo career. She became a featured rapper on several singles, including Spice Girl Melanie C's "Never Be the Same Again", which topped the charts in thirty five countries, including the United Kingdom.
She was also featured on "U Know What's Up", the first single from Donell Jones' second album,Where I Wanna Be, and she rapped a verse in "Space Cowboy" with 'N Sync on their 2000 album,No Strings Attached.
On October 4, 2000, Lopes co-hosted the MOBO Awards alongside Trevor Nelson, where she also performed "U Know What's Up" with Jones.
She also collaborated on "Gimme Some" by Toni Braxton from her 2000 album The Heat.
In 2001, she appeared in a commercial for Gap Inc. Three years earlier in 1998, Lopes hosted the short-lived MTV series, The Cut. A handful of which would be pop stars, rappers, and rock bands who would compete against each other and were judged. The show's winner, which ended up being a male-female rap duo named Silky, was promised a record deal and funding to produce a music video, which would then enter MTV's heavy rotation.
A then-unknown Anastacia finished in third place, but ended up securing a record deal after Lopes and the show's three judges were impressed by her performance.
In July 2001, Lopes appeared on the singers' edition of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire along with Joey McIntyre, Tyrese, Nick Lachey, and Lee Ann Womack.
She dropped from a $125,000 question and won $32,000 for charity. She would later appear again in the audience alongside Tyrese.
A year later, in 2002, the episode of her drop was shown and was dedicated to her.
Lopes created "Left Eye Productions" to discover new talent. She mentored the R&B trio Blaque, and helped them secure a record deal with Columbia Records.
Their self-titled debut album was executive-produced by Lopes, who also made a cameo appearance in their music video "808" and also rapped in their second music video "I Do". Lopes was also developing and promoting another new band called Egypt.
They worked with Lopes on her second album under her new nickname, N.I.N.A., meaning New Identity Not Applicable.
Supernova
Lopes spent much of her free time after the conclusion of TLC's first headlining tour supporting Fanmail recording her debut solo album,Supernova.
It includes a song titled "A New Star is Born", which is dedicated to her late father. She told MTV News:
“That track is dedicated to all those that have loved ones that have passed away. It's saying that there is no such thing as death. We can call it transforming for a lack of better words, but as scientists would say, 'Every atom that was once a star is now in you.' It's in your body. So, in the song I pretty much go along with that idea. ... I don't care what happens or what people think about death, it doesn't matter. We all share the same space.”
Other tracks covered personal issues, including her relationship with NFL football player Andre Rison. In 1994, Lopes infamously burned down Rison's Atlanta mansion, resulting in the loss of all his possessions.
Among the album's thirteen tracks was also a posthumous duet with Tupac Shakur that was assembled from the large cache of unreleased recordings done prior to his murder in 1996.
Initially scheduled for release on a date to coincide with the eleventh anniversary of her grandfather's death, Arista Records decided to delay, then cancel the American release.[
The album was eventually released in August 2001 in various foreign countries. The Japan import includes a bonus track called "Friends", which would later be sampled for "Give It to Me While It's Hot" on TLC's fourth album 3D.
N.I.N.A.
After numerous talks with Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, Lopes severed her solo deal with Arista (despite remaining signed to the label as a member of TLC) and signed with Knight's Tha Row Records in January 2002, intending to record a second solo album under the pseudonym "N.I.N.A." (New Identity Not Applicable).
She was recording with David Bowie for the project, who she was also trying to get involved with the fourth TLC album. The project was also to include several songs recorded with Ray J along with close friend Missy Elliott.
After Lopes' death in April 2002, Death Row Records still had plans to release the album in October 2002, but after legal issues with Arista Records, the album was cancelled. In 2011, all the tracks from the album were uploaded onto YouTube featuring artists from Tha Row Records. Lopes's unreleased songs were also sampled by TLC for their fourth album 3D after she died. Another track, "Too Street 4 T.V", was released on the soundtrack to the film Dysfunktional Family.
Eye Legacy, Forever... The EP and "Fantasies"
In 2008, Lopes' family decided to work with producers at Surefire Music Group to create aposthumous album in her honor,Eye Legacy. Originally set to be released October 28, 2008, the release date was pushed back to November 11, then to January 27, 2009.
The song "Crank It", which features Lopes' sister Reigndrop, was released as a promotional single. The first official single from the album, "Let's Just Do It", was released on January 13, 2009 and features Missy Elliott and TLC. The second official single, "Block Party", features Lil Mama andClyde McKnight. The album largely consists of reworked versions of tracks from the Supernova album. In November 2009, Forever... The EP was released which contained international bonus tracks not used on the Eye Legacy album. The EP was only available to download. An unreleased track featuring Lopes was uploaded to SoundCloud on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of her death by block Starz Music.
A portion of the proceeds from the song "Fantasies", which features rapper Bootleg of The Dayton Family, will go to the Lisa Lopes Foundation.
Personal life
Lopes was often vocal about her personal life and difficult past. She readily admitted that she had come from an abusive, alcoholic background and struggled with alcohol problems herself. These problems became headline news in 1994, when she set fire to Andre Rison's tennis shoes in a bathtub, which ultimately spread to the mansion they shared, destroying it. Lopes claimed that Rison had beaten her after a night out, and she set fire to his shoes to get back at him. However, she said burning down the house was an accident. Lopes later revealed that she did not have a lot of freedom within the relationship and was abused mentally and physically, having released all her frustrations on the night of the fire.
Lopes, who was sentenced to five years probation and therapy at a halfway house, was never able to shake the incident from her reputation. Her relationship with Rison continued to make headlines, with rumors of an imminent wedding, later debunked by People magazine.
Lopes revealed on The Last Days of Left Eye documentary that her meeting with a struggling mother in rehab left a big impression on her. She subsequently adopted the woman's 8-year-old daughter. Ten years previously, she had adopted a 12-year-old boy.
Lopes had several large tattoos. Most prominent was a large eagle on her left arm, which she said represented freedom. Later, she added the number "80" around the eagle, which was Rison's NFL number while in Atlanta.
She also had a tattoo of a moon with a face on her foot in reference to Rison's nickname, Bad Moon. On her upper right arm was a large tattoo of the name Parron, for her late step brother who died in a boating accident, arching over a large tattoo of a pierced heart. Her smallest tattoo was on her left ear and consisted of an arrow pointing to her left over the symbol of an eye, a reference to her nickname.
Roughly two weeks before her own death, Lopes was involved in a traffic accident that resulted in the death of a ten-year-old Honduran boy.
As reported in Philadelphia Weekly, "It is commonplace for people to walk the roads that wind through Honduras, and it's often difficult to see pedestrians." The boy, Bayron Isaul Fuentes Lopez, was following behind his brothers and sisters when he stepped off the median strip and was struck by the van driven by Lopes' personal assistant. Lopes' party stopped and loaded the boy into the car, and the Philadelphia Weekly goes on to explain that "Lisa cradled the dying boy's bleeding head in her arms" while "Someone gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation as they rushed him to a nearby hospital."
Lopez died the next day and Lopes paid approximately US$3,700 for his medical expenses and funeral, and later compensated the family around US$925 for their loss, although it was apparently agreed upon by the authorities and the boy's family that his death was an "unforeseeable tragedy", and no blame was placed on Lopes or the driver of the van.
In the documentary The Last Days of Left Eye, Lopes is shown in a local funeral home choosing a casket for the child. Earlier in the documentary, Lopes mentioned that she felt the presence of a "spirit" following her, and was struck by the fact that the child killed in the accident shared her last name, even thinking that the spirit may have made a mistake by taking his life instead of hers.
Charity
Shortly after the death of Lisa Lopes, her family started the Lisa Lopes Foundation, a charitable group dedicated to providing neglected and abandoned youth with the resources necessary to increase their quality of life. Her spiritual motto is the one that she used for her foundation: "Energy never dies...It just transforms." Her foundation went into various underdeveloped villages and gave away brand new clothes to needy children and their families.
In 2012, the Foundation began hosting an annual music festival, known as "Left Eye Music Fest", in Decatur, Georgia.
On April 25, 2002, in La Ceiba, Honduras, while driving a rented Mitsubishi Pajero around a bend in the road, Lopes swerved to the right slightly then again to the left as she tried to avoid a collision with another vehicle that was in her lane ahead of her (it is not clear as to the direction of travel of the other vehicle at the time of the accident). The vehicle rolled several times after hitting two trees, throwing Lopes and three others out of the windows.
She died of neck injuries and severe head trauma, and was the only person fatally injured in the accident. Raina Lopes, in the front passenger seat, was videotaping at the time, so the last seconds leading up to the swerve that resulted in the fatal accident were recorded on video. In the video, Lisa appears to not be wearing a seat belt.
Her funeral was held at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Lithonia, Georgia on May 2, 2002.
Thousands of people attended her funeral. Engraved upon her casket were the lyrics to her portion of "Waterfalls":
"Dreams are hopeless aspirations, in hopes of coming true, believe in yourself, the rest is up to me and you."
Lopes was buried at Hillandale Memorial Gardens, in Lithonia, Georgia.
In a statement to MTV, producerJermaine Dupri remembered Lopes:
"She was determined to be something in life. She was a true Hip-Hop star. She cared about some press. She was the star out of the group. She was the one who would curse on TV. She had the tattoos. You could not expect the expected. When you see Lisa, you could expect something from her. That is the gift she carried."
Controversy over leaked autopsy photos led to a protest by NASCAR Sprint Cup Series star Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
In response, Earnhardt, Jr. and his DEI teammates Michael Waltrip and Steve Park painted a single black stripe next to the left headlight decals of their Chevrolet Monte Carlos for the Pontiac Excitement 400 at Richmond International Raceway to protest about the display of her autopsy photos.
A similar controversy had befallen Earnhardt, Jr. himself after his father's death in the Daytona 500 a year earlier.
A documentary showing the final 27 days of Lopes' life, titled The Last Days of Left Eye, premiered at the Atlanta Film Festival in April 2007, for an audience that included many of Lopes' contemporaries, including Monica,Ronnie DeVoe, 112, Big Boi,India.Arie, and CeeLo Green.
VH1 and VH1 Soul broadcast the documentary on May 19, 2007. Much of the footage was shot with a hand-held camera, often in the form of diary entries filmed by Lopes while on a 30-day spiritual retreat in Honduras with family and members of the R&B group Egypt.
In these entries, she reflected on her personal life and career. A calmer side of her personality was on display, showing interests in numerology and yoga.
She was in the process of setting up an educational center for Honduran children on 80 acres (32 ha) of land she owned called CAMP YAC as well as another center, CREATIVE CASTLE
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
RAPSODY FACTS
#RAPSODYFACTS
#12 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Active: 2007 to Present
Rapsody (born Marlanna Evans on January 21, 1988 in Wilson, North Carolina), is an American rapper from Snow Hill, North Carolina.
She is signed to producer 9th Wonder's Jamla Records imprint under his It's A Wonderful World Music Group (IWWMG).
She has worked with Erykah Badu, Mac Miller, Estelle, Raheem DeVaughn,Jean Grae, Phonte, Marsha Ambrosius, Raekwon, Donald Glover, Ab-Soul, Murs, Geechi Suede of Camp Lo, Big Daddy Kane, Rah Digga, Buckshot, Big K.R.I.T., Kendrick Lamar, Freeway,Statik Selektah, DJ Premier, and producer Nottz.
Rapsody began her career as a member of the North Carolina based hip-hop group, Kooley High.
She launched her solo career in 2008 after signing with 9th Wonder's It's A Wonderful World Music Group.
Her first significant career breakthrough came with the release of her mixtape Return of the B-Girl on December 7, 2010.
Return of the B-Girl marked her first work with legendary hip-hop producer, DJ Premier, and featured guests such as Mac Miller and Big Daddy Kane.
She continued to build acclaim with the release of her next mixtape, Thank H.E.R. Now., on June 21, 2011.
Thank H.E.R. Now. showcased her storytelling abilities as she drew from personal life experiences and featured her work with a variety of critically acclaimed acts such as Marsha Ambrosius, Estelle, Raekwon, Jean Grae, Murs, and Big Krit.
Her next project, For Everything was released on November 15, 2011 as a free download with an option to donate on DJBooth.net.
For Everything showcased her work with both newly acclaimed and established acts such as Kendrick Lamar and Freeway and a number of the tracks were featured in XXL magazine's "Bangers" section.
In May 2011, Rapsody joined Mac Miller on his Incredibly Dope Tour for 15 dates.
In late 2011, she toured with Phonte and 9th Wonder as a part of the Phonte & 9th Wonder Tour.
Style and philosophy
Rapsody is known for her intricate rhyme patterns, metaphors, and wordplay.
She cites Jay-Z, 9th Wonder, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, and MC Lyte as the biggest influences on her music.
Her production is primarily handled by The Soul Council, which is the team of in-house producers on It's A Wonderful World Music Group.
The producers that comprise The Soul Council are Khrysis, E. Jones, Fatin "10" Horton, Ka$h Don't Make Beats, AMP, Eric G., and 9th Wonder.
Rapsody's philosophy is "Culture Over Everything," referring to the culture of hip-hop music.
She describes this phrase in an interview with Vibe Magazine where she says, "To me, it’s about culture more so then money or anything. I make music for the people of the culture we’re in; that comes first. If you touch the people first, the rest just falls into place. That’s what it means to me, just preserving and respecting the culture."
#12 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Active: 2007 to Present
Rapsody (born Marlanna Evans on January 21, 1988 in Wilson, North Carolina), is an American rapper from Snow Hill, North Carolina.
She is signed to producer 9th Wonder's Jamla Records imprint under his It's A Wonderful World Music Group (IWWMG).
She has worked with Erykah Badu, Mac Miller, Estelle, Raheem DeVaughn,Jean Grae, Phonte, Marsha Ambrosius, Raekwon, Donald Glover, Ab-Soul, Murs, Geechi Suede of Camp Lo, Big Daddy Kane, Rah Digga, Buckshot, Big K.R.I.T., Kendrick Lamar, Freeway,Statik Selektah, DJ Premier, and producer Nottz.
Rapsody began her career as a member of the North Carolina based hip-hop group, Kooley High.
She launched her solo career in 2008 after signing with 9th Wonder's It's A Wonderful World Music Group.
Her first significant career breakthrough came with the release of her mixtape Return of the B-Girl on December 7, 2010.
Return of the B-Girl marked her first work with legendary hip-hop producer, DJ Premier, and featured guests such as Mac Miller and Big Daddy Kane.
She continued to build acclaim with the release of her next mixtape, Thank H.E.R. Now., on June 21, 2011.
Thank H.E.R. Now. showcased her storytelling abilities as she drew from personal life experiences and featured her work with a variety of critically acclaimed acts such as Marsha Ambrosius, Estelle, Raekwon, Jean Grae, Murs, and Big Krit.
Her next project, For Everything was released on November 15, 2011 as a free download with an option to donate on DJBooth.net.
For Everything showcased her work with both newly acclaimed and established acts such as Kendrick Lamar and Freeway and a number of the tracks were featured in XXL magazine's "Bangers" section.
In May 2011, Rapsody joined Mac Miller on his Incredibly Dope Tour for 15 dates.
In late 2011, she toured with Phonte and 9th Wonder as a part of the Phonte & 9th Wonder Tour.
Style and philosophy
Rapsody is known for her intricate rhyme patterns, metaphors, and wordplay.
She cites Jay-Z, 9th Wonder, Mos Def, Lauryn Hill, and MC Lyte as the biggest influences on her music.
Her production is primarily handled by The Soul Council, which is the team of in-house producers on It's A Wonderful World Music Group.
The producers that comprise The Soul Council are Khrysis, E. Jones, Fatin "10" Horton, Ka$h Don't Make Beats, AMP, Eric G., and 9th Wonder.
Rapsody's philosophy is "Culture Over Everything," referring to the culture of hip-hop music.
She describes this phrase in an interview with Vibe Magazine where she says, "To me, it’s about culture more so then money or anything. I make music for the people of the culture we’re in; that comes first. If you touch the people first, the rest just falls into place. That’s what it means to me, just preserving and respecting the culture."
Friday, May 22, 2015
Remy Ma Facts
#REMYMAFACTS
#11 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Active: 1999 to Present
Reminisce Smith (born May 30, 1980), better known by her stage name Remy Ma, formerly Rémy Martin, is a Grammy-nominated American rapper and former member of Big Pun's rap crew,Terror Squad.
Ma was featured on the group's hit song "Lean Back" from their second album True Story and M.O.P.'s "Ante Up (Remix)."
Her debut solo album, There's Something about Remy: Based on a True Story, was released on February 7, 2006.
She is one of only four female rappers to ever have a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100chart, with Terror Squad's number one single "Lean Back."
She has also won two Vibe awards, two source awards, an ASCAP pop award and a BET award for "Best Female Hip Hop", as well as two other nominations.
Remy cites Big Punisher and Roxanne Shante as her biggest influences.
Smith served a six year jail term of her eight year sentence in the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women for shooting Makeeda Barnes-Joseph in the abdomen over a missing sum of $2,000.
She was released on August 1, 2014 and began recording new music with DJ/Producer DJ Khalid immediately after her release.
In 2011, Remy Ma's music was featured and discussed in a documentary, Black Lifestyle in Japan, where she was praised for looking "stylish" and "beautiful" and outlined as one of the most frequently listened to hip-hop musicians in Japan, amongst younger female generations.
Remy Ma and sister Kristin Devereaux grew up in Castle Hill Projects in the Bronx, New York and often saw the consequences and terrors of her family's drug abuse with her own eyes.
She was forced to take care of her little brothers and sisters at a young age and retreated from her home issues by writing poetry.
She learned about how hard society was on women and minorities. She then took out her anger by framing her poetry into raps that she would use against her schoolmates during lunch.
Her reputation quickly grew around the Bronx and word eventually got to the late MC,Big Pun of her and her work.
After one meeting and a freestyle session, Pun immediately became her mentor.
Remy made her first appearances in the music industry on Big Pun's album "Yeeeah Baby" (under the name Remi Martin) on the tracks "Ms. Martin" and "You Was Wrong".
After the death of big Pun, rapper Fat Joe signed Smith to his imprint label under SRC and Universal and made her a member of Terror Squad.
Following the success of Lean Back, which garnered Remy a Grammy nomination, Remy Ma released two singles from her debut album There's Something About Remy, the club-anthems "Whuteva" and "Conceited".
The album moved 37,000 units in its opening week and 158,000 units within the first year, low due to universal Records' poor promotion.
On the other hand, the album received outstanding reviews from XXL Magazine with XL to Rolling Stone and vibe magazine.
Remy was frustrated at the way the album was being promoted by universal and how the label wasn't releasing the right singles. With the solo albums lackluster debut, Smith decided to end her relationship with Fat Joe and the Terror Squad, breaking her deal with SRC/Universal in the process.
Remy currently writes updates and posts it via her official Twitter and MySpace pages.
*Reality show, second album and supergroup
After her departure from Terror Squad, which was confirmed on April 10, 2007, Smith had a slew of new deals and offers coming from both record companies and television alike. She was in talks to record her own VH1 reality TV show in which cameras would follow her hectic life as a female rapper in the male-dominated rap scene.
She was also busy recording her sophomore album punisher named after her mentor big Pun. Also in the works was Remy Ma's debut album as part of the all-female rap supergroup 3Sum, alongside female rappers Shawnna and Jacki-O.
All of these plans were officially postponed and put on hold after taking part in a shooting incident that almost put her career to a complete halt.
*Shooting incident
On July 13, 2007, Smith turned herself in to New York City police in relation to a shooting early that morning outside a Manhattan nightclub.
Police say that while she was with a group of people outside the Pizza Bar, a Manhattan nightspot, a fight broke out at 4 a.m.
During the entire incident, a gunshot to the torso wounded Makeda Barnes-Joseph, who has been accused of stealing "three thousand" dollars from Remy.
Police sources indicate that Barnes-Joseph later identified Smith as the shooter. Security tapes from inside the club showed no evidence of any altercations or arguments. Smith pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, assault, and criminal weapon possession. Smith was later charged with witness tampering and assault after an August 2007 incident in which she was accused of causing several male friends to attack a witness's boyfriend.
Smith retained the services of the attorney Ivan Fisher. However, on March 27, 2008, Smith was convicted of assault, illegal weapon possession and attempted coercion in connection with these charges.
She was immediately taken into custody pending sentencing scheduled for May 13. She was acquitted of witness tampering and gang assault, charges which involved the purported intimidation of the boyfriend of a witness.
At her sentencing, the judge noted her disregard for the victim following the shooting—commenting that the rapper rifled through the victim's purse looking for the alleged stolen money, as Barnes-Joseph sat seriously wounded in the car. Smith then exited the vehicle, jumped into a waiting car and drove off, leaving Barnes-Joseph bleeding in the front seat. No money was found in Barnes-Joseph's purse.
Since the shooting, Barnes-Joseph has undergone several surgeries to repair damage done to her as a result of the shooting. Allegedly, she still experiences numbness in both legs and digestive problems as a result of the damage the bullet did to her intestines.
In 2007, Barnes-Joseph filed an $80 million civil lawsuit against Smith for damages, along with pain and suffering. According to her lawyers, Smith was serving an eight-year term at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women inBedford Hills, New York located in Westchester County and was expected to be released in 2015.
Remy married her fiancee, rapper papoose, while incarcerated in May 2008.
Smith wrote a letter to her fans via Global Grind in Late 2009 stating "I really miss everything but I especially can't wait to get back in the studio and touring again, I've been writing like crazy," she wrote in a blog entry. "First off I'd like to send love to C-Murder, his family and children...Some people are aware, but I realize that a lot of people don't know that I have a son. He just turned 9 years old and I was able to celebrate his birthday with him and Pap, they stayed with me for 5 days and 4 nights. We had so much fun. I cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I baked cookies, cakes, and banana pudding. We watched movies, played board games and took a lot of pictures...I just want to say that I so love the 'Wendy Williams Show.' I try to watch it. I love watching the videos that are sent in of little kids saying 'How You Doin?' I couldn't pay my son to do that! I have to go on her show though when I get home.", which, ultimately she did when she appeared on the 'Wendy Williams Show' on October 14,2014.
During an interview with Hot 97 host Funkmaster Flex in July 2012, Remy Ma announced that in 22 1/2 months she would be released.
In February 2014, her husband Papoose confirmed that Remy should be released during July 2014.
On August 1, 2014 Remy Ma was released from prison after serving six years.
*feuds
Foxy Brown
A beef between Remy Ma and foxy Brown originated in August 2004, when an interviewer noted to Remy: "Right now, it’s a lack of female rappers in the game. Foxy don't got anything going on," Remy Ma responded: "How do I feel about them? Stay wherever they at, don't drop a song, don't do nothing, let me be the only one. I'm having so much fun. I hope they never come out [...] Nah, I wish everyone the best of luck. Just don’t drop when I drop. That’s all I got to say. Matter of fact, just don’t drop at all. It’ll even be better."
In September 2004, Remy recalled that after a rap battle with Lady Luck at Fight Klub, her refusal to "show some type of seniority or respect" to Brown became one of the building blocks in the feud.
Remy also recalled that during the incident the two were arguing over a future rap battle, where Brown declined and allegedly stated, "What? A battle? That's for beginners. We sell records in Brooklyn!" Remy dissed the rapper, responding, "When the last time you sold a record? Get the fuck out of here [...] I'd rather be a beginner that's on fire than be a washed-up veteran. Are you fucking serious? Don't try to degrade what I do." Remy additionally revealed that a prize of over $200,000 was offered to whoever won the rap battle.
Another building block to the feud was Remy's recollection of her and Brown coincidentally being interviewed at the same events either "before or after" each other, where she would catch whim of Brown "subliminally" dissing her by making statements like: "I've been doing this for years. These new chicks, they['re] not on [my level]."
In another event, specifically a Baby Phat after-party, Foxy Brown intentionally tried to bump into Remy. The occurrence resulted in strands of Brown's weave getting caught in Remy's bracelet, causing Remy to snatch her wrist back and yank out the strands. Remy recalled that Brown in response "kept it moving [despite a scuffle] she had with 'regular' girls in a bathroom [over cutting in line]."
In late January 2005, Remy Ma reportedly punched Foxy Brown inside Island Def Jam/Universal offices, roughly a few days after Brown "subliminally" dissed Remy during a venue at Jay-Z's Best of Both Worlds Tour and allegedly dissed her during a Hot 97interview segment with DJ Clue, where Brown dissed Remy on a mixtape track ("We Hustlaz") and allegedly ranted: "Who drives 645's? That's wack [...] We sell records [in New York]. We don't just get on the radio station and pop shit."
In February 2006, Remy Ma released a freestyle record ("Most Anticipated") that contained "slick comments" about Brown's hearing problem, and stated that she didn't care if it was offensive because "it was just good punchlines".
In September 2006, Remy again joked about Brown's hearing, addressing to a radio show: "...now Foxy suddenly got her hearing back, [I] wanted to be the first to inform her that she's wack and old."
In July 2007, during her interview with Sub 0 Magazine, Foxy Brown dissed Remy Ma, stating: "When you lookin' at Fox[y] and Kim and sayin', 'Damn y'all make me wanna rap.' Well shit you disappointing me 'cause you sound horrible. You look horrible, ya sound horrible. If it walk like somethin', talk like somethin', act like somethin', then it is somethin'."Brown also dissed Remy's recollection of their disagreement over the rap battle, addressing: "Some of these female rappers have the wrong approach, they wanna be my friend. And instead of approaching me like, 'Hey, how you doing', another chick [Remy], 'Yo, what up with that battle?' And I'm lookin' at her like, 'You bum ass. Naw, I don't do that, I'm a business woman baby.'"
In December 2007, Remy spoke more candidly on her dispute with Brown. She confirmed that although she disliked Brown as a person, she admitted she liked Brown's music and added that she was influenced by her and Lil' Kim.
Remy later concluded her take on the feud by giving a shout-out to Brown's rival Jacki-O and stating, "If you look at every female that came out after [Foxy Brown] or when she came out with [Lil'] Kim, to Eve, me, Jacki-O, it even got to Latifah, like how do you [get in a fight] with Queen Latifah? Like, are you serious? This chick is a problem."
Nicki Minaj
Disagreements between Remy Ma and Nicki Minaj originated in 2007, when Remy took note of Minaj's freestyle record, nicknamed "Dirty Money", from her mixtape Playtime Is Over (2007).
In the record, Minaj recites: "Tell that bitch with the crown to run it like Chris Brown/she won three rounds, I'ma need a hundred thou/like 'Chinatown' — bitches better bow down/oh you ain’t know, betcha bitches know now/fuck I got a gun — let her know that I’m the one".
When the two encountered each other at an industry party, Remy asked Minaj who she was dissing in the song. Nicki Minaj reportedly never confirmed or denied that the song was about Remy, however Remy Ma remarked in a 2010 interview, "To this day I still feel like [the song] is a stab at me; I'm gonna [diss Minaj] back for that one".
On December 18, 2007, a viral video surfaced via the internet featuring an alleged Nicki Minaj dressed in male attire dissing Remy Ma and admitting to having a previous sexual relationship with the rapper by remarking: "I used to [date] her, straight off. This is not a stunt [...] I just told you, [Remy Ma] ate the box." Roughly three years following the video's release, Remy Ma confirmed in an interview that she had "doubts" that the woman in the video was actually Nicki Minaj and explained that she was not gay and never dated Minaj.
Since 2011, Remy Ma has stated that she supports Nicki Minaj and her success, but has added that she is going to be "a problem" to Minaj once she would be released from prison.
#11 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Active: 1999 to Present
Reminisce Smith (born May 30, 1980), better known by her stage name Remy Ma, formerly Rémy Martin, is a Grammy-nominated American rapper and former member of Big Pun's rap crew,Terror Squad.
Ma was featured on the group's hit song "Lean Back" from their second album True Story and M.O.P.'s "Ante Up (Remix)."
Her debut solo album, There's Something about Remy: Based on a True Story, was released on February 7, 2006.
She is one of only four female rappers to ever have a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100chart, with Terror Squad's number one single "Lean Back."
She has also won two Vibe awards, two source awards, an ASCAP pop award and a BET award for "Best Female Hip Hop", as well as two other nominations.
Remy cites Big Punisher and Roxanne Shante as her biggest influences.
Smith served a six year jail term of her eight year sentence in the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women for shooting Makeeda Barnes-Joseph in the abdomen over a missing sum of $2,000.
She was released on August 1, 2014 and began recording new music with DJ/Producer DJ Khalid immediately after her release.
In 2011, Remy Ma's music was featured and discussed in a documentary, Black Lifestyle in Japan, where she was praised for looking "stylish" and "beautiful" and outlined as one of the most frequently listened to hip-hop musicians in Japan, amongst younger female generations.
Remy Ma and sister Kristin Devereaux grew up in Castle Hill Projects in the Bronx, New York and often saw the consequences and terrors of her family's drug abuse with her own eyes.
She was forced to take care of her little brothers and sisters at a young age and retreated from her home issues by writing poetry.
She learned about how hard society was on women and minorities. She then took out her anger by framing her poetry into raps that she would use against her schoolmates during lunch.
Her reputation quickly grew around the Bronx and word eventually got to the late MC,Big Pun of her and her work.
After one meeting and a freestyle session, Pun immediately became her mentor.
Remy made her first appearances in the music industry on Big Pun's album "Yeeeah Baby" (under the name Remi Martin) on the tracks "Ms. Martin" and "You Was Wrong".
After the death of big Pun, rapper Fat Joe signed Smith to his imprint label under SRC and Universal and made her a member of Terror Squad.
Following the success of Lean Back, which garnered Remy a Grammy nomination, Remy Ma released two singles from her debut album There's Something About Remy, the club-anthems "Whuteva" and "Conceited".
The album moved 37,000 units in its opening week and 158,000 units within the first year, low due to universal Records' poor promotion.
On the other hand, the album received outstanding reviews from XXL Magazine with XL to Rolling Stone and vibe magazine.
Remy was frustrated at the way the album was being promoted by universal and how the label wasn't releasing the right singles. With the solo albums lackluster debut, Smith decided to end her relationship with Fat Joe and the Terror Squad, breaking her deal with SRC/Universal in the process.
Remy currently writes updates and posts it via her official Twitter and MySpace pages.
*Reality show, second album and supergroup
After her departure from Terror Squad, which was confirmed on April 10, 2007, Smith had a slew of new deals and offers coming from both record companies and television alike. She was in talks to record her own VH1 reality TV show in which cameras would follow her hectic life as a female rapper in the male-dominated rap scene.
She was also busy recording her sophomore album punisher named after her mentor big Pun. Also in the works was Remy Ma's debut album as part of the all-female rap supergroup 3Sum, alongside female rappers Shawnna and Jacki-O.
All of these plans were officially postponed and put on hold after taking part in a shooting incident that almost put her career to a complete halt.
*Shooting incident
On July 13, 2007, Smith turned herself in to New York City police in relation to a shooting early that morning outside a Manhattan nightclub.
Police say that while she was with a group of people outside the Pizza Bar, a Manhattan nightspot, a fight broke out at 4 a.m.
During the entire incident, a gunshot to the torso wounded Makeda Barnes-Joseph, who has been accused of stealing "three thousand" dollars from Remy.
Police sources indicate that Barnes-Joseph later identified Smith as the shooter. Security tapes from inside the club showed no evidence of any altercations or arguments. Smith pleaded not guilty to charges of attempted murder, assault, and criminal weapon possession. Smith was later charged with witness tampering and assault after an August 2007 incident in which she was accused of causing several male friends to attack a witness's boyfriend.
Smith retained the services of the attorney Ivan Fisher. However, on March 27, 2008, Smith was convicted of assault, illegal weapon possession and attempted coercion in connection with these charges.
She was immediately taken into custody pending sentencing scheduled for May 13. She was acquitted of witness tampering and gang assault, charges which involved the purported intimidation of the boyfriend of a witness.
At her sentencing, the judge noted her disregard for the victim following the shooting—commenting that the rapper rifled through the victim's purse looking for the alleged stolen money, as Barnes-Joseph sat seriously wounded in the car. Smith then exited the vehicle, jumped into a waiting car and drove off, leaving Barnes-Joseph bleeding in the front seat. No money was found in Barnes-Joseph's purse.
Since the shooting, Barnes-Joseph has undergone several surgeries to repair damage done to her as a result of the shooting. Allegedly, she still experiences numbness in both legs and digestive problems as a result of the damage the bullet did to her intestines.
In 2007, Barnes-Joseph filed an $80 million civil lawsuit against Smith for damages, along with pain and suffering. According to her lawyers, Smith was serving an eight-year term at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women inBedford Hills, New York located in Westchester County and was expected to be released in 2015.
Remy married her fiancee, rapper papoose, while incarcerated in May 2008.
Smith wrote a letter to her fans via Global Grind in Late 2009 stating "I really miss everything but I especially can't wait to get back in the studio and touring again, I've been writing like crazy," she wrote in a blog entry. "First off I'd like to send love to C-Murder, his family and children...Some people are aware, but I realize that a lot of people don't know that I have a son. He just turned 9 years old and I was able to celebrate his birthday with him and Pap, they stayed with me for 5 days and 4 nights. We had so much fun. I cooked breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I baked cookies, cakes, and banana pudding. We watched movies, played board games and took a lot of pictures...I just want to say that I so love the 'Wendy Williams Show.' I try to watch it. I love watching the videos that are sent in of little kids saying 'How You Doin?' I couldn't pay my son to do that! I have to go on her show though when I get home.", which, ultimately she did when she appeared on the 'Wendy Williams Show' on October 14,2014.
During an interview with Hot 97 host Funkmaster Flex in July 2012, Remy Ma announced that in 22 1/2 months she would be released.
In February 2014, her husband Papoose confirmed that Remy should be released during July 2014.
On August 1, 2014 Remy Ma was released from prison after serving six years.
*feuds
Foxy Brown
A beef between Remy Ma and foxy Brown originated in August 2004, when an interviewer noted to Remy: "Right now, it’s a lack of female rappers in the game. Foxy don't got anything going on," Remy Ma responded: "How do I feel about them? Stay wherever they at, don't drop a song, don't do nothing, let me be the only one. I'm having so much fun. I hope they never come out [...] Nah, I wish everyone the best of luck. Just don’t drop when I drop. That’s all I got to say. Matter of fact, just don’t drop at all. It’ll even be better."
In September 2004, Remy recalled that after a rap battle with Lady Luck at Fight Klub, her refusal to "show some type of seniority or respect" to Brown became one of the building blocks in the feud.
Remy also recalled that during the incident the two were arguing over a future rap battle, where Brown declined and allegedly stated, "What? A battle? That's for beginners. We sell records in Brooklyn!" Remy dissed the rapper, responding, "When the last time you sold a record? Get the fuck out of here [...] I'd rather be a beginner that's on fire than be a washed-up veteran. Are you fucking serious? Don't try to degrade what I do." Remy additionally revealed that a prize of over $200,000 was offered to whoever won the rap battle.
Another building block to the feud was Remy's recollection of her and Brown coincidentally being interviewed at the same events either "before or after" each other, where she would catch whim of Brown "subliminally" dissing her by making statements like: "I've been doing this for years. These new chicks, they['re] not on [my level]."
In another event, specifically a Baby Phat after-party, Foxy Brown intentionally tried to bump into Remy. The occurrence resulted in strands of Brown's weave getting caught in Remy's bracelet, causing Remy to snatch her wrist back and yank out the strands. Remy recalled that Brown in response "kept it moving [despite a scuffle] she had with 'regular' girls in a bathroom [over cutting in line]."
In late January 2005, Remy Ma reportedly punched Foxy Brown inside Island Def Jam/Universal offices, roughly a few days after Brown "subliminally" dissed Remy during a venue at Jay-Z's Best of Both Worlds Tour and allegedly dissed her during a Hot 97interview segment with DJ Clue, where Brown dissed Remy on a mixtape track ("We Hustlaz") and allegedly ranted: "Who drives 645's? That's wack [...] We sell records [in New York]. We don't just get on the radio station and pop shit."
In February 2006, Remy Ma released a freestyle record ("Most Anticipated") that contained "slick comments" about Brown's hearing problem, and stated that she didn't care if it was offensive because "it was just good punchlines".
In September 2006, Remy again joked about Brown's hearing, addressing to a radio show: "...now Foxy suddenly got her hearing back, [I] wanted to be the first to inform her that she's wack and old."
In July 2007, during her interview with Sub 0 Magazine, Foxy Brown dissed Remy Ma, stating: "When you lookin' at Fox[y] and Kim and sayin', 'Damn y'all make me wanna rap.' Well shit you disappointing me 'cause you sound horrible. You look horrible, ya sound horrible. If it walk like somethin', talk like somethin', act like somethin', then it is somethin'."Brown also dissed Remy's recollection of their disagreement over the rap battle, addressing: "Some of these female rappers have the wrong approach, they wanna be my friend. And instead of approaching me like, 'Hey, how you doing', another chick [Remy], 'Yo, what up with that battle?' And I'm lookin' at her like, 'You bum ass. Naw, I don't do that, I'm a business woman baby.'"
In December 2007, Remy spoke more candidly on her dispute with Brown. She confirmed that although she disliked Brown as a person, she admitted she liked Brown's music and added that she was influenced by her and Lil' Kim.
Remy later concluded her take on the feud by giving a shout-out to Brown's rival Jacki-O and stating, "If you look at every female that came out after [Foxy Brown] or when she came out with [Lil'] Kim, to Eve, me, Jacki-O, it even got to Latifah, like how do you [get in a fight] with Queen Latifah? Like, are you serious? This chick is a problem."
Nicki Minaj
Disagreements between Remy Ma and Nicki Minaj originated in 2007, when Remy took note of Minaj's freestyle record, nicknamed "Dirty Money", from her mixtape Playtime Is Over (2007).
In the record, Minaj recites: "Tell that bitch with the crown to run it like Chris Brown/she won three rounds, I'ma need a hundred thou/like 'Chinatown' — bitches better bow down/oh you ain’t know, betcha bitches know now/fuck I got a gun — let her know that I’m the one".
When the two encountered each other at an industry party, Remy asked Minaj who she was dissing in the song. Nicki Minaj reportedly never confirmed or denied that the song was about Remy, however Remy Ma remarked in a 2010 interview, "To this day I still feel like [the song] is a stab at me; I'm gonna [diss Minaj] back for that one".
On December 18, 2007, a viral video surfaced via the internet featuring an alleged Nicki Minaj dressed in male attire dissing Remy Ma and admitting to having a previous sexual relationship with the rapper by remarking: "I used to [date] her, straight off. This is not a stunt [...] I just told you, [Remy Ma] ate the box." Roughly three years following the video's release, Remy Ma confirmed in an interview that she had "doubts" that the woman in the video was actually Nicki Minaj and explained that she was not gay and never dated Minaj.
Since 2011, Remy Ma has stated that she supports Nicki Minaj and her success, but has added that she is going to be "a problem" to Minaj once she would be released from prison.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Trina Facts
#TRINAFACTS
#10 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1998 TO PRESENT
Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), better known by her stage name Trina, is an American rapper and model from Miami, Florida. Trina first gained notoriety in 1998 with her appearance on Trick Daddy's second studio album www.thug.com on the single "Nann Nigga". Since then, she has released five moderately successful studio albums. XXL Magazine calls her "the most consistent female rapper of all time".
Source Magazine celebrated Trina's career for the 2012 Women's History month.
In 2013, Complex Magazine ranked "Pull Over" #27 in their Top 50 Best Rap Songs by Women.
In 2014, Trina was included in Billboard 's list of the "31 Female Rappers Who Changed Hip-Hop".
Early life edit
Trina's father is half Dominic an and African American; her mother is of Bahamian descent Trina's parents were separated while she was growing up. She lived in Liberty City and in Pembroke Isle, Florida.
She attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School.
Trina dated Rapper Lil Wayne on-and-off from early 2005 to the summer of 2007.
On October 5, 2005, during an interview with Wendy Williams, Trina confirmed that she and Wayne were happy and engaged to be married.
Trina later became pregnant by Wayne, but suffered a miscarriage.
The couple also have each other's name tattooed on them. Trina has "Wayne" on her wrist, and Lil Wayne has "Trina" spelled out on his ring finger.
Trina's songs "Single Again", "Here We Go", "Don't Go", "So Many Memories", "Way I felt, and "All Alone" are all about the relationship.
Trina Dated NBA Star Kenyon Martin from 2007-2010.
He had her lips tattooed on his neck.
In mid-2013 it was reported that, Trina was in an on-again, off-again relationship with rapper French Montana.
Trina started the Diamond Doll Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps younger girls with their life struggles.
The organization is also in partner with the Florida Entertainment Summit to organize the Jingle Bell Toy Drive in an effort to bring joy to children in the South Florida area.
BET Awards2001: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2002: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2003: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2006: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2008: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2009: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2010: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2012: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)American Music Awards 2005: Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist -
(Nominated)MTV Video Music Awards2002: Best Hip-Hop Video: "One Minute Man" -
(Nominated) w/ Ludacris and Missy Elliott soul Train Music Awards 2001: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video – "Pull Over " -
(Nominated)2002: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video – "Told Y'all w/ Rick Ross "-
(Nominated)The Source Awards 2001: Best New Artist –
(Nominated)2003: Single Of The Year – Female Solo Artist – "B R Right" -
(Nominated)2003: Artist Of The Year - Female Solo -
(Nominated) 2004: Best Female Rap Collaboration – "Right Thurr Remix" -
(Nominated) 2004: Remix of the Year – "Right Thurr" –
(Winner)ACE Awards2010: Power of Influence
Award – (Winner)ASCAP 2003: Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs"Right Thurr (Remix)"by Chingy w/ Jermaine Dupri and Chingy
(Winner)2003: Award-Winning Rap Songs"Right Thurr (Remix)"by Chingy w/ Jermaine Dupri and Chingy
(Winner)BMI London Awards 2006: Here We Go w/ Kelly Rowland –
(Winning Song)BMI Urban
Awards 2007: Here We Go w/ Kelly Rowland –
(Winning Song)Billboard Music Award2001: R&B/Hip-Hop Group-Take It To Da House w/ Trick Daddy
and The SNS Express – (Winner)
EME Awards 2011: International Friend of Reggae HonoreeAll Star Music Award
2014: Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree
Congratulations Trina!!
#10 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1998 TO PRESENT
Katrina Laverne Taylor (born December 3, 1978), better known by her stage name Trina, is an American rapper and model from Miami, Florida. Trina first gained notoriety in 1998 with her appearance on Trick Daddy's second studio album www.thug.com on the single "Nann Nigga". Since then, she has released five moderately successful studio albums. XXL Magazine calls her "the most consistent female rapper of all time".
Source Magazine celebrated Trina's career for the 2012 Women's History month.
In 2013, Complex Magazine ranked "Pull Over" #27 in their Top 50 Best Rap Songs by Women.
In 2014, Trina was included in Billboard 's list of the "31 Female Rappers Who Changed Hip-Hop".
Early life edit
Trina's father is half Dominic an and African American; her mother is of Bahamian descent Trina's parents were separated while she was growing up. She lived in Liberty City and in Pembroke Isle, Florida.
She attended Miami Northwestern Senior High School.
Trina dated Rapper Lil Wayne on-and-off from early 2005 to the summer of 2007.
On October 5, 2005, during an interview with Wendy Williams, Trina confirmed that she and Wayne were happy and engaged to be married.
Trina later became pregnant by Wayne, but suffered a miscarriage.
The couple also have each other's name tattooed on them. Trina has "Wayne" on her wrist, and Lil Wayne has "Trina" spelled out on his ring finger.
Trina's songs "Single Again", "Here We Go", "Don't Go", "So Many Memories", "Way I felt, and "All Alone" are all about the relationship.
Trina Dated NBA Star Kenyon Martin from 2007-2010.
He had her lips tattooed on his neck.
In mid-2013 it was reported that, Trina was in an on-again, off-again relationship with rapper French Montana.
Trina started the Diamond Doll Foundation, a non-profit organization that helps younger girls with their life struggles.
The organization is also in partner with the Florida Entertainment Summit to organize the Jingle Bell Toy Drive in an effort to bring joy to children in the South Florida area.
BET Awards2001: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2002: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2003: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2006: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2008: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2009: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2010: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)2012: Best Female Hip-Hop Artist –
(Nominated)American Music Awards 2005: Favorite Female Hip-Hop Artist -
(Nominated)MTV Video Music Awards2002: Best Hip-Hop Video: "One Minute Man" -
(Nominated) w/ Ludacris and Missy Elliott soul Train Music Awards 2001: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video – "Pull Over " -
(Nominated)2002: Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video – "Told Y'all w/ Rick Ross "-
(Nominated)The Source Awards 2001: Best New Artist –
(Nominated)2003: Single Of The Year – Female Solo Artist – "B R Right" -
(Nominated)2003: Artist Of The Year - Female Solo -
(Nominated) 2004: Best Female Rap Collaboration – "Right Thurr Remix" -
(Nominated) 2004: Remix of the Year – "Right Thurr" –
(Winner)ACE Awards2010: Power of Influence
Award – (Winner)ASCAP 2003: Award Winning R&B/Hip-Hop Songs"Right Thurr (Remix)"by Chingy w/ Jermaine Dupri and Chingy
(Winner)2003: Award-Winning Rap Songs"Right Thurr (Remix)"by Chingy w/ Jermaine Dupri and Chingy
(Winner)BMI London Awards 2006: Here We Go w/ Kelly Rowland –
(Winning Song)BMI Urban
Awards 2007: Here We Go w/ Kelly Rowland –
(Winning Song)Billboard Music Award2001: R&B/Hip-Hop Group-Take It To Da House w/ Trick Daddy
and The SNS Express – (Winner)
EME Awards 2011: International Friend of Reggae HonoreeAll Star Music Award
2014: Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree
Congratulations Trina!!
Monday, May 18, 2015
Foxy Brown Facts
#FOXYBROWNFACTS
#9 TOP.FEMALE RAPPER
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand(born September 6, 1978), better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper,model, and actress.
She is best known for her solo work, as well as numerous collaborations with other artists and her brief stint as part of hip hop music group The Firm.
Raised in Brooklyn, New York, her father Keith Stahler abandoned the family at a young age to pursue his career at ERAC records.
Her albums include Ill Na Na in 1996, followed by Chyna Dollin 1999, and Broken Silence in 2001. She also performed on the 1997 self-titled album by the Firm, the only album to be released by that group to date.
Throughout her career, Brown has held an extensive arrest record and served some time in jail.
After 2001, she continued recording verses for herself and other artists but did not release any albums; she left the Def Jam label in 2003, thus canceling the release of her Ill Na Na 2 album.
However, she returned to the label in January 2005 after then-Def Jam president and CEO 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. A fourth studio album, which originally was a mixtape, was released in May 2008 following many delays spawned by a jail sentence that Brown served for assault.
Personal life
She is of mixed Afro-Trinidadian and Asian Chinese descent. Around 2001, she was engaged to Spragga Benz.
Brown suffered hearing loss from May 2005 to June 2006. During that time, she opted not to wear a hearing aid, and she had someone tap beats on her shoulder while she recorded music.
In June 2008, rumors that Brown was engaged to rapper Rick Ross began to circulate after Brown and Ross were together on a cover photo of Hip Hop Weekly. After the publication of that issue, Ross stated that he was not engaged to anyone
Assault on hotel workers
On January 25, 1997, Brown spat on two hotel workers in Raleigh,North Carolina when they told her they did not 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.
Obscene language on stage
On July 3, 1999, Brown was escorted off the stage by police at a concert in Trinidad and Tobago for using obscene language, but was neither charged nor arrested.
In 2000, she announced she was suffering from depression and entered rehab at Cornell University Medical College for an addiction to prescription painkillers, in particular, morphine, at one point stating that she could not perform or make records unless she was on the drug.
Car crash; driving without a license
On March 6, 2000, Brown crashed her Range Rover in Flatbush, Brooklyn and was arrested for driving without a license.
Confrontation with police at Jamaica airport
Police threatened Brown with arrest following an altercation at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica from July 26, 2002; she would be arrested if she ever would return to the country. Nicola White, clerk of the Kingston Criminal Court, told the New York Post that Brown illegally evaded a body search at the airport and punched a policewoman in the stomach. Brown's publicist, Marvette Britto, argued that Brown felt that she was being "detained" at the airport. Originally, a hearing for Brown was scheduled for July 28, 2002, but Brown failed to show up.
Thus, in late December 2002, an arrest warrant was set up for Brown skipping the hearing.
Amidst her legal troubles, Brown had an on-air argument with radio host Egypt on New York City radio station WWPR-FM ("Power 105.1").
Assaulting store employee; BlackBerry incident; other 2007 altercations
Brown pleaded guilty in March 2007 to assaulting a beauty supply store employee. Her other arrests during 2007 included leaving New York state without permission during probation,hitting a neighbor with a BlackBerry, and almost running over a stroller with a baby inside.
The New York Times reported that Brown moved from Brooklyn to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, without informing officials, but Brown's lawyer Alan Stutman stated that Brown's mother owned the Englewood Cliffs residence in question.
Assault on two manicurists; jail time
On August 29, 2004, Brown attacked two manicurists in Chelsea, Manhattan, during a dispute over a $20 bill that she refused to pay, and in April 2005 pleaded not guilty to assault charges and entered three years of probation effective October 2006. For that incident, she would also take anger management classes.
Female rapper Jacki-O, in April 2005, alleged that she and Brown got into a physical altercation at a recording studio in Miami, Florida, saying that Brown came into the studio during her session and expected her (Jackie O) to "bow down" to her.
The next month, Brown denied any such altercation in an interview with the Miami, Florida, hip-hop radio station WEDR. Joseph Tacopina, Brown's attorney, stated on December 6, 2005, that he could no longer communicate with Foxy Brown verbally due to her sudden hearing loss. Judge Melissa Jackson suspended Brown's assault case for two weeks.
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.
No mention was made during the trial by anyone about Brown expecting a baby. On September 12, 2007, her representatives stated the rapper was not pregnant in response to claims by her lawyer that she was.
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, Brown, the next day after the incident, was also verbally abusive toward correction officers and refused to take a random drug test.
Prison authorities reported on November 27 that she was released "from solitary confinement...for good behavior", and Brown was finally released from prison on April 18, 2008
Violation of order of protection
On July 22, 2010, Brown was charged with one count of criminal contempt, which is a class E felony (the least severe), for violating an order of protection.
The charge stems from an incident during the evening of July 21, 2010, in which it was claimed that Brown swore at and then moonedher neighbour Arlene Raymond, at whom she had thrown her BlackBerry, in 2007. Following the BlackBerry incident, Raymond sought and received a restraining order against Brown.
Following her arrest, Brown appeared in court where she pleaded "not guilty" to the charge and was released on a $5,000 bail. If convicted, she faced up to seven years imprisonment.
On July 12, 2011, the charges were dropped.
Lil' Kim
Once high school friends, Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown originally remained close despite becoming associates of clashing hip-hop groups Junior M.A.F.I.A. and The Firm, respectively.[67] In 1995, they collaborated with Da Brat for the remix of "No One Else" by Total. The following year, they were featured in the Hot 97 NY Fashion Show,[68] and additionally appeared on the covers of Source and Vibe.
However, their first dispute developed after both of their debut studio albums were scheduled for release a week apart in November 1996.
Media outlets additionally noted similarities between the sleeve covers of Kim's Hard Core and Brown's Ill Na Na, where the two were shown wearing the same outfit.
In 1997, the feud led to the deterioration of their friendship, and also resulted in the cancellation of a collaborative album Thelma & Louise. Brown noted that the breakdown of their relationship was influenced by their conflicting entourages.
They first attempted a reconciliation in 1998 after Kim called Brown and her mother after the two were held at gunpoint during a house burglary.
In January 1999, critics noted the track "My Life" from Brown's second studio effort Chyna Doll for being an "open appeal" to Brown's friendship with Lil' Kim, in which she cited the relationship being "lost for pride", but also contradicted herself after making attacks on "pointed mistresses".
Critics indicated the records were in subtle use to diss Lil' Kim, especially since during this time, Brown had been supporting Kim's rival Faith Evans in multiple interviews.
In February 1999, a significant part of the media took note of Brown "suddenly sound[ing] 'exactly' like Lil' Kim".
In late May 1999, Lil Cease's "Play Around", featuring Lil' Kim and Diddy, was released to radio airwaves and was set to be featured on Cease's debut The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo.
In the song, after Kim's guest rap, Diddy recites: "Stop trying to sound like her too bitches"; a subliminal diss aimed at Foxy.
The line spurred enough controversy that various media sources went on to remark: "It's finally coming out. Foxy Brown bites worse than a pit bull."
Additionally, Kim's guest appearance on Mobb Deep's "Quiet Storm (Remix)" and her second album's title track, "The Notorious K.I.M.," were released as diss records to Foxy Brown.
Angered by Kim's response, Brown collaborated with longtime associates Capone-N-Noreaga on the track, "Bang, Bang."
In the track, Brown mimicked Kim's interpolation of MC Lyte's "10% Dis," and went on to recite: "You and Diddy y'all kill me with that subliminal shit."
Towards the ending of her verse, Brown attacked Kim's grieving for the loss of Biggie Smalls by remarking: "Let the nigga [Biggie] rest in peace, and hop off his dick, bitch do you."
On February 26, 2001, at 3 p.m., when Lil' Kim had left New York radio station Hot 97, a shooting broke out; over twenty shots were fired between two groups of three men. One of the men in the groups was Capone, one-half member of Capone-N-Noreaga, who was entering the Hot 97 building in promotion of interviewer DJ Clue's new album,The Professional 2, which happened to have also featured Kim.
An affiliate, Efrain Ocasio, from Capone's entourage was shot in the back; both parties from Kim and Capone denied any involvement in the shooting.
However, a motive behind the shooting was later determined; detectives informed The New York Daily News that it was a result of the verses Foxy Brown recited in "Bang, Bang."
Shaken up by the incident, Brown tried to reach out to Kim in hopes of settling a truce. Brown stated, "I really don't know how it started. But Russell [Simmons] and I, we got together, and I said, 'Russell, I want to call a truce.' I want to have a sit-down with Kim. I don't care what it is. Let's just end it. We can even do a collaboration. We're bigger than this. If it has to start with me, let it start with me."
Brown even extended an olive branch to Kim's camp, however Kim had cut all ties with Diddy and Bad Boy associates and wanted no communication with Brown whatsoever.
On July 6, 2005, Kim was sentenced to prison for three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy.
During the 4-year span leading up to Kim's sentencing, Brown and Kim began to exchange subtle diss records towards each other, among them included Kim's La Bella Mafia, "Quiet", and "Guess Who's Back"; and in turn, Brown's Ill Na Na 2: The Fever and various mixtape freestyles.
In the midst of the diss records, Brown was interviewed by Doug Banks in 2003 to disclose any further details pertaining to her dispute with Kim.
Brown claimed that Kim was allegedly jealous that Biggie was to include Brown in his Junior Mafia collective.
Brown also added that a tell-all book disclosing the feud would be released in Christmas of 2003.
In her final regards to the dispute, Brown stated: "Kim is the only female artist that keeps me on my toes. She's the only one that I can look at; and any other artist that says they don't have that one person that keeps them driven... is lying."
Following her release from prison, Lil' Kim no longer acknowledged Foxy Brown. Brown, on the other hand, has consistently targeted Kim as a prime basis in her music and concert venues since Kim's prison release.
On May 17, 2012, Kim attended an interview with radio show, The Breakfast Club.
When asked about whether or not she had spoken to Brown at all in recent years, Kim replied: "I don't even know her. And when I say that; I don't know who she is to these days. I wouldn't even know what her voice sounds like."
Queen Latifah
A beef between Foxy Brown and hip-hop legend Queen Latifah ensued in mid–1996, where media reports indicated that Brown was a prime target in Latifah's diss record "Name Callin'," which was featured in the movie soundtrack Set It Off. In response, Brown made allegations of Latifah "checking her out" at musical events and had even gone further to question Latifah's sexuality in various public radio interviews.
In 1998, Brown released a diss record titled "10% Dis," where she continually questioned Latifah's sexuality and accused her of being jealous.
By late spring of 1998, Latifah responded to Brown through another diss record titled, "Name Callin' Part II."[
In the record, Latifah disses Brown about her heavy reliance on sex-appeal, in which she implies that Brown has to rely on skimpy outfits to hide her "half-assed flow."Foxy Brown retaliated back via a response-diss record titled "Talk to Me," in which Brown made fun of the ratings of Latifah's television talk show and went on to make various homophobic remarks to both Latifah and then–newcomerQueen Pen.[106]
In spite of the release of "Talk to Me," the media blatantly ignored Brown's response and dubbed Latifah as the winner of the feud.[104] Hip-hop magazine ego trip stated that Latifah won the feud with her diss record "Name Callin' Part II" and added that she showed that "the lady's still first," in reference to Latifah's 1990 single, "Ladies First."[104] In 2000, both Brown and Latifah reconciled and squashed the beef; to show truce, Brown performed her song "Na Na Be Like" on The Queen Latifah Show.[107]
Queen Pen
In 1998, a dispute between Foxy Brown and then–newcomer Queen Pen developed over Pen's controversial lesbian-themed single, "Girlfriend." Brown, who took offense of the song's subject, spewed homophobic remarks to both Pen and former rival Queen Latifah via her diss record, "10% Dis."
In response, Pen had reportedly stepped to Brown barefoot in the lobby of Nevada's Reno Hilton during the Impact Music Convention and tried to slap and chase her down an elevator.
The fight would later be broken up by Brown's associates Noreaga and Cam'ron, resulting in a subjugation of the altercation.
However, when Foxy Brown was accompanied by ex-lover Kurupt, Queen Pen coincidentally bumped into her again; the conflict was yet again subdued before any further physical contact could continue.
In late 1998, Brown would release another diss track titled "Talk to Me," which contained more homophobic remarks to Pen and Latifah.
In 2001, Pen subliminally responded to the diss track via her record "I Got Cha," in which Pen rechristened Brown as a "bum bitch," and later went on to make remarks about her being funny and fake "like a drag queen."
Although Pen insisted the song was not about Brown, she hinted: "...You make a record about me, I make a record about you. Sooner or later I'm going to have to punch you in your face."
Shortly after the track's release, the feud began to die down and by August 2006, both Pen and Brown reconciled and squashed the beef during an attendance at Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit.
Kurupt
A dispute between Foxy Brown and her ex-fiancé Kurupt broiled in 1999, when an alleged affair between Brown and a married DMX occurred during the pair's recording of "Dog & a Fox" from Brown's second set,Chyna Doll (1999).
Although both Brown and DMX dismissed the allegation as false, Kurupt released a diss track titled, "Callin' Out Names", which targeted the pair.
On October 17, 1999, a shooting outside the Los Angeles studio of Kurupt and associate Daz Dillinger resulted in the murder of 23-year-old security guard, Dwayne "Draws" Dupree.
DMX, who was a suspect in the slaying, denied any involvement, and felt "sympathetic" towards the incident. The homicidal occurrence left a strain on Kurupt's and Brown's relationship, and in 2000 it was officially announced that the couple separated.
In 2003, Foxy Brown blamed Eve for the reasoning behind the couple's break-up.That same year, Brown dissed Kurupt for making the break-up public for media attention, citing Kurupt's actions as "bitch shit", adding "This is who I was waking up to every morning? [...] I never really understood how a man could disclose his relationship."
Eve
In 1999, a dispute between Foxy Brown and Ruff Ryders recording artist Eve began to build up in the midst of Brown's alleged affair with Eve's former mentor DMX. Additional tensions surfaced when Eve "subliminally" dissed Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim on her records "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (2001) and "Double R What" (2002), where she criticized the two for having ghostwriters and further solidified that she "writes [her] own songs".
In December 2002, Foxy Brown responded to the disses via her unreleased record "Get Off Me", in which she compared Eve to a yorkie terrier, dubbed her a "jealous bum bitch" and criticized her Alicia Keys-assisted single "Gangsta Lovin'".
That same year, Brown reportedly disapproved of Eve and former friend Charli Baltimore's "Philly's Finest", a remake of Jay-Zand Notorious B.I.G.'s "Brooklyn's Finest", in which she felt the two Philly-bred female rappers were "disrespectful".
Brown also stated that when she and Lil' Kim debuted on the music scene, "everybody all of a sudden wanted a female in their crew", adding that Eve wasn't doing that for DMX and Ruff Ryders, simply because it was "just not believable."
In December 2002, during her interview with Miss Jones, Eve responded to Brown's diss record ("Get Off Me"), stating that she was glad she could be "an inspiration" for Brown's ghostwriter.
Eve also revealed that she had known Brown since 1997 and dubbed her a "wankster" and a "miserable jealous bitch".
Eve lastly added, "Ain't my fault [Foxy] been out since '96 & her bank account look the same. Do you ma. You look weak. Do you."
In April 2003, during her interview with Wendy Williams, Foxy Brown revealed that she hated Eve and cited her as the prime reason why she broke up with Kurupt because Eve "snitched" about the alleged affair between her and DMX.
Brown later made derogatory comments about Eve throughout the interview, calling the rapper a "poorly dressed nappy headed blond chick".
Brown also added that she was "sick and tired" of Eve subliminally dissing her and Lil' Kim on records because she and Kim "changed the game of hip-hop for female rappers."
In September 2003, Eve dissed Brown on a record titled "We're Back" from former mentor DMX's album, Grand Champ.
Ja Rule
In October 2002, Foxy Brown dismissed reports of recording a track with rivals Nas and Ja Rule that was "potentially" a diss to Jay-Z.
During a Thanksgiving week in 2002, while on Doug Banks In the Morning, Ja Rule stated that he "[couldn't] stand Foxy Brown."
Brown reportedly heard Ja Rule's comments via a radio while she was helping her mother clean her house.Going against her manager's wishes, during her own interview with Doug Banks, Brown informed Banks that she was "flabbergasted" by Rule's comments and criticized the hosts for setting her up by throwing her name in a manner like: "What do you think of Foxy?"
Brown further solidified that she was angry at Rule's response, primarily because she never met him.
The incident provoked Brown to record the unreleased "Get Off Me". In the record, Brown targeted Ja Rule and Eve and lashed homophobic remarks by denouncing Rule as "a faggot ass rap dude".
In 2005, Ja Rule and his two bodyguards were initial suspects in the killing of Willie "Willie Bang Bang" Clark, whom authorities linked as a "revenge" that stemmed back to a robbery case involving Foxy Brown's brother.
In 2007, in the midst of Foxy Brown's indictment for assaulting a prisoner, radio hosts asked Ja Rule what his words would be toward Brown if he saw her in jail.
Rule responded: "Aww man. Hold ya head ma, you'll be alright. Shit."
Remy Ma
A beef between Foxy Brown and Remy Ma originated in August 2004, when an interviewer noted to Remy: "Right now, it's a lack of female rappers in the game. Foxy don't got anything going on," Remy Ma responded: "How do I feel about them? Stay wherever they at, don't drop a song, don't do nothing, let me be the only one. I'm having so much fun. I hope they never come out.[...] Nah, I wish everyone the best of luck. Just don't drop when I drop. That's all I got to say. Matter of fact, just don't drop at all. It'll even be better."
In September 2004, Remy recalled that after a rap battle with Lady Luck at Fight Klub, her refusal to "show some type of seniority or respect" to Brown became one of the building blocks in the feud.
Remy also recalled that during the incident the two were arguing over a future rap battle, where Brown declined and allegedly stated, "What? A battle? That's for beginners. We sell records in Brooklyn!"
Remy dissed the rapper, responding, "When the last time you sold a record? Get the fuck out of here [...] I'd rather be a beginner that's on fire than be a washed-up veteran. Are you fucking serious? Don't try to degrade what I do."
Remy additionally revealed that a prize of over $200,000 was offered to whoever won the rap battle.
Another building block to the feud was Remy's recollection of her and Brown coincidentally being interviewed at the same events either "before or after" each other, where she would catch whim of Brown "subliminally" dissing her by making statements like: "I've been doing this for years. These new chicks, they['re] not on [my level]."
In another event, specifically a Baby Phatafter-party, Foxy Brown intentionally tried to bump into Remy.
The occurrence resulted in strands of Brown's weave getting caught in Remy's bracelet, causing Remy to snatch her wrist back and yank out the strands.
Remy recalled that Brown in response "kept it moving [despite a scuffle] she had with 'regular' girls in a bathroom [over cutting in line]."
In late January 2005, Remy Ma reportedly punched Foxy Brown inside Island Def Jam/Universal offices, roughly a few days after Brown "subliminally" dissed Remy during a venue at Jay-Z's Best of Both Worlds Tour and allegedly dissed her during a Hot 97 interview segment with DJ Clue, where Brown dissed Remy on a mixtape track ("We Hustlaz") and allegedly ranted: "Who drives 645's? That's wack [...] We sell records [in New York]. We don't just get on the radio station and pop shit."
In February 2006, Remy Ma released a freestyle record ("Most Anticipated") that contained "slick comments" about Brown's hearing problem, and stated that she didn't care if it was offensive because "it was just good punchlines".
In September 2006, Remy again joked about Brown's hearing, addressing to a radio show: "...now Foxy suddenly got her hearing back, [I] wanted to be the first to inform her that she's wack and old."
In July 2007, during her interview with Sub 0 Magazine, Foxy Brown dissed Remy Ma, stating: "When you lookin' at Fox[y] and Kim and sayin', 'Damn y'all make me wanna rap.' Well shit you disappointing me 'cause you sound horrible. You look horrible, ya sound horrible. If it walk like somethin', talk like somethin', act like somethin', then it is somethin'."
Brown also dissed Remy's recollection of their disagreement over the rap battle, addressing: "Some of these female rappers have the wrong approach, they wanna be my friend. And instead of approaching me like, 'Hey, how you doing', another chick [Remy], 'Yo, what up with that battle?' And I'm lookin' at her like, 'You bum ass. Naw, I don't do that, I'm a business woman baby.'"
In December 2007, Remy spoke more candidly on her dispute with Brown.She confirmed that although she disliked Brown as a person, she admitted she liked Brown's music and added that she was influenced by her and Lil' Kim.
Remy later concluded her take on the feud by giving a shout-out to Brown's rival Jacki-O and stating, "If you look at every female that came out after [Foxy Brown] or when she came out with [Lil'] Kim, to Eve, me, Jacki-O, it even got to Latifah, like how do you [get in a fight] with Queen Latifah? Like, are you serious? This chick is a problem."
Jacki-O
On April 24, 2005, an altercation occurred between Jacki-O and Foxy Brown at Circle House Studios in Miami, Florida.
Jacki-O stated her refusal to "bow down" to Brown, was the prime motive in the physical altercation. A day following the incident, she stated to MTV News: "I just know that yesterday I did not go there to get in no altercation. I went to work, and I did not know I would be winning an ass-kicking contest. You don't come to somebody's session acting like a clown. Something is seriously wrong with her. She's washed up. She needs to sit back and relax and retire. It ain't happening for her no more."
Jacki O and Brooklyn native rapper,Gravy, were reportedly in Circle House Studios recording a track titled "Ménage," when in the midst, Brown and her business partner Fendi walked in and tried to negotiate to be a feature on the song.
Brown, who was supposedly upset by the lack of welcoming in the studio, allegedly stated: "You don't know who the fuck I am? You need to bow down. That's what's wrong with y'all new rapper hoes."
Following a lack of resolution, O claimed she had overheard Brown in the recording booth talking about her; allegedly ranting: "This bitch don't know, I'm about to slap the shit out of her."
Days later, Foxy Brown was interviewed to give her take on the incident and denied all of Jacki-O's claims.
In response, Jacki-O released a diss track titled, "Tko."
Other feuds
In 1996, Foxy Brown engaged in disputes with former MTV Real World contestant-turned-rapper Heather B. and Lady of Rage after Brown made explicitly derogatory comments about the two.
In 1997, the pair dissed Brown in the unreleased DJ Premier-produced "The Set Up", which was subsequently deleted from Lady of Rage's debut Necessary Roughness(1997).
The track also featured Def Jam's First Lady Nikki D, who previously made a cameo in another Foxy Brown diss record ("Name Callin', Part 1") and was reported to have a brief feud with Brown as well; and at one point had deemed Brown of being "a really nasty bitch".
Despite contrary reports, Lady of Rage would disclose in an interview that she never had "any type of beef" with Brown, and added that her former mentor 2Pac pressured her to diss Brown and Lil' Kim due to Pac's dispute with Bad Boy Records. In 1998, Foxy Brown assaulted Vibe editor Danyel Smithat a restaurant for her "inaccurate" representation of Brown in a front page story from the December 1998/January 1999 issue ofVibe.
The story, which was Brown's first in-depth interview, contained exclusive details behind Brown's relationship with rival Lil' Kim and former associate Jay-Z.
Content from the story provoked Brown to attack Smith by pulling her hair in outrage, ranting that the story was misconstrued.
In late 1998, Brown was entangled in a feud with TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, where allegations of Brown sleeping with Lopes' on-and-off boyfriend Andre Risonwere brought forth to urban media attention.
On January 2, 2002, three months before her death, Lisa Lopes disclosed to her fansite that she would "whoop Foxy's ass," adding that "I don't advocate violence [...] nobody's better than [my persona] N.I.N.A."
Additional controversy later developed between Brown and Lopes' protégée Natina Reed, in which Brown made obscene comments toward the Blaque vocalist in her song "7:30" from her third album,Broken Silence (2001).
Brown attacked Reed primarily for her engagement with then-boyfriend Kurupt and informed Reed in the diss record that he was "off limits".
Brown additionally went further as to make death threats toward Reed, reciting: "I'll hurt you till you're dead inside".
In July 2001, during a candid interview with MTV News, Natina Reed responded to Brown's disses, disclosing:
“You can't chase something that doesn't chase you back [...] I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what people think about me. It's petty — it's like people never grow up in this game. You watch Biggie and all that shit that [he] and Pac went through, and people still don't get the message. They still want to start the wars and create fires.”
—- Natina Reed on her brief dispute with Foxy Brown, 2001
In 2000, Brown alongside Lil' Kim were dissed by hip-hop pioneer MC Lyte in the collaborative record "Where U At Mama?", in which she disapproved of the pair using her "10% Dis" record, specifically the line "Hot damn hoe here we go again", as a basis for their diss songs.
In December 2002, Brown was reportedly upset when Jay-Z replaced her with Beyoncé on their then-planned collabo "'03 Bonnie & Clyde".
In a mixtape recording from DJ Whoo Kid's SVA LIVE 2003, Brown attacked one of Jay's verses from the "Bonnie" record, rapping: "...and what the fuck wrong with him [Jay-Z], I don't wear Burberry in the pool, I rock Cavalli to swim."
In February 2010, Brown dissed Jay, Lil' Kim and former friend Trina in an unreleased record, "Let 'Em Know".
In May 2013, Brown denounced ongoing rumors that she dissed Jay-Z at a baby shower, allegedly revealing that Jay was a "tranny chaser" and had given her an STD.
Brown criticized the false reports as "fictitious", "disgusting", "disrespectful" and "malicious", and had even threatened legal action against its gossip source Media Take Out.
In late 2002, Brown attacked former friend Charli Baltimore after discovering her duet, "Philly's Finest", with rival Eve, adding that it was a "disrespect" for a "Philly chick" like Baltimore to remakeJay-Z's "Brooklyn's Finest".
In 2003, Brown engaged in a brief feud with former Timbaland protégée Ms. Jade after Jade accused Brown of relying on ghostwriters.
In December 2010, Jade stated that the current relationship with her and Brown was "whatever", adding that Brown "[doesn't] want [beef] on that note".
In April 2003, during an interview with Wendy Williams, Foxy Brown dissed former colleague Nas, revealing that she and AZ regularly nicknamed him "king cobra", adding that he was a "slithery snake".
In February 2009, 50 Cent dissed Brown in his record "Try Me", where he made references of Brown's sexual relationship with ex-boyfriend Rick Ross.
Brown shot back at 50 and released a statement, informing the rapper that he had less than "24 hour[s] to retract that statement or she's going to handle [him] Brooklyn Style." 50 Cent in response satirized Brown's signature weave-hairstyles via a viral video where he described Brown as a "motherfucking bitch hoe" and vowed to beat and slap her.
In November 2010, Foxy Brown dubbed Nicki Minaj a liar for her false recollection of Brown having a conversation with her about Lil' Kim.
On November 26, 2010, Brown released a diss track titled "Hold Yuh", which targeted Minaj and Kim, in which Brown made references of Minaj being "a fake, pop style".
In the summer of 2012, Brown and Minaj ended their dispute and "surprise dissed" Lil' Kim during a venue at Minaj's Pink Friday Tour, just roughly a month following Kim's venue featuring her and various female rappers during her Return of the Queen Tour.
Brown and Minaj were additionally set to hold a venue during the Hot 97 Summer Jam 2012 that would feature a "funeral" for Kim, but the pair pulled out last minute due to a dispute involving Summer Jam headliner Peter Rosenberg, who criticized Minaj's "Starships" for being "the most sell-out song in hip-hop history [...] Katy Perry bullshit not hardcore hip-hop".
On February 26, 2001, at 3 p.m., when Lil' Kim had left New York radio station Hot 97, a shooting broke out; over twenty shots were fired between two groups of three men.One of the men in the groups was Capone, one-half member of Capone-N-Noreaga, who was entering the Hot 97 building in promotion of interviewer DJ Clue's new album,The Professional 2, which happened to have also featured Kim.
An affiliate, Efrain Ocasio, from Capone's entourage was shot in the back; both parties from Kim and Capone denied any involvement in the shooting.
However, a motive behind the shooting was later determined; detectives informed The New York Daily News that it was a result of the verses Foxy Brown recited in "Bang, Bang."
Shaken up by the incident, Brown tried to reach out to Kim in hopes of settling a truce.[83] Brown stated, "I really don't know how it started. But Russell [Simmons] and I, we got together, and I said, 'Russell, I want to call a truce.' I want to have a sit-down with Kim. I don't care what it is. Let's just end it. We can even do a collaboration. We're bigger than this. If it has to start with me, let it start with me."
Brown even extended an olive branch to Kim's camp, however Kim had cut all ties with Diddy and Bad Boy associates and wanted no communication with Brown whatsoever.
On July 6, 2005, Kim was sentenced to prison for three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy.
During the 4-year span leading up to Kim's sentencing, Brown and Kim began to exchange subtle diss records towards each other, among them included Kim's La Bella Mafia, "Quiet",and "Guess Who's Back"; and in turn, Brown's Ill Na Na 2: The Feverand various mixtape freestyles. In the midst of the diss records, Brown was interviewed by Doug Banks in 2003 to disclose any further details pertaining to her dispute with Kim. Brown claimed that Kim was allegedly jealous that Biggie was to include Brown in his Junior Mafia collective.Brown also added that a tell-all book disclosing the feud would be released in Christmas of 2003.
In her final regards to the dispute, Brown stated: "Kim is the only female artist that keeps me on my toes. She's the only one that I can look at; and any other artist that says they don't have that one person that keeps them driven... is lying."
Following her release from prison, Lil' Kim no longer acknowledged Foxy Brown. Brown, on the other hand, has consistently targeted Kim as a prime basis in her music and concert venues since Kim's prison release.
On May 17, 2012, Kim attended an interview with radio show, The Breakfast Club.
When asked about whether or not she had spoken to Brown at all in recent years, Kim replied: "I don't even know her. And when I say that; I don't know who she is to these days. I wouldn't even know what her voice sounds like."
Queen Latifah
A beef between Foxy Brown and hip-hop legend Queen Latifahensued in mid–1996, where media reports indicated that Brown was a prime target in Latifah's diss record "Name Callin'," which was featured in the movie soundtrackSet It Off. In response, Brown made allegations of Latifah "checking her out" at musical events and had even gone further to question Latifah's sexuality in various public radio interviews. In 1998, Brown released a diss record titled "10% Dis," where she continually questioned Latifah's sexuality and accused her of being jealous.
By late spring of 1998, Latifah responded to Brown through another diss record titled, "Name Callin' Part II."
In the record, Latifah disses Brown about her heavy reliance on sex-appeal, in which she implies that Brown has to rely on skimpy outfits to hide her "half-assed flow."
Foxy Brown retaliated back via a response-diss record titled "Talk to Me," in which Brown made fun of the ratings of Latifah's television talk show and went on to make various homophobic remarks to both Latifah and then–newcomerQueen Pen.
In spite of the release of "Talk to Me," the media blatantly ignored Brown's response and dubbed Latifah as the winner of the feud.
Hip-hop magazine ego trip stated that Latifah won the feud with her diss record "Name Callin' Part II" and added that she showed that "the lady's still first," in reference to Latifah's 1990 single, "Ladies First."
In 2000, both Brown and Latifah reconciled and squashed the beef; to show truce, Brown performed her song "Na Na Be Like" on The Queen Latifah Show.
#FOXYBROWNFACTS
#9 TOP.FEMALE RAPPER
#9 TOP.FEMALE RAPPER
Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand(born September 6, 1978), better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper,model, and actress.
She is best known for her solo work, as well as numerous collaborations with other artists and her brief stint as part of hip hop music group The Firm.
Raised in Brooklyn, New York, her father Keith Stahler abandoned the family at a young age to pursue his career at ERAC records.
Her albums include Ill Na Na in 1996, followed by Chyna Dollin 1999, and Broken Silence in 2001. She also performed on the 1997 self-titled album by the Firm, the only album to be released by that group to date.
Throughout her career, Brown has held an extensive arrest record and served some time in jail.
After 2001, she continued recording verses for herself and other artists but did not release any albums; she left the Def Jam label in 2003, thus canceling the release of her Ill Na Na 2 album.
However, she returned to the label in January 2005 after then-Def Jam president and CEO 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. A fourth studio album, which originally was a mixtape, was released in May 2008 following many delays spawned by a jail sentence that Brown served for assault.
Personal life
She is of mixed Afro-Trinidadian and Asian Chinese descent. Around 2001, she was engaged to Spragga Benz.
Brown suffered hearing loss from May 2005 to June 2006. During that time, she opted not to wear a hearing aid, and she had someone tap beats on her shoulder while she recorded music.
In June 2008, rumors that Brown was engaged to rapper Rick Ross began to circulate after Brown and Ross were together on a cover photo of Hip Hop Weekly. After the publication of that issue, Ross stated that he was not engaged to anyone
Assault on hotel workers
On January 25, 1997, Brown spat on two hotel workers in Raleigh,North Carolina when they told her they did not 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.
Obscene language on stage
On July 3, 1999, Brown was escorted off the stage by police at a concert in Trinidad and Tobago for using obscene language, but was neither charged nor arrested.
In 2000, she announced she was suffering from depression and entered rehab at Cornell University Medical College for an addiction to prescription painkillers, in particular, morphine, at one point stating that she could not perform or make records unless she was on the drug.
Car crash; driving without a license
On March 6, 2000, Brown crashed her Range Rover in Flatbush, Brooklyn and was arrested for driving without a license.
Confrontation with police at Jamaica airport
Police threatened Brown with arrest following an altercation at the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica from July 26, 2002; she would be arrested if she ever would return to the country. Nicola White, clerk of the Kingston Criminal Court, told the New York Post that Brown illegally evaded a body search at the airport and punched a policewoman in the stomach. Brown's publicist, Marvette Britto, argued that Brown felt that she was being "detained" at the airport. Originally, a hearing for Brown was scheduled for July 28, 2002, but Brown failed to show up.
Thus, in late December 2002, an arrest warrant was set up for Brown skipping the hearing.
Amidst her legal troubles, Brown had an on-air argument with radio host Egypt on New York City radio station WWPR-FM ("Power 105.1").
Assaulting store employee; BlackBerry incident; other 2007 altercations
Brown pleaded guilty in March 2007 to assaulting a beauty supply store employee. Her other arrests during 2007 included leaving New York state without permission during probation,hitting a neighbor with a BlackBerry, and almost running over a stroller with a baby inside.
The New York Times reported that Brown moved from Brooklyn to Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, without informing officials, but Brown's lawyer Alan Stutman stated that Brown's mother owned the Englewood Cliffs residence in question.
Assault on two manicurists; jail time
On August 29, 2004, Brown attacked two manicurists in Chelsea, Manhattan, during a dispute over a $20 bill that she refused to pay, and in April 2005 pleaded not guilty to assault charges and entered three years of probation effective October 2006. For that incident, she would also take anger management classes.
Female rapper Jacki-O, in April 2005, alleged that she and Brown got into a physical altercation at a recording studio in Miami, Florida, saying that Brown came into the studio during her session and expected her (Jackie O) to "bow down" to her.
The next month, Brown denied any such altercation in an interview with the Miami, Florida, hip-hop radio station WEDR. Joseph Tacopina, Brown's attorney, stated on December 6, 2005, that he could no longer communicate with Foxy Brown verbally due to her sudden hearing loss. Judge Melissa Jackson suspended Brown's assault case for two weeks.
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.
No mention was made during the trial by anyone about Brown expecting a baby. On September 12, 2007, her representatives stated the rapper was not pregnant in response to claims by her lawyer that she was.
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, Brown, the next day after the incident, was also verbally abusive toward correction officers and refused to take a random drug test.
Prison authorities reported on November 27 that she was released "from solitary confinement...for good behavior", and Brown was finally released from prison on April 18, 2008
Violation of order of protection
On July 22, 2010, Brown was charged with one count of criminal contempt, which is a class E felony (the least severe), for violating an order of protection.
The charge stems from an incident during the evening of July 21, 2010, in which it was claimed that Brown swore at and then moonedher neighbour Arlene Raymond, at whom she had thrown her BlackBerry, in 2007. Following the BlackBerry incident, Raymond sought and received a restraining order against Brown.
Following her arrest, Brown appeared in court where she pleaded "not guilty" to the charge and was released on a $5,000 bail. If convicted, she faced up to seven years imprisonment.
On July 12, 2011, the charges were dropped.
Lil' Kim
Once high school friends, Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown originally remained close despite becoming associates of clashing hip-hop groups Junior M.A.F.I.A. and The Firm, respectively.[67] In 1995, they collaborated with Da Brat for the remix of "No One Else" by Total. The following year, they were featured in the Hot 97 NY Fashion Show,[68] and additionally appeared on the covers of Source and Vibe.
However, their first dispute developed after both of their debut studio albums were scheduled for release a week apart in November 1996.
Media outlets additionally noted similarities between the sleeve covers of Kim's Hard Core and Brown's Ill Na Na, where the two were shown wearing the same outfit.
In 1997, the feud led to the deterioration of their friendship, and also resulted in the cancellation of a collaborative album Thelma & Louise. Brown noted that the breakdown of their relationship was influenced by their conflicting entourages.
They first attempted a reconciliation in 1998 after Kim called Brown and her mother after the two were held at gunpoint during a house burglary.
In January 1999, critics noted the track "My Life" from Brown's second studio effort Chyna Doll for being an "open appeal" to Brown's friendship with Lil' Kim, in which she cited the relationship being "lost for pride", but also contradicted herself after making attacks on "pointed mistresses".
Critics indicated the records were in subtle use to diss Lil' Kim, especially since during this time, Brown had been supporting Kim's rival Faith Evans in multiple interviews.
In February 1999, a significant part of the media took note of Brown "suddenly sound[ing] 'exactly' like Lil' Kim".
In late May 1999, Lil Cease's "Play Around", featuring Lil' Kim and Diddy, was released to radio airwaves and was set to be featured on Cease's debut The Wonderful World of Cease A Leo.
In the song, after Kim's guest rap, Diddy recites: "Stop trying to sound like her too bitches"; a subliminal diss aimed at Foxy.
The line spurred enough controversy that various media sources went on to remark: "It's finally coming out. Foxy Brown bites worse than a pit bull."
Additionally, Kim's guest appearance on Mobb Deep's "Quiet Storm (Remix)" and her second album's title track, "The Notorious K.I.M.," were released as diss records to Foxy Brown.
Angered by Kim's response, Brown collaborated with longtime associates Capone-N-Noreaga on the track, "Bang, Bang."
In the track, Brown mimicked Kim's interpolation of MC Lyte's "10% Dis," and went on to recite: "You and Diddy y'all kill me with that subliminal shit."
Towards the ending of her verse, Brown attacked Kim's grieving for the loss of Biggie Smalls by remarking: "Let the nigga [Biggie] rest in peace, and hop off his dick, bitch do you."
On February 26, 2001, at 3 p.m., when Lil' Kim had left New York radio station Hot 97, a shooting broke out; over twenty shots were fired between two groups of three men. One of the men in the groups was Capone, one-half member of Capone-N-Noreaga, who was entering the Hot 97 building in promotion of interviewer DJ Clue's new album,The Professional 2, which happened to have also featured Kim.
An affiliate, Efrain Ocasio, from Capone's entourage was shot in the back; both parties from Kim and Capone denied any involvement in the shooting.
However, a motive behind the shooting was later determined; detectives informed The New York Daily News that it was a result of the verses Foxy Brown recited in "Bang, Bang."
Shaken up by the incident, Brown tried to reach out to Kim in hopes of settling a truce. Brown stated, "I really don't know how it started. But Russell [Simmons] and I, we got together, and I said, 'Russell, I want to call a truce.' I want to have a sit-down with Kim. I don't care what it is. Let's just end it. We can even do a collaboration. We're bigger than this. If it has to start with me, let it start with me."
Brown even extended an olive branch to Kim's camp, however Kim had cut all ties with Diddy and Bad Boy associates and wanted no communication with Brown whatsoever.
On July 6, 2005, Kim was sentenced to prison for three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy.
During the 4-year span leading up to Kim's sentencing, Brown and Kim began to exchange subtle diss records towards each other, among them included Kim's La Bella Mafia, "Quiet", and "Guess Who's Back"; and in turn, Brown's Ill Na Na 2: The Fever and various mixtape freestyles.
In the midst of the diss records, Brown was interviewed by Doug Banks in 2003 to disclose any further details pertaining to her dispute with Kim.
Brown claimed that Kim was allegedly jealous that Biggie was to include Brown in his Junior Mafia collective.
Brown also added that a tell-all book disclosing the feud would be released in Christmas of 2003.
In her final regards to the dispute, Brown stated: "Kim is the only female artist that keeps me on my toes. She's the only one that I can look at; and any other artist that says they don't have that one person that keeps them driven... is lying."
Following her release from prison, Lil' Kim no longer acknowledged Foxy Brown. Brown, on the other hand, has consistently targeted Kim as a prime basis in her music and concert venues since Kim's prison release.
On May 17, 2012, Kim attended an interview with radio show, The Breakfast Club.
When asked about whether or not she had spoken to Brown at all in recent years, Kim replied: "I don't even know her. And when I say that; I don't know who she is to these days. I wouldn't even know what her voice sounds like."
Queen Latifah
A beef between Foxy Brown and hip-hop legend Queen Latifah ensued in mid–1996, where media reports indicated that Brown was a prime target in Latifah's diss record "Name Callin'," which was featured in the movie soundtrack Set It Off. In response, Brown made allegations of Latifah "checking her out" at musical events and had even gone further to question Latifah's sexuality in various public radio interviews.
In 1998, Brown released a diss record titled "10% Dis," where she continually questioned Latifah's sexuality and accused her of being jealous.
By late spring of 1998, Latifah responded to Brown through another diss record titled, "Name Callin' Part II."[
In the record, Latifah disses Brown about her heavy reliance on sex-appeal, in which she implies that Brown has to rely on skimpy outfits to hide her "half-assed flow."Foxy Brown retaliated back via a response-diss record titled "Talk to Me," in which Brown made fun of the ratings of Latifah's television talk show and went on to make various homophobic remarks to both Latifah and then–newcomerQueen Pen.[106]
In spite of the release of "Talk to Me," the media blatantly ignored Brown's response and dubbed Latifah as the winner of the feud.[104] Hip-hop magazine ego trip stated that Latifah won the feud with her diss record "Name Callin' Part II" and added that she showed that "the lady's still first," in reference to Latifah's 1990 single, "Ladies First."[104] In 2000, both Brown and Latifah reconciled and squashed the beef; to show truce, Brown performed her song "Na Na Be Like" on The Queen Latifah Show.[107]
Queen Pen
In 1998, a dispute between Foxy Brown and then–newcomer Queen Pen developed over Pen's controversial lesbian-themed single, "Girlfriend." Brown, who took offense of the song's subject, spewed homophobic remarks to both Pen and former rival Queen Latifah via her diss record, "10% Dis."
In response, Pen had reportedly stepped to Brown barefoot in the lobby of Nevada's Reno Hilton during the Impact Music Convention and tried to slap and chase her down an elevator.
The fight would later be broken up by Brown's associates Noreaga and Cam'ron, resulting in a subjugation of the altercation.
However, when Foxy Brown was accompanied by ex-lover Kurupt, Queen Pen coincidentally bumped into her again; the conflict was yet again subdued before any further physical contact could continue.
In late 1998, Brown would release another diss track titled "Talk to Me," which contained more homophobic remarks to Pen and Latifah.
In 2001, Pen subliminally responded to the diss track via her record "I Got Cha," in which Pen rechristened Brown as a "bum bitch," and later went on to make remarks about her being funny and fake "like a drag queen."
Although Pen insisted the song was not about Brown, she hinted: "...You make a record about me, I make a record about you. Sooner or later I'm going to have to punch you in your face."
Shortly after the track's release, the feud began to die down and by August 2006, both Pen and Brown reconciled and squashed the beef during an attendance at Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit.
Kurupt
A dispute between Foxy Brown and her ex-fiancé Kurupt broiled in 1999, when an alleged affair between Brown and a married DMX occurred during the pair's recording of "Dog & a Fox" from Brown's second set,Chyna Doll (1999).
Although both Brown and DMX dismissed the allegation as false, Kurupt released a diss track titled, "Callin' Out Names", which targeted the pair.
On October 17, 1999, a shooting outside the Los Angeles studio of Kurupt and associate Daz Dillinger resulted in the murder of 23-year-old security guard, Dwayne "Draws" Dupree.
DMX, who was a suspect in the slaying, denied any involvement, and felt "sympathetic" towards the incident. The homicidal occurrence left a strain on Kurupt's and Brown's relationship, and in 2000 it was officially announced that the couple separated.
In 2003, Foxy Brown blamed Eve for the reasoning behind the couple's break-up.That same year, Brown dissed Kurupt for making the break-up public for media attention, citing Kurupt's actions as "bitch shit", adding "This is who I was waking up to every morning? [...] I never really understood how a man could disclose his relationship."
Eve
In 1999, a dispute between Foxy Brown and Ruff Ryders recording artist Eve began to build up in the midst of Brown's alleged affair with Eve's former mentor DMX. Additional tensions surfaced when Eve "subliminally" dissed Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim on her records "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (2001) and "Double R What" (2002), where she criticized the two for having ghostwriters and further solidified that she "writes [her] own songs".
In December 2002, Foxy Brown responded to the disses via her unreleased record "Get Off Me", in which she compared Eve to a yorkie terrier, dubbed her a "jealous bum bitch" and criticized her Alicia Keys-assisted single "Gangsta Lovin'".
That same year, Brown reportedly disapproved of Eve and former friend Charli Baltimore's "Philly's Finest", a remake of Jay-Zand Notorious B.I.G.'s "Brooklyn's Finest", in which she felt the two Philly-bred female rappers were "disrespectful".
Brown also stated that when she and Lil' Kim debuted on the music scene, "everybody all of a sudden wanted a female in their crew", adding that Eve wasn't doing that for DMX and Ruff Ryders, simply because it was "just not believable."
In December 2002, during her interview with Miss Jones, Eve responded to Brown's diss record ("Get Off Me"), stating that she was glad she could be "an inspiration" for Brown's ghostwriter.
Eve also revealed that she had known Brown since 1997 and dubbed her a "wankster" and a "miserable jealous bitch".
Eve lastly added, "Ain't my fault [Foxy] been out since '96 & her bank account look the same. Do you ma. You look weak. Do you."
In April 2003, during her interview with Wendy Williams, Foxy Brown revealed that she hated Eve and cited her as the prime reason why she broke up with Kurupt because Eve "snitched" about the alleged affair between her and DMX.
Brown later made derogatory comments about Eve throughout the interview, calling the rapper a "poorly dressed nappy headed blond chick".
Brown also added that she was "sick and tired" of Eve subliminally dissing her and Lil' Kim on records because she and Kim "changed the game of hip-hop for female rappers."
In September 2003, Eve dissed Brown on a record titled "We're Back" from former mentor DMX's album, Grand Champ.
Ja Rule
In October 2002, Foxy Brown dismissed reports of recording a track with rivals Nas and Ja Rule that was "potentially" a diss to Jay-Z.
During a Thanksgiving week in 2002, while on Doug Banks In the Morning, Ja Rule stated that he "[couldn't] stand Foxy Brown."
Brown reportedly heard Ja Rule's comments via a radio while she was helping her mother clean her house.Going against her manager's wishes, during her own interview with Doug Banks, Brown informed Banks that she was "flabbergasted" by Rule's comments and criticized the hosts for setting her up by throwing her name in a manner like: "What do you think of Foxy?"
Brown further solidified that she was angry at Rule's response, primarily because she never met him.
The incident provoked Brown to record the unreleased "Get Off Me". In the record, Brown targeted Ja Rule and Eve and lashed homophobic remarks by denouncing Rule as "a faggot ass rap dude".
In 2005, Ja Rule and his two bodyguards were initial suspects in the killing of Willie "Willie Bang Bang" Clark, whom authorities linked as a "revenge" that stemmed back to a robbery case involving Foxy Brown's brother.
In 2007, in the midst of Foxy Brown's indictment for assaulting a prisoner, radio hosts asked Ja Rule what his words would be toward Brown if he saw her in jail.
Rule responded: "Aww man. Hold ya head ma, you'll be alright. Shit."
Remy Ma
A beef between Foxy Brown and Remy Ma originated in August 2004, when an interviewer noted to Remy: "Right now, it's a lack of female rappers in the game. Foxy don't got anything going on," Remy Ma responded: "How do I feel about them? Stay wherever they at, don't drop a song, don't do nothing, let me be the only one. I'm having so much fun. I hope they never come out.[...] Nah, I wish everyone the best of luck. Just don't drop when I drop. That's all I got to say. Matter of fact, just don't drop at all. It'll even be better."
In September 2004, Remy recalled that after a rap battle with Lady Luck at Fight Klub, her refusal to "show some type of seniority or respect" to Brown became one of the building blocks in the feud.
Remy also recalled that during the incident the two were arguing over a future rap battle, where Brown declined and allegedly stated, "What? A battle? That's for beginners. We sell records in Brooklyn!"
Remy dissed the rapper, responding, "When the last time you sold a record? Get the fuck out of here [...] I'd rather be a beginner that's on fire than be a washed-up veteran. Are you fucking serious? Don't try to degrade what I do."
Remy additionally revealed that a prize of over $200,000 was offered to whoever won the rap battle.
Another building block to the feud was Remy's recollection of her and Brown coincidentally being interviewed at the same events either "before or after" each other, where she would catch whim of Brown "subliminally" dissing her by making statements like: "I've been doing this for years. These new chicks, they['re] not on [my level]."
In another event, specifically a Baby Phatafter-party, Foxy Brown intentionally tried to bump into Remy.
The occurrence resulted in strands of Brown's weave getting caught in Remy's bracelet, causing Remy to snatch her wrist back and yank out the strands.
Remy recalled that Brown in response "kept it moving [despite a scuffle] she had with 'regular' girls in a bathroom [over cutting in line]."
In late January 2005, Remy Ma reportedly punched Foxy Brown inside Island Def Jam/Universal offices, roughly a few days after Brown "subliminally" dissed Remy during a venue at Jay-Z's Best of Both Worlds Tour and allegedly dissed her during a Hot 97 interview segment with DJ Clue, where Brown dissed Remy on a mixtape track ("We Hustlaz") and allegedly ranted: "Who drives 645's? That's wack [...] We sell records [in New York]. We don't just get on the radio station and pop shit."
In February 2006, Remy Ma released a freestyle record ("Most Anticipated") that contained "slick comments" about Brown's hearing problem, and stated that she didn't care if it was offensive because "it was just good punchlines".
In September 2006, Remy again joked about Brown's hearing, addressing to a radio show: "...now Foxy suddenly got her hearing back, [I] wanted to be the first to inform her that she's wack and old."
In July 2007, during her interview with Sub 0 Magazine, Foxy Brown dissed Remy Ma, stating: "When you lookin' at Fox[y] and Kim and sayin', 'Damn y'all make me wanna rap.' Well shit you disappointing me 'cause you sound horrible. You look horrible, ya sound horrible. If it walk like somethin', talk like somethin', act like somethin', then it is somethin'."
Brown also dissed Remy's recollection of their disagreement over the rap battle, addressing: "Some of these female rappers have the wrong approach, they wanna be my friend. And instead of approaching me like, 'Hey, how you doing', another chick [Remy], 'Yo, what up with that battle?' And I'm lookin' at her like, 'You bum ass. Naw, I don't do that, I'm a business woman baby.'"
In December 2007, Remy spoke more candidly on her dispute with Brown.She confirmed that although she disliked Brown as a person, she admitted she liked Brown's music and added that she was influenced by her and Lil' Kim.
Remy later concluded her take on the feud by giving a shout-out to Brown's rival Jacki-O and stating, "If you look at every female that came out after [Foxy Brown] or when she came out with [Lil'] Kim, to Eve, me, Jacki-O, it even got to Latifah, like how do you [get in a fight] with Queen Latifah? Like, are you serious? This chick is a problem."
Jacki-O
On April 24, 2005, an altercation occurred between Jacki-O and Foxy Brown at Circle House Studios in Miami, Florida.
Jacki-O stated her refusal to "bow down" to Brown, was the prime motive in the physical altercation. A day following the incident, she stated to MTV News: "I just know that yesterday I did not go there to get in no altercation. I went to work, and I did not know I would be winning an ass-kicking contest. You don't come to somebody's session acting like a clown. Something is seriously wrong with her. She's washed up. She needs to sit back and relax and retire. It ain't happening for her no more."
Jacki O and Brooklyn native rapper,Gravy, were reportedly in Circle House Studios recording a track titled "Ménage," when in the midst, Brown and her business partner Fendi walked in and tried to negotiate to be a feature on the song.
Brown, who was supposedly upset by the lack of welcoming in the studio, allegedly stated: "You don't know who the fuck I am? You need to bow down. That's what's wrong with y'all new rapper hoes."
Following a lack of resolution, O claimed she had overheard Brown in the recording booth talking about her; allegedly ranting: "This bitch don't know, I'm about to slap the shit out of her."
Days later, Foxy Brown was interviewed to give her take on the incident and denied all of Jacki-O's claims.
In response, Jacki-O released a diss track titled, "Tko."
Other feuds
In 1996, Foxy Brown engaged in disputes with former MTV Real World contestant-turned-rapper Heather B. and Lady of Rage after Brown made explicitly derogatory comments about the two.
In 1997, the pair dissed Brown in the unreleased DJ Premier-produced "The Set Up", which was subsequently deleted from Lady of Rage's debut Necessary Roughness(1997).
The track also featured Def Jam's First Lady Nikki D, who previously made a cameo in another Foxy Brown diss record ("Name Callin', Part 1") and was reported to have a brief feud with Brown as well; and at one point had deemed Brown of being "a really nasty bitch".
Despite contrary reports, Lady of Rage would disclose in an interview that she never had "any type of beef" with Brown, and added that her former mentor 2Pac pressured her to diss Brown and Lil' Kim due to Pac's dispute with Bad Boy Records. In 1998, Foxy Brown assaulted Vibe editor Danyel Smithat a restaurant for her "inaccurate" representation of Brown in a front page story from the December 1998/January 1999 issue ofVibe.
The story, which was Brown's first in-depth interview, contained exclusive details behind Brown's relationship with rival Lil' Kim and former associate Jay-Z.
Content from the story provoked Brown to attack Smith by pulling her hair in outrage, ranting that the story was misconstrued.
In late 1998, Brown was entangled in a feud with TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, where allegations of Brown sleeping with Lopes' on-and-off boyfriend Andre Risonwere brought forth to urban media attention.
On January 2, 2002, three months before her death, Lisa Lopes disclosed to her fansite that she would "whoop Foxy's ass," adding that "I don't advocate violence [...] nobody's better than [my persona] N.I.N.A."
Additional controversy later developed between Brown and Lopes' protégée Natina Reed, in which Brown made obscene comments toward the Blaque vocalist in her song "7:30" from her third album,Broken Silence (2001).
Brown attacked Reed primarily for her engagement with then-boyfriend Kurupt and informed Reed in the diss record that he was "off limits".
Brown additionally went further as to make death threats toward Reed, reciting: "I'll hurt you till you're dead inside".
In July 2001, during a candid interview with MTV News, Natina Reed responded to Brown's disses, disclosing:
“You can't chase something that doesn't chase you back [...] I don't spend a lot of time thinking about what people think about me. It's petty — it's like people never grow up in this game. You watch Biggie and all that shit that [he] and Pac went through, and people still don't get the message. They still want to start the wars and create fires.”
—- Natina Reed on her brief dispute with Foxy Brown, 2001
In 2000, Brown alongside Lil' Kim were dissed by hip-hop pioneer MC Lyte in the collaborative record "Where U At Mama?", in which she disapproved of the pair using her "10% Dis" record, specifically the line "Hot damn hoe here we go again", as a basis for their diss songs.
In December 2002, Brown was reportedly upset when Jay-Z replaced her with Beyoncé on their then-planned collabo "'03 Bonnie & Clyde".
In a mixtape recording from DJ Whoo Kid's SVA LIVE 2003, Brown attacked one of Jay's verses from the "Bonnie" record, rapping: "...and what the fuck wrong with him [Jay-Z], I don't wear Burberry in the pool, I rock Cavalli to swim."
In February 2010, Brown dissed Jay, Lil' Kim and former friend Trina in an unreleased record, "Let 'Em Know".
In May 2013, Brown denounced ongoing rumors that she dissed Jay-Z at a baby shower, allegedly revealing that Jay was a "tranny chaser" and had given her an STD.
Brown criticized the false reports as "fictitious", "disgusting", "disrespectful" and "malicious", and had even threatened legal action against its gossip source Media Take Out.
In late 2002, Brown attacked former friend Charli Baltimore after discovering her duet, "Philly's Finest", with rival Eve, adding that it was a "disrespect" for a "Philly chick" like Baltimore to remakeJay-Z's "Brooklyn's Finest".
In 2003, Brown engaged in a brief feud with former Timbaland protégée Ms. Jade after Jade accused Brown of relying on ghostwriters.
In December 2010, Jade stated that the current relationship with her and Brown was "whatever", adding that Brown "[doesn't] want [beef] on that note".
In April 2003, during an interview with Wendy Williams, Foxy Brown dissed former colleague Nas, revealing that she and AZ regularly nicknamed him "king cobra", adding that he was a "slithery snake".
In February 2009, 50 Cent dissed Brown in his record "Try Me", where he made references of Brown's sexual relationship with ex-boyfriend Rick Ross.
Brown shot back at 50 and released a statement, informing the rapper that he had less than "24 hour[s] to retract that statement or she's going to handle [him] Brooklyn Style." 50 Cent in response satirized Brown's signature weave-hairstyles via a viral video where he described Brown as a "motherfucking bitch hoe" and vowed to beat and slap her.
In November 2010, Foxy Brown dubbed Nicki Minaj a liar for her false recollection of Brown having a conversation with her about Lil' Kim.
On November 26, 2010, Brown released a diss track titled "Hold Yuh", which targeted Minaj and Kim, in which Brown made references of Minaj being "a fake, pop style".
In the summer of 2012, Brown and Minaj ended their dispute and "surprise dissed" Lil' Kim during a venue at Minaj's Pink Friday Tour, just roughly a month following Kim's venue featuring her and various female rappers during her Return of the Queen Tour.
Brown and Minaj were additionally set to hold a venue during the Hot 97 Summer Jam 2012 that would feature a "funeral" for Kim, but the pair pulled out last minute due to a dispute involving Summer Jam headliner Peter Rosenberg, who criticized Minaj's "Starships" for being "the most sell-out song in hip-hop history [...] Katy Perry bullshit not hardcore hip-hop".
On February 26, 2001, at 3 p.m., when Lil' Kim had left New York radio station Hot 97, a shooting broke out; over twenty shots were fired between two groups of three men.One of the men in the groups was Capone, one-half member of Capone-N-Noreaga, who was entering the Hot 97 building in promotion of interviewer DJ Clue's new album,The Professional 2, which happened to have also featured Kim.
An affiliate, Efrain Ocasio, from Capone's entourage was shot in the back; both parties from Kim and Capone denied any involvement in the shooting.
However, a motive behind the shooting was later determined; detectives informed The New York Daily News that it was a result of the verses Foxy Brown recited in "Bang, Bang."
Shaken up by the incident, Brown tried to reach out to Kim in hopes of settling a truce.[83] Brown stated, "I really don't know how it started. But Russell [Simmons] and I, we got together, and I said, 'Russell, I want to call a truce.' I want to have a sit-down with Kim. I don't care what it is. Let's just end it. We can even do a collaboration. We're bigger than this. If it has to start with me, let it start with me."
Brown even extended an olive branch to Kim's camp, however Kim had cut all ties with Diddy and Bad Boy associates and wanted no communication with Brown whatsoever.
On July 6, 2005, Kim was sentenced to prison for three counts of perjury and one count of conspiracy.
During the 4-year span leading up to Kim's sentencing, Brown and Kim began to exchange subtle diss records towards each other, among them included Kim's La Bella Mafia, "Quiet",and "Guess Who's Back"; and in turn, Brown's Ill Na Na 2: The Feverand various mixtape freestyles. In the midst of the diss records, Brown was interviewed by Doug Banks in 2003 to disclose any further details pertaining to her dispute with Kim. Brown claimed that Kim was allegedly jealous that Biggie was to include Brown in his Junior Mafia collective.Brown also added that a tell-all book disclosing the feud would be released in Christmas of 2003.
In her final regards to the dispute, Brown stated: "Kim is the only female artist that keeps me on my toes. She's the only one that I can look at; and any other artist that says they don't have that one person that keeps them driven... is lying."
Following her release from prison, Lil' Kim no longer acknowledged Foxy Brown. Brown, on the other hand, has consistently targeted Kim as a prime basis in her music and concert venues since Kim's prison release.
On May 17, 2012, Kim attended an interview with radio show, The Breakfast Club.
When asked about whether or not she had spoken to Brown at all in recent years, Kim replied: "I don't even know her. And when I say that; I don't know who she is to these days. I wouldn't even know what her voice sounds like."
Queen Latifah
A beef between Foxy Brown and hip-hop legend Queen Latifahensued in mid–1996, where media reports indicated that Brown was a prime target in Latifah's diss record "Name Callin'," which was featured in the movie soundtrackSet It Off. In response, Brown made allegations of Latifah "checking her out" at musical events and had even gone further to question Latifah's sexuality in various public radio interviews. In 1998, Brown released a diss record titled "10% Dis," where she continually questioned Latifah's sexuality and accused her of being jealous.
By late spring of 1998, Latifah responded to Brown through another diss record titled, "Name Callin' Part II."
In the record, Latifah disses Brown about her heavy reliance on sex-appeal, in which she implies that Brown has to rely on skimpy outfits to hide her "half-assed flow."
Foxy Brown retaliated back via a response-diss record titled "Talk to Me," in which Brown made fun of the ratings of Latifah's television talk show and went on to make various homophobic remarks to both Latifah and then–newcomerQueen Pen.
In spite of the release of "Talk to Me," the media blatantly ignored Brown's response and dubbed Latifah as the winner of the feud.
Hip-hop magazine ego trip stated that Latifah won the feud with her diss record "Name Callin' Part II" and added that she showed that "the lady's still first," in reference to Latifah's 1990 single, "Ladies First."
In 2000, both Brown and Latifah reconciled and squashed the beef; to show truce, Brown performed her song "Na Na Be Like" on The Queen Latifah Show.
#FOXYBROWNFACTS
#9 TOP.FEMALE RAPPER
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Eve Facts
#EVEFACTS
#8 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1998 TO PRESENT
Eve Jihan Jeffers-Cooper (born November 10, 1978) is an American hip hop recording artist and actress from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania.
She is also the inaugural winner of the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2002, for the song "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", with American singer Gwen Stefani.
Eve was number 48 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" list. Eve has sold over 8.5 Million albums in the United States alone and 15 million albums worldwide making her one of the best selling rappers of all time.
As an actress, Eve is known for her roles as Terri Jones in the films Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and as Shelley Williams on the UPN television sitcom Eve. She has also achieved success in fashion, with her clothing line, Fetish.
Eve was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Julie Wilch-Jeffers, a publishing company supervisor, and Jerry Jeffers, a chemical plant supervisor.
She adopted the name Gangsta in high school as part of an all-female group called EDGP (pronounced "Egypt"). The rapper Eve is multiracial as well. She is of African American,Egyptian & Native American descent.
During her early years in Philadelphia, she was educated at Martin Luther King High School. Eve's first musical interest was singing. She sang in many choirs and even formed an all-female singing group (Dope Girl Posse or D.G.P.) with a manager. This group covered songs from En Vogue and color Me Badd. The group's manager suggested that the group should rap after seeing ABC, and Eve stuck with it. She then went on to form a rapping group. After the group split, Eve began working on a solo career under the name "Eve of Destruction."
Eve has lived in Los Angeles, California, New York City, and most recently has resided in London.
In 1999, she was featured on prince's album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, and she was to co-star on the eventually cancelled Hot Wit' U single from that same album.
Eve is featured (along with Erykah Badu) on the song "You Got Me" by The Roots, from their 1999 album Things Fall Apart. The song won a Grammy Award in 2000, which should have been Eve's first.
She stated on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2009 that she did not receive a Grammy for the track. Quest love, from The Roots, had brought his Grammy to the show that night and showed she's not even credited on the award plaque.
She also provided background vocals on the song "Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New" from the same album. In the album's liner notes, she is referred to as Eve of Destruction. Eve would win her own in 2002.
In 2012, Eve, Mike Lynn and Dr. Dre, Ruff Ryders Entertainment,Interscope Records, and Truth Hurts were accused of stealing songs from Gregory Hutchinson p/k/a Cold 187um of Above The Law. The plaintiffs claim the 1999 song "Love is Blind" was stripped of some of its original components and presented as their own work.
Relationships
Eve divides her time between London, Los Angeles and New York. She began dating British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooperin 2010. They became engaged on December 25, 2013. On June 14, 2014, Eve and Maximillion Cooper wed in Ibiza, Spain.
Feud with Foxy Brown
In 1999, a dispute between Eve and New York City-based rapper foxy Brown, began to build up in the midst of Brown's alleged affair with Eve's former mentor DMX.
Additional tensions surfaced when Eve "subliminally dissed" Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim on her records "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (2001) and "Double R What" (2002), where she criticized the two for having ghostwriters and further solidified that she "writes [her] own songs".
In December 2002, Foxy Brown responded to the disses via her unreleased record "Get Off Me", in which she compared Eve to a yorkie terrier, dubbed her a "jealous bum bitch" and criticized her Alicia Keys-assisted single "Gangsta Lovin'".
That same year, Brown reportedly disapproved of Eve and former friend Charli Baltimore's "Philly's Finest", a remake of Jay-Zand Notorious B.I.G.'s "Brooklyn's Finest", in which she felt the two Philly-bred female rappers were "disrespectful".
Brown also stated that when she and Lil' Kim debuted on the music scene, "everybody all of a sudden wanted a female in their crew", adding that Eve wasn't doing that for DMX and Ruff Ryders, simply because it was "just not believable."
In December 2002, during her interview with Miss Jones, Eve responded to Brown's diss record("Get Off Me"), stating that she was glad she could be "an inspiration" for Brown's ghostwriter.
Eve also revealed that she had known Brown since 1997 and dubbed her a "wankster" and a "miserable jealous bitch". Eve lastly added, "Ain't my fault [Foxy] been out since '96 & her bank account look the same. Do you ma. You look weak. Do you."
In April 2003, during her interview with Wendy Williams, Foxy Brown revealed that she hated Eve and cited her as the prime reason why she broke up with Kurupt because Eve "snitched" about the alleged affair between her and DMX.
Brown later made derogatory comments about Eve throughout the interview, calling the rapper a "poorly dressed nappy headed blond chick".
Brown also added that she was "sick and tired" of Eve subliminally dissing her and Lil' Kim on records because she and Kim "changed the game of hip-hop for female rappers."
In September 2003, Eve dissed Brown on a record titled "We're Back" from former mentor DMX's album, Grand Champ.
#EVEFACTS
#8 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
#8 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1998 TO PRESENT
Eve Jihan Jeffers-Cooper (born November 10, 1978) is an American hip hop recording artist and actress from Philadelphia,Pennsylvania.
She is also the inaugural winner of the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2002, for the song "Let Me Blow Ya Mind", with American singer Gwen Stefani.
Eve was number 48 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" list. Eve has sold over 8.5 Million albums in the United States alone and 15 million albums worldwide making her one of the best selling rappers of all time.
As an actress, Eve is known for her roles as Terri Jones in the films Barbershop and Barbershop 2: Back in Business, and as Shelley Williams on the UPN television sitcom Eve. She has also achieved success in fashion, with her clothing line, Fetish.
Eve was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Julie Wilch-Jeffers, a publishing company supervisor, and Jerry Jeffers, a chemical plant supervisor.
She adopted the name Gangsta in high school as part of an all-female group called EDGP (pronounced "Egypt"). The rapper Eve is multiracial as well. She is of African American,Egyptian & Native American descent.
During her early years in Philadelphia, she was educated at Martin Luther King High School. Eve's first musical interest was singing. She sang in many choirs and even formed an all-female singing group (Dope Girl Posse or D.G.P.) with a manager. This group covered songs from En Vogue and color Me Badd. The group's manager suggested that the group should rap after seeing ABC, and Eve stuck with it. She then went on to form a rapping group. After the group split, Eve began working on a solo career under the name "Eve of Destruction."
Eve has lived in Los Angeles, California, New York City, and most recently has resided in London.
In 1999, she was featured on prince's album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, and she was to co-star on the eventually cancelled Hot Wit' U single from that same album.
Eve is featured (along with Erykah Badu) on the song "You Got Me" by The Roots, from their 1999 album Things Fall Apart. The song won a Grammy Award in 2000, which should have been Eve's first.
She stated on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in 2009 that she did not receive a Grammy for the track. Quest love, from The Roots, had brought his Grammy to the show that night and showed she's not even credited on the award plaque.
She also provided background vocals on the song "Ain't Sayin' Nothin' New" from the same album. In the album's liner notes, she is referred to as Eve of Destruction. Eve would win her own in 2002.
In 2012, Eve, Mike Lynn and Dr. Dre, Ruff Ryders Entertainment,Interscope Records, and Truth Hurts were accused of stealing songs from Gregory Hutchinson p/k/a Cold 187um of Above The Law. The plaintiffs claim the 1999 song "Love is Blind" was stripped of some of its original components and presented as their own work.
Relationships
Eve divides her time between London, Los Angeles and New York. She began dating British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooperin 2010. They became engaged on December 25, 2013. On June 14, 2014, Eve and Maximillion Cooper wed in Ibiza, Spain.
Feud with Foxy Brown
In 1999, a dispute between Eve and New York City-based rapper foxy Brown, began to build up in the midst of Brown's alleged affair with Eve's former mentor DMX.
Additional tensions surfaced when Eve "subliminally dissed" Foxy Brown and Lil' Kim on her records "Let Me Blow Ya Mind" (2001) and "Double R What" (2002), where she criticized the two for having ghostwriters and further solidified that she "writes [her] own songs".
In December 2002, Foxy Brown responded to the disses via her unreleased record "Get Off Me", in which she compared Eve to a yorkie terrier, dubbed her a "jealous bum bitch" and criticized her Alicia Keys-assisted single "Gangsta Lovin'".
That same year, Brown reportedly disapproved of Eve and former friend Charli Baltimore's "Philly's Finest", a remake of Jay-Zand Notorious B.I.G.'s "Brooklyn's Finest", in which she felt the two Philly-bred female rappers were "disrespectful".
Brown also stated that when she and Lil' Kim debuted on the music scene, "everybody all of a sudden wanted a female in their crew", adding that Eve wasn't doing that for DMX and Ruff Ryders, simply because it was "just not believable."
In December 2002, during her interview with Miss Jones, Eve responded to Brown's diss record("Get Off Me"), stating that she was glad she could be "an inspiration" for Brown's ghostwriter.
Eve also revealed that she had known Brown since 1997 and dubbed her a "wankster" and a "miserable jealous bitch". Eve lastly added, "Ain't my fault [Foxy] been out since '96 & her bank account look the same. Do you ma. You look weak. Do you."
In April 2003, during her interview with Wendy Williams, Foxy Brown revealed that she hated Eve and cited her as the prime reason why she broke up with Kurupt because Eve "snitched" about the alleged affair between her and DMX.
Brown later made derogatory comments about Eve throughout the interview, calling the rapper a "poorly dressed nappy headed blond chick".
Brown also added that she was "sick and tired" of Eve subliminally dissing her and Lil' Kim on records because she and Kim "changed the game of hip-hop for female rappers."
In September 2003, Eve dissed Brown on a record titled "We're Back" from former mentor DMX's album, Grand Champ.
#EVEFACTS
#8 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Lauryn Hill Facts
#LAURYNHILLFACTS
#7 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1991 TO PRESENT
Lauryn Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer–songwriter, rapper, producer, and actress.
She is best known for being a member of the Fugees and for her solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Raised in South Orange, New Jersey, Hill began singing with her music-oriented family during her childhood. She enjoyed success as an actress at an early age, appearing in a recurring role on the television soap opera As the World Turns and starring in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. In high school, Hill was approached by Pras Michel to start a band, which his cousin Wyclef Jean soon joined.
They renamed themselves the Fugees and released two studio albums, Blunted on Reality(1994) and the Grammy Award-winning The Score (1996), which sold six million copies in the United States.
In the latter record, Hill rose to prominence with her African-American and Caribbean music influences, her rapping and singing, and a rendition of the hit "Killing Me Softly". Hill's tumultuous romantic relationship with Jean led to the split of the band in 1997 to focus on solo projects.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill(1998) remains Hill's only solo studio album. It received massive critical acclaim, showcasing a representation of life and relationships and finding a contemporary feminist voice with the neo soul genre.
The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and has sold approximately eight million copies there. It included the singles "Doo Wop (That Thing)" (also a number one), "Ex-Factor", and "Everything Is Everything". At the 41st Grammy Awards, the record earned her five awards, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist.
She won numerous other awards and became a common sight on the cover of magazines.
Soon afterward, Hill dropped out of the public eye, suffering from the pressures of fame and dissatisfied with the music industry. Her last full-length recording, the new-material live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2001), sharply divided critics and sold poorly compared to her previous work.
Hill's subsequent activity, which includes the release of a few songs and occasional festival appearances, has been sporadic and erratic. It has sometimes caused audience dissatisfaction; a reunion with her former group did not last long. Her music, as well as a series of public statements she has issued, have become critical of pop culture and societal institutions.
Hill has six children, five of whom are with Rohan Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley.
In 2012, she pled guilty to tax evasion for failure to pay federal income taxes, and in 2013, served a three-month prison sentence.
1975–93: early life and career beginnings
Lauryn Hill was born on May 26, 1975, in East Orange, New Jersey to English teacher Valerie Hill and computer and management consultant Mal Hill.
She has one older brother named Malaney (born c. 1972). Her Baptist family moved to New York and Newark for short periods, until settling in South Orange, New Jersey.
She had a middle-class upbringing, knowing both many white, Jewish families and many black ones. Future actor Zach Braff lived in the neighborhood, and she attended his Bar Mitzvah.
Hill has said of her musically oriented family: "there were so many records, so much music constantly being played. My mother played piano, my father sang, and we were always surrounded in music." Her father did indeed sing in local nightclubs and at weddings.
While growing up, Hill frequently listened to Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Gladys Knight; years later she recalled playing Marvin Gaye's What's Going On repeatedly until she fell asleep to it.
In middle school, Hill performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a basketball game. Due to its popularity, subsequent games featured a recording of her rendition.
In 1988, Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. She sang her own version of the Smokey Robinson track "Who's Lovin' You?", garnering an initially harsh reaction from the crowd; she persevered and later applauded, although cried off-stage.
Hill attended Columbia High School, where she was a member of the track team, a cheerleader and was a classmate of Zach Braff.She also took violin lessons, went to dance class, and founded the school's gospel choir. Academically, she took advanced placement classes and received primarily 'A' grades. School officials recognized her as a leader among the student body.
Later recalling her education, Hill commented, "I had a love for – I don't know if it was necessarily for academics, more than it just was for achieving, period. If it was academics, if it was sports, if it was music, if it was dance, whatever it was, I was always driven to do a lot in whatever field or whatever area I was focusing on at the moment."
While a freshman in high school, through mutual friends, Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill about a music group he was creating. Hill and Pras began under the name Tranzlator Crew, chosen because they wanted to rhyme in different languages.
Another female vocalist was soon replaced by Michel's cousin, multi-instrumentalist Wyclef Jean. The group began performing in local showcases and high school talent shows. Hill was initially only a singer, but then learned to rap too; instead of modeling herself on female rappers like Salt-n-Pepa and MC Lyte, she preferred male rappers like Ice Cube and developed her flow from listening to them.
Hill later said, "I remember doing my homework in the bathroom stalls of hip-hop clubs."
Hill took acting lessons in Manhattan while growing up. She began her acting career in 1991, appearing with Jean in Club XII, MC Lyte's Off-Broadway hip-hop rendering of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. While the play was not a success, an agent noticed her. Later that year, Hill began appearing on the soap opera As the World Turns in a recurring role as troubled teenager Kira Johnson.
She subsequently co-starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1993 release Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, playing Rita Louise Watson, a Catholic school teenager with a surly, rebellious attitude. In it, she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful".
Director Bill Duke credited Hill with improvising a rap in a scene: "None of that was scripted. That was all Lauryn. She was amazing." Critic Roger Ebert called her "the girl with the big joyful voice", although he thought her talent was wasted, while Rolling Stone said she "performed marvelously against type ... in the otherwise perfunctory [film]." Hill also appeared in Steven Soderbergh's 1993 motion picture King of the Hill, in a minor but pivotal role as a 1930s gum-popping elevator operator. Soderbergh biographer Jason Wood described her as supplying one of the warmest scenes in the film.
Hill graduated from Columbia High School in 1993.
1994–96: The Fugees
Main article: The Fugees
Pras, Hill and Jean renamed their group the Fugees, a derivative of the word "refugee", which was a derogatory term for Haitian-Americans.
Hill began a romantic relationship with Jean. The Fugees, who signed a contract with Columbia/Ruffhouse Records in 1993, became known for their genre blending, particularly of reggae, rock and soul, which was first experimented on their debut album, Blunted on Reality, released in 1994. It reached number 62 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart but overall sold poorly and was met by poor critical notices due to being a (management-forced) attempt at gangsta rap attitudes. Although the album made little impact, Hill's rapping on "Some Seek Stardom" was seen as a highlight.
Within the group, she was frequently referred to by the nickname "L. Boogie". Hill's image and artistry, as well as her full, rich, raspy alto voice, placed her at the forefront of the band, with some fans urging her to begin a solo career.
The Fugees' second album, The Score (1996), peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and stayed in the top ten of that chart for over half a year. It sold about six million copies in the United States and more than 17 million copies worldwide. In the 1996 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, The Score came second in the list of best albums and three of its tracks placed within the top twenty best singles. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, and was later included on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Almost all of the writing and producing for it was done by Jean.
The Score garnered praise for being a strong alternative to the gangsta idiom, and Hill stated, "We're trying to do something positive with the music because it seems like only the negative is rising to the top these days. It only takes a drop of purity to clean a cesspool."
Singles from The Score included "Fu-Gee-La" and "Ready or Not", which highlighted Hill's singing and rapping abilities, and "No Woman, No Cry". Her rendition of "Killing Me Softly" became her breakout hit. Buttressed by what Rolling Stone publications later called Hill's "evocative" vocal line and her "amazing pipes", the track became pervasive on pop, R&B, hip-hop, and adult contemporary radio formats. It won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. On the album, Hill combined African-American music and Caribbean music influences with socially conscious lyrics. Newsweek mentioned Hill's "irresistibly cute looks" and proclaimed her "the most powerful new voice in rap."
At 21 years old, the now-famous Hill was still living at home with her parents. She had been enrolled at Columbia University during this period, and considered majoring in history as she became a sophomore, but left after about a year of total studies once sales of The Score went into the millions. In 1996, Hill responded to a false rumor on The Howard Stern Show that she had made a racist comment on MTV, saying "How can I possibly be a racist? My music is universal music. And I believe in God. If I believe in God, then I have to love all of God's creations. There can be no segregation."
In 1996, Hill founded the Refugee Project, a non-profit outreach organization that sought to transform the attitudes and behavior of at-risk urban youth.
Part of this was Camp Hill, which offered stays in the Catskill Mountains for such youngsters; another was production of an annual Halloween haunted house in East Orange. Hill also raised money for Haitian refugees, supported of clean well water building projects in Kenya and Uganda, and staged a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. A 1997 benefit event for the Refugee Project introduced a Board of Trustees for the organization that included Sean Combs, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, Spike Lee, and others as members.
In 1997, the Fugees split to work on solo projects, which Jean later blamed on his tumultuous relationship with Hill, and the fact he married his wife Claudinette while still involved with her. In the summer of 1996, Hill had met Rohan Marley, a son of the late reggae legend Bob Marley and a former University of Miami football player. Hill subsequently began a relationship with him, while still also involved with Jean.
Hill became pregnant, and in August 1997, Marley and Hill's first child, Zion David, was born. The couple lived in Hill's childhood house in South Orange after she bought her parents a new house down the street.
Hill had a cameo appearance in the 1 film Hav Plenty. In 1998, Hill took up another small but important role in the film Restaurant; Entertainment Weekly praised her portrayal of the protagonist's pregnant former girlfriend as bringing vigor to that film.
1997–99: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
"It's funny how money change a situation."
—The opening line of "Lost Ones", the first song on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Hill recorded her solo record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill from late 1997 through June 1998 at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica. The title was inspired by The Mis-Education of the Negro book by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel..The album featured contributions from D'Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and the then-unknown John Legend.
Wyclef Jean initially did not support Hill recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help; Hill turned him down. Several songs on the album concerned her frustration with The Fugees; "I Used to Love Him" dealt with the breakdown of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean. Other songs such as "To Zion" spoke about her decision to have her first baby, even though many at the time encouraged her to have an abortion so to not interfere with her blossoming career. Indeed, Hill's pregnancy revived her from a period of writer's block.
In terms of production, Hill collaborated with a group of musicians known as New Ark, consisting of Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold Newton, and Johari Newton. Hill later said that she wanted to "write songs that lyrically move me and have the integrity of reggae and the knock of hip-hop and the instrumentation of classic soul" and that the production on the album was intended to make the music sound raw and not computer-aided. Hill spoke of pressure from her label to emulate Prince, wherein all tracks would be credited as written and produced by the artist with little outside help. She also wanted to be appreciated as an auteur as much as Jean had within the Fugees. (She also saw a feminist cause: "But step out and try and control things and there are doubts. This is a very sexist industry. They'll never throw the 'genius' title to a sister." While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, "We all love each other. This ain't about documents. This is blessed."
In the late 1990s, successful female artists in hip-hop were rare, with women mostly seen as scantily clad dancers at best. Released on August 25, 1998, the album received rave reviews from contemporary music critics, and was the most acclaimed album of 1998. Critics lauded the album's blending of the R&B, doo-wop, pop, hip-hop, and reggae genres and its honest representation of a female's life and relationships. David Browne, writing in Entertainment Weekly, called it "an album of often-astonishing power, strength, and feeling", and praised Hill for "easily flowing from singing to rapping, evoking the past while forging a future of her own". Robert Christgau quipped, "PC record of the year—songs soft, singing ordinary, rapping skilled, rhymes up and down, skits de trop, production subtle and terrific". It sold over 423,000 copies in its first week (boosted by advance radio play of two non-label-sanctioned singles, "Lost Ones" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You") topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Album chart for six weeks. It went on to sell about 8 million copies in the U.S. and 12 million copies worldwide. During 1998 and 1999, Hill earned $25 million from record sales and touring Hill, along with Blige, Missy Elliott, Meshell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, and others, found a feminist voice with the neo soul genre.
The first single released from the album was "Lost Ones" which reached number 27 in Spring 1998. The second was "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. This song exemplified Hill's appeal, combining feelings of self-empowerment with self-defense. Other charted singles from the album were "Ex-Factor", "Everything Is Everything" and "To Zion".
In the 1998 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, Miseducation came second in the list of best albums and "Doo Wop (That Thing)" second in best singles.
In November 1998, Marley and Hill's second child, Selah Louise, was born. Of being a young mother of two, Hill said, "It's not an easy situation at all. You have to really pray and be honest with yourself."
A tradigital art representation, by artist boki.b, of Hill in her late 1990s appearance
In the run-up to the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill became the first woman to be nominated in ten categories in a single year. In addition to Miseducation works, the nominations included her rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for the 1997 film Conspiracy Theory, which had appeared on Billboard charts, and Hill's writing and producing of "A Rose Is Still a Rose", which became a late-in-career hit for Aretha Franklin.
She appeared on several magazine covers, including Time, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Teen People and The New York Times Fashion Magazine.
During the ceremony, Hill broke another record by becoming the first woman to win five times in one night, taking home the awards for Album of the Year, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist.
During an acceptance speech, she said, "This is crazy. This is hip-hop!" Hill had brought forth a new, mainstream acceptance of the genre.
In February 1999, Hill received four awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards.
In May 1999, she became the youngest female ever named to Ebony magazine's 100+ Most Influential Black Americans list; in November of that year, the same publication named her as one of "10 For Tomorrow" in the "Ebony 2000: Special Millennium Issue".
In May 1999, she made People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People list.The publication, which has called her "model-gorgeous", praised the 5-foot-4-inch (1.63 m) Hill for her idiosyncratic sense of personal style. In June 1999, she received an Essence Award, but her acceptance speech, where she said there was no contradiction in religious love and servitude and "[being] who you are, as fly and as hot and as whatever," drew reaction from those in the public who thought she was not a good role model as a young, unwed mother of two.
This was a repetition of criticism she had received after the birth of her first child, and she had said that she and Marley would soon be married.
In early 2000, Hill was one of many artists and producers to share the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Santana's 1999 multi-million selling Supernatural, which she had written, produced, and rapped on the track "Do You Like the Way" for (a rumination on the direction the world was headed, it also featured the singing of Cee Lo Green and the signature guitar runs of Carlos Santana).
She was also nominated for Best R&B Song for "All That I Can Say", which she had written and produced for Mary J. Blige. Also, her concocted duet with Bob Marley on "Turn Your Lights Down Low" for the 1999 remix tribute album Chant Down Babylon additionally appeared in the 1999 film "The Best Man" and later received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
In November 1998, New Ark filed a fifty-page lawsuit against Hill, her management, also her record label, claiming that Hill "used their songs and production skills, but failed to properly credit them for the work" on Miseducation.
The musicians claimed to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others, though Gordon Williams, a prominent recorder, engineer, and mixer on Miseducation, described the album as a "powerfully personal effort by Hill" and said "It was definitely her vision."
Hill responded that New Ark had been appropriately credited and now were seeking to take advantage of her success.
New Ark requested partial writing credits on most of the tracks on the album as well as monetary reimbursement.
After many delays, depositions took place during the latter part of 2000.
In part, the case illustrated the difficult boundaries between songwriting and all other aspects that went into contemporary arranging, sampling, and recording.
The suit would eventually be settled out of court in February 2001, with Hill paying New Ark a reported $5 million.
A friend of Hill's later said of the suit, "That was the beginning of a chain effect that would turn everything a little crazy."
2000–03: self-imposed exile and MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
Hill began writing a screenplay about the life of Bob Marley, in which she planned to act as his wife Rita.
She also began producing a romantic comedy about soul food with a working title of Sauce, and accepted a starring role in the film adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved; she later dropped out of both projects due to pregnancy.
She also reportedly turned down roles in Charlie's Angels (the part that went to Lucy Liu), The Bourne Identity, The Mexican, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
During 2000, Hill dropped out of the public eye. The pressures of fame began to overwhelm her. She disliked not being able to go out of her house to do simple errands without having to worry about her physical appearance.
She fired her management team and began attending Bible study classes five days a week; she also stopped doing interviews, watching television and listening to music.
She started associating with a "spiritual advisor" named Brother Anthony. Some familiar with Hill believe Anthony more resembled a cult leader than a spiritual advisor, and thought his guidance probably inspired much of Hill's more controversial public behavior.
She later described this period of her life to Essence saying "People need to understand that the Lauryn Hill they were exposed to in the beginning was all that was allowed in that arena at that time… I had to step away when I realized that for the sake of the machine, I was being way too compromised. I felt uncomfortable about having to smile in someone's face when I really didn't like them or even know them well enough to like them." She also spoke about her emotional crisis, saying, "For two or three years I was away from all social interaction. It was a very introspective time because I had to confront my fears and master every demonic thought about inferiority, about insecurity or the fear of being black, young and gifted in this western culture."
She went on to say that she had to fight to retain her identity, and was forced "to deal with folks who weren't happy about that."
In July 2001, while pregnant with her third child, Hill unveiled her new material to a small crowd, for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special.
An album of the concert, titled MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, was released in May 2002 and featured only her singing and playing an acoustic guitar.
Unlike the near-unanimous praise of Miseducation, 2.0 sharply divided critics. AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the recording "is the unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person. It may not be a proper follow-up to her first album, but it is fascinating."
Rolling Stone called the album "a public breakdown" and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said the album's title opened Hill up for jokes that she had become unhinged.
NME wrote that "Unplugged 2.0 is a sparse and often gruelling listen, but there is enough genius shading these rough sketches to suggest that all might not yet be lost." With the mixed reviews and no significant radio airplay, 2.0 debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, but then quickly fell down the charts and ended up selling less than 500,000 copies in the U.S.
Neither the album nor its songs placed in the 2002 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance and used as an interpolation by hip-hop producer/song-writer Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" (eventually recorded by Syleena Johnson).
Around 2001, Marley and Hill's third child, Joshua Omaru, was born.
He was followed a year later by their fourth, John Nesta. While Hill sometimes had spoken of Marley as her husband, they never married, and along the way she was informed that Marley had been previously married at a young age.
Furthermore, according to a 2003 Rolling Stone report, he had never secured a divorce; but Marley later disputed this and made public to a blog a 1996 divorce document from Haiti.
The two had been living in a high-end Miami hotel, but around 2003 she moved out into her own place in that city.
Hill later said that she and Marley "have had long periods of separation over the years".
Hill slowly worked on a new album and it was reported that by 2003, Columbia Records had spent more than $2.5 million funding it, including installing a recording studio in the singer's Miami apartment and flying different musicians around the country.
By 2002, Hill had shut down her non-profit Refugee Project. She said, "I had a nonprofit organization and I had to shut all that down. You know, smiling with big checks, obligatory things, not having things come from a place of passion. That's slavery. Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us. It should be passionate."
In December 2003, Hill, during a performance in Vatican City, spoke of the "corruption, exploitation, and abuses" in reference to the molestation of boys by Catholic priests in the United States and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials.
High-ranking church officials were in attendance, but Pope John Paul II was not present.The Catholic League called Hill "pathologically miserable" and claimed her career was "in decline".
The following day, several reporters suggested that Hill's comments at the Vatican may have been influenced by her spiritual advisor, Brother Anthony.
2004–09: sporadic touring and recording
Hill performing in Central Park, New York, 2005
In 2004, Hill contributed a new song, "The Passion", to The Passion of the Christ: Songs. A remix version with John Legend of his "So High" ended up receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Around this time, Hill began selling a pay-per-view music video of the song "Social Drugs" through her website.
Those who purchase the $15 video would only be able to view it three times before it expired. In addition to the video, Hill began selling autographed posters and Polaroids through her website, with some items listed at upwards of $500.
For the first time since 1997, the Fugees performed in September 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The concert featured Hill's nearly a cappella rendition of "Killing Me Softly". The event was recorded by director Michel Gondry and was released on March 3, 2006, to universal acclaim.
The Fugees also appeared at BET Awards 2005 during June 2005, where they opened the show with a 12-minute set. One track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and thereafter was released as an internet single in late September. It peaked at number forty on the Billboard R&B Chart.
In 2005, she told USA Today, "If I make music now, it will only be to provide information to my own children. If other people benefit from it, then so be it."
When asked how she now felt about the songs on 2.0, she stated "a lot of the songs were transitional. The music was about how I was feeling at the time, even though I was documenting my distress as well as my bursts of joy."
The Fugees embarked on a European tour in late 2005.
Old tensions between Hill and the other members of the group soon resurfaced, and the reunion ended before an album could be recorded; Jean and Michel both blamed Hill for the split.
Hill reportedly demanded to be addressed by everyone, including her band mates, as "Ms. Hill"; she also considered changing her moniker to "Empress". Hill's tardiness was also cited as a contributing factor.
Lauryn Hill performing in Brazil in 2007.
Hill began touring on her own, although to mixed reviews; often arriving late to concerts (sometimes by over two hours), performing unpopular reconfigurations of her songs and sporting an exaggerated appearance.
On some occasions, fans have booed her and left early.
In June 2007, Sony Records said Hill had been recording through the past decade, had accumulated considerable unreleased material and had re-entered the studio with the goal of making a new album.
Later that same year, an album titled Ms. Hill, which featured cuts from Miseducation, various soundtracks contributions and other "unreleased" songs, was released. It features guest appearances from D'Angelo, Rah Digga and John Forté.
Also in June 2007, Hill released a new song, "Lose Myself", on the soundtrack to the film Surf's Up.
In early 2008, Marley and Hill's fifth child, Sarah, was born.
The couple was not living together, although Marley considered them "spiritually together" even while listing himself as single on social media.
Hill later said that she and Marley "have [had] a long and complex history about which many inaccuracies have been reported since the beginning" and that they both valued their privacy.
By August 2008, Hill was living with her mother and children in her hometown of South Orange, New Jersey.
Reports in mid-2008 claimed that Columbia Records then believed Hill to be on hiatus.
Marley disputed these claims, telling an interviewer that Hill has enough material for several albums: "She writes music in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on the wall. She writes it in the mirror if the mirror smokes up. She writes constantly. This woman does not sleep".
One of the few public appearances Hill made in 2008 was at a Martha Stewart book-signing in New Jersey, perplexing some in the press.
In April 2009, it was reported that Hill would engage in a 10-day tour of European summer festivals during mid-July of that year. She performed two shows for the tour and passed out on stage during the start of her second performance and left the stage. She refused to give refunds to angry consumers for the show.
On June 10, Hill's management informed the promoters of the Stockholm Jazz Festival, which she was scheduled to headline, that she would not be performing due to unspecified "health reasons."
Shortly afterward, the rest of the tour was canceled as well.
2010–present: further activities and tax problems
In January 2010, Hill returned to the live stage and performed in stops across New Zealand and Australia on the Raggamuffin Music Festival.
Many of the songs that Hill had performed and recorded over the past six years were included on an April 2010 unofficial compilation album titled Khulami Phase.
The album also features a range of other material found on the Ms. Hill compilation.
Hill appeared at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California, in June 2010, her first live American performance in several years.
An unreleased song called "Repercussions" was leaked via the Internet in late July 2010, debuting at number 94 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (and peaked at number 83 the following week), making it her first Billboard chart appearance as a lead artist since 1999.
Hill and her backing musicians performing at Coachella Valley Music Festival in California in 2011
Hill joined the Rock the Bells hip-hop festival series in the U.S. during August 2010, and as part of that year's theme of rendering classic albums, she performed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in its entirety for the first time.
She increased the tempo and urgency from the original recording, but at times had difficulty in communicating with her band.
Hill continued touring, including a set at the 6th Annual Jazz in the Gardens, in Miami Gardens, Florida in December.
In Spring 2011, Hill performed at the Coachella Valley Music Festival,New Orleans Jazz Fest, and at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
In July 2011, Hill gave birth to her sixth child, Micah, her first not with Rohan Marley; the father remains publicly unknown.
In February 2012, Hill performed a new song titled "Fearless Vampire Killer", during a sold-out performance at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.
In late 2012, Hill toured with rapper Nas; her portion of the tour, titled Black Rage, is named after her song, released October 30.
Hill has described the song as being "about the derivative effects of racial inequity and abuse" and "a juxtaposition to the statement 'life is good,' which she believes can only be so when these long standing issues are addressed and resolved."
In June 2012, Hill was charged with three counts of tax evasion for not paying federal taxes on $1.8 million of income earned between 2005 and 2007.
In a long post to her Tumblr, Hill said that she had gone "underground" and had rejected pop culture's "climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism." She added that, "When I was working consistently without being affected by the interferences mentioned above, I filed and paid my taxes. This only stopped when it was necessary to withdraw from society, in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of myself and my family."
On June 29, 2012, Hill appeared in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark and pled guilty to the charges; her attorney said she would make restitution for the back taxes she owed.
By April 22, 2013, Hill had paid back only $50,000 of the $554,000 she owed immediately; U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo criticized Hill, saying "This is not someone who stands before the court penniless. This is a criminal matter. Actions speak louder than words, and there has been no effort here to pay these taxes."
Hill also faced possible eviction from her rented home in South Orange as well as a civil lawsuit from the town for running a business, that being holding recording sessions, out of a home without a zoning permit.
On May 4, 2013, Hill released her first official single in over a decade, "Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)". She later published a message on her Tumblr describing how she was "required to release [it] immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline."
The release received some criticism for lyrics that appeared to tie societal decay to certain LGBT social movements. Hill responded that the song was not targeted at any particular group but was instead focused on anyone hiding behind neurotic behavior.
Following a deal with Sony Music, which involves Hill creating a new record label within the company, Hill was said to be scheduled to release her first album in fifteen years during 2013 (that did not happen).
On May 6, 2013, Hill was sentenced by Judge Arleo to serve three months in prison for tax evasion and will face three months house arrest afterwards as part of a year of supervised probation.
She had faced a possible sentence of as long as 36 months, and the sentence given took into account her lack of a prior criminal record and her six minor-aged children.
By this point Hill had fully paid back $970,000 in back taxes and penalties she owed, which also took into accopmunt an additional $500,000 that Hill had in unreported income for 2008 and 2009.
In the courtroom, Hill said that she had lived "very modestly" considering how much money she had made for others, and that "I am a child of former slaves who had a system imposed on them. I had an economic system imposed on me."
Hill reported to the minimum-security Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury on July 8, 2013, to begin serving her sentence.
Hill was released from prison on October 4, 2013, a few days early for good behavior, and began her home confinement and probationary periods. She put out a single called "Consumerism" that she had finished, via verbal and e-mailed instructions, while incarcerated.
Judge Arleo allowed her to postpone part of her confinement in order to tour in late 2013 under strict conditions.
During 2014, Hill was heard as the narrator of Concerning Violence, an award-winning Swedish documentary on the African liberation struggles of the 1960s and 1970s.
She also continued to draw media attention for her erratic behavior, appearing late twice in the same day for sets at Voodoo Fest in November 2014.
#7 TOP FEMALE RAPPER
ACTIVE: 1991 TO PRESENT
Lauryn Hill (born May 26, 1975) is an American singer–songwriter, rapper, producer, and actress.
She is best known for being a member of the Fugees and for her solo album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Raised in South Orange, New Jersey, Hill began singing with her music-oriented family during her childhood. She enjoyed success as an actress at an early age, appearing in a recurring role on the television soap opera As the World Turns and starring in the film Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit. In high school, Hill was approached by Pras Michel to start a band, which his cousin Wyclef Jean soon joined.
They renamed themselves the Fugees and released two studio albums, Blunted on Reality(1994) and the Grammy Award-winning The Score (1996), which sold six million copies in the United States.
In the latter record, Hill rose to prominence with her African-American and Caribbean music influences, her rapping and singing, and a rendition of the hit "Killing Me Softly". Hill's tumultuous romantic relationship with Jean led to the split of the band in 1997 to focus on solo projects.
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill(1998) remains Hill's only solo studio album. It received massive critical acclaim, showcasing a representation of life and relationships and finding a contemporary feminist voice with the neo soul genre.
The album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and has sold approximately eight million copies there. It included the singles "Doo Wop (That Thing)" (also a number one), "Ex-Factor", and "Everything Is Everything". At the 41st Grammy Awards, the record earned her five awards, including Album of the Year and Best New Artist.
She won numerous other awards and became a common sight on the cover of magazines.
Soon afterward, Hill dropped out of the public eye, suffering from the pressures of fame and dissatisfied with the music industry. Her last full-length recording, the new-material live album MTV Unplugged No. 2.0 (2001), sharply divided critics and sold poorly compared to her previous work.
Hill's subsequent activity, which includes the release of a few songs and occasional festival appearances, has been sporadic and erratic. It has sometimes caused audience dissatisfaction; a reunion with her former group did not last long. Her music, as well as a series of public statements she has issued, have become critical of pop culture and societal institutions.
Hill has six children, five of whom are with Rohan Marley, son of reggae legend Bob Marley.
In 2012, she pled guilty to tax evasion for failure to pay federal income taxes, and in 2013, served a three-month prison sentence.
1975–93: early life and career beginnings
Lauryn Hill was born on May 26, 1975, in East Orange, New Jersey to English teacher Valerie Hill and computer and management consultant Mal Hill.
She has one older brother named Malaney (born c. 1972). Her Baptist family moved to New York and Newark for short periods, until settling in South Orange, New Jersey.
She had a middle-class upbringing, knowing both many white, Jewish families and many black ones. Future actor Zach Braff lived in the neighborhood, and she attended his Bar Mitzvah.
Hill has said of her musically oriented family: "there were so many records, so much music constantly being played. My mother played piano, my father sang, and we were always surrounded in music." Her father did indeed sing in local nightclubs and at weddings.
While growing up, Hill frequently listened to Curtis Mayfield, Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Gladys Knight; years later she recalled playing Marvin Gaye's What's Going On repeatedly until she fell asleep to it.
In middle school, Hill performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a basketball game. Due to its popularity, subsequent games featured a recording of her rendition.
In 1988, Hill appeared as an Amateur Night contestant on It's Showtime at the Apollo. She sang her own version of the Smokey Robinson track "Who's Lovin' You?", garnering an initially harsh reaction from the crowd; she persevered and later applauded, although cried off-stage.
Hill attended Columbia High School, where she was a member of the track team, a cheerleader and was a classmate of Zach Braff.She also took violin lessons, went to dance class, and founded the school's gospel choir. Academically, she took advanced placement classes and received primarily 'A' grades. School officials recognized her as a leader among the student body.
Later recalling her education, Hill commented, "I had a love for – I don't know if it was necessarily for academics, more than it just was for achieving, period. If it was academics, if it was sports, if it was music, if it was dance, whatever it was, I was always driven to do a lot in whatever field or whatever area I was focusing on at the moment."
While a freshman in high school, through mutual friends, Prakazrel "Pras" Michel approached Hill about a music group he was creating. Hill and Pras began under the name Tranzlator Crew, chosen because they wanted to rhyme in different languages.
Another female vocalist was soon replaced by Michel's cousin, multi-instrumentalist Wyclef Jean. The group began performing in local showcases and high school talent shows. Hill was initially only a singer, but then learned to rap too; instead of modeling herself on female rappers like Salt-n-Pepa and MC Lyte, she preferred male rappers like Ice Cube and developed her flow from listening to them.
Hill later said, "I remember doing my homework in the bathroom stalls of hip-hop clubs."
Hill took acting lessons in Manhattan while growing up. She began her acting career in 1991, appearing with Jean in Club XII, MC Lyte's Off-Broadway hip-hop rendering of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. While the play was not a success, an agent noticed her. Later that year, Hill began appearing on the soap opera As the World Turns in a recurring role as troubled teenager Kira Johnson.
She subsequently co-starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1993 release Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, playing Rita Louise Watson, a Catholic school teenager with a surly, rebellious attitude. In it, she performed the songs "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" (a duet with Tanya Blount) and "Joyful, Joyful".
Director Bill Duke credited Hill with improvising a rap in a scene: "None of that was scripted. That was all Lauryn. She was amazing." Critic Roger Ebert called her "the girl with the big joyful voice", although he thought her talent was wasted, while Rolling Stone said she "performed marvelously against type ... in the otherwise perfunctory [film]." Hill also appeared in Steven Soderbergh's 1993 motion picture King of the Hill, in a minor but pivotal role as a 1930s gum-popping elevator operator. Soderbergh biographer Jason Wood described her as supplying one of the warmest scenes in the film.
Hill graduated from Columbia High School in 1993.
1994–96: The Fugees
Main article: The Fugees
Pras, Hill and Jean renamed their group the Fugees, a derivative of the word "refugee", which was a derogatory term for Haitian-Americans.
Hill began a romantic relationship with Jean. The Fugees, who signed a contract with Columbia/Ruffhouse Records in 1993, became known for their genre blending, particularly of reggae, rock and soul, which was first experimented on their debut album, Blunted on Reality, released in 1994. It reached number 62 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart but overall sold poorly and was met by poor critical notices due to being a (management-forced) attempt at gangsta rap attitudes. Although the album made little impact, Hill's rapping on "Some Seek Stardom" was seen as a highlight.
Within the group, she was frequently referred to by the nickname "L. Boogie". Hill's image and artistry, as well as her full, rich, raspy alto voice, placed her at the forefront of the band, with some fans urging her to begin a solo career.
The Fugees' second album, The Score (1996), peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and stayed in the top ten of that chart for over half a year. It sold about six million copies in the United States and more than 17 million copies worldwide. In the 1996 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, The Score came second in the list of best albums and three of its tracks placed within the top twenty best singles. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album, and was later included on Rolling Stone 's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Almost all of the writing and producing for it was done by Jean.
The Score garnered praise for being a strong alternative to the gangsta idiom, and Hill stated, "We're trying to do something positive with the music because it seems like only the negative is rising to the top these days. It only takes a drop of purity to clean a cesspool."
Singles from The Score included "Fu-Gee-La" and "Ready or Not", which highlighted Hill's singing and rapping abilities, and "No Woman, No Cry". Her rendition of "Killing Me Softly" became her breakout hit. Buttressed by what Rolling Stone publications later called Hill's "evocative" vocal line and her "amazing pipes", the track became pervasive on pop, R&B, hip-hop, and adult contemporary radio formats. It won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. On the album, Hill combined African-American music and Caribbean music influences with socially conscious lyrics. Newsweek mentioned Hill's "irresistibly cute looks" and proclaimed her "the most powerful new voice in rap."
At 21 years old, the now-famous Hill was still living at home with her parents. She had been enrolled at Columbia University during this period, and considered majoring in history as she became a sophomore, but left after about a year of total studies once sales of The Score went into the millions. In 1996, Hill responded to a false rumor on The Howard Stern Show that she had made a racist comment on MTV, saying "How can I possibly be a racist? My music is universal music. And I believe in God. If I believe in God, then I have to love all of God's creations. There can be no segregation."
In 1996, Hill founded the Refugee Project, a non-profit outreach organization that sought to transform the attitudes and behavior of at-risk urban youth.
Part of this was Camp Hill, which offered stays in the Catskill Mountains for such youngsters; another was production of an annual Halloween haunted house in East Orange. Hill also raised money for Haitian refugees, supported of clean well water building projects in Kenya and Uganda, and staged a rap concert in Harlem to promote voter registration. A 1997 benefit event for the Refugee Project introduced a Board of Trustees for the organization that included Sean Combs, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, Spike Lee, and others as members.
In 1997, the Fugees split to work on solo projects, which Jean later blamed on his tumultuous relationship with Hill, and the fact he married his wife Claudinette while still involved with her. In the summer of 1996, Hill had met Rohan Marley, a son of the late reggae legend Bob Marley and a former University of Miami football player. Hill subsequently began a relationship with him, while still also involved with Jean.
Hill became pregnant, and in August 1997, Marley and Hill's first child, Zion David, was born. The couple lived in Hill's childhood house in South Orange after she bought her parents a new house down the street.
Hill had a cameo appearance in the 1 film Hav Plenty. In 1998, Hill took up another small but important role in the film Restaurant; Entertainment Weekly praised her portrayal of the protagonist's pregnant former girlfriend as bringing vigor to that film.
1997–99: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
"It's funny how money change a situation."
—The opening line of "Lost Ones", the first song on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.
Hill recorded her solo record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill from late 1997 through June 1998 at Tuff Gong Studios in Jamaica. The title was inspired by The Mis-Education of the Negro book by Carter G. Woodson and The Education of Sonny Carson, a film and autobiographical novel..The album featured contributions from D'Angelo, Carlos Santana, Mary J. Blige and the then-unknown John Legend.
Wyclef Jean initially did not support Hill recording a solo album, but eventually offered his production help; Hill turned him down. Several songs on the album concerned her frustration with The Fugees; "I Used to Love Him" dealt with the breakdown of the relationship between Hill and Wyclef Jean. Other songs such as "To Zion" spoke about her decision to have her first baby, even though many at the time encouraged her to have an abortion so to not interfere with her blossoming career. Indeed, Hill's pregnancy revived her from a period of writer's block.
In terms of production, Hill collaborated with a group of musicians known as New Ark, consisting of Vada Nobles, Rasheem Pugh, Tejumold Newton, and Johari Newton. Hill later said that she wanted to "write songs that lyrically move me and have the integrity of reggae and the knock of hip-hop and the instrumentation of classic soul" and that the production on the album was intended to make the music sound raw and not computer-aided. Hill spoke of pressure from her label to emulate Prince, wherein all tracks would be credited as written and produced by the artist with little outside help. She also wanted to be appreciated as an auteur as much as Jean had within the Fugees. (She also saw a feminist cause: "But step out and try and control things and there are doubts. This is a very sexist industry. They'll never throw the 'genius' title to a sister." While recording the album, when Hill was asked about providing contracts or documentation to the musicians, she replied, "We all love each other. This ain't about documents. This is blessed."
In the late 1990s, successful female artists in hip-hop were rare, with women mostly seen as scantily clad dancers at best. Released on August 25, 1998, the album received rave reviews from contemporary music critics, and was the most acclaimed album of 1998. Critics lauded the album's blending of the R&B, doo-wop, pop, hip-hop, and reggae genres and its honest representation of a female's life and relationships. David Browne, writing in Entertainment Weekly, called it "an album of often-astonishing power, strength, and feeling", and praised Hill for "easily flowing from singing to rapping, evoking the past while forging a future of her own". Robert Christgau quipped, "PC record of the year—songs soft, singing ordinary, rapping skilled, rhymes up and down, skits de trop, production subtle and terrific". It sold over 423,000 copies in its first week (boosted by advance radio play of two non-label-sanctioned singles, "Lost Ones" and "Can't Take My Eyes Off Of You") topped the Billboard 200 for four weeks and the Billboard R&B Album chart for six weeks. It went on to sell about 8 million copies in the U.S. and 12 million copies worldwide. During 1998 and 1999, Hill earned $25 million from record sales and touring Hill, along with Blige, Missy Elliott, Meshell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, and others, found a feminist voice with the neo soul genre.
The first single released from the album was "Lost Ones" which reached number 27 in Spring 1998. The second was "Doo Wop (That Thing)", which debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart. This song exemplified Hill's appeal, combining feelings of self-empowerment with self-defense. Other charted singles from the album were "Ex-Factor", "Everything Is Everything" and "To Zion".
In the 1998 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll, Miseducation came second in the list of best albums and "Doo Wop (That Thing)" second in best singles.
In November 1998, Marley and Hill's second child, Selah Louise, was born. Of being a young mother of two, Hill said, "It's not an easy situation at all. You have to really pray and be honest with yourself."
A tradigital art representation, by artist boki.b, of Hill in her late 1990s appearance
In the run-up to the 1999 Grammy Awards, Hill became the first woman to be nominated in ten categories in a single year. In addition to Miseducation works, the nominations included her rendition of "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" for the 1997 film Conspiracy Theory, which had appeared on Billboard charts, and Hill's writing and producing of "A Rose Is Still a Rose", which became a late-in-career hit for Aretha Franklin.
She appeared on several magazine covers, including Time, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Teen People and The New York Times Fashion Magazine.
During the ceremony, Hill broke another record by becoming the first woman to win five times in one night, taking home the awards for Album of the Year, Best R&B Album, Best R&B Song, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best New Artist.
During an acceptance speech, she said, "This is crazy. This is hip-hop!" Hill had brought forth a new, mainstream acceptance of the genre.
In February 1999, Hill received four awards at the 30th Annual NAACP Image Awards.
In May 1999, she became the youngest female ever named to Ebony magazine's 100+ Most Influential Black Americans list; in November of that year, the same publication named her as one of "10 For Tomorrow" in the "Ebony 2000: Special Millennium Issue".
In May 1999, she made People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People list.The publication, which has called her "model-gorgeous", praised the 5-foot-4-inch (1.63 m) Hill for her idiosyncratic sense of personal style. In June 1999, she received an Essence Award, but her acceptance speech, where she said there was no contradiction in religious love and servitude and "[being] who you are, as fly and as hot and as whatever," drew reaction from those in the public who thought she was not a good role model as a young, unwed mother of two.
This was a repetition of criticism she had received after the birth of her first child, and she had said that she and Marley would soon be married.
In early 2000, Hill was one of many artists and producers to share the Grammy Award for Album of the Year for Santana's 1999 multi-million selling Supernatural, which she had written, produced, and rapped on the track "Do You Like the Way" for (a rumination on the direction the world was headed, it also featured the singing of Cee Lo Green and the signature guitar runs of Carlos Santana).
She was also nominated for Best R&B Song for "All That I Can Say", which she had written and produced for Mary J. Blige. Also, her concocted duet with Bob Marley on "Turn Your Lights Down Low" for the 1999 remix tribute album Chant Down Babylon additionally appeared in the 1999 film "The Best Man" and later received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.
In November 1998, New Ark filed a fifty-page lawsuit against Hill, her management, also her record label, claiming that Hill "used their songs and production skills, but failed to properly credit them for the work" on Miseducation.
The musicians claimed to be the primary songwriters on two tracks, and major contributors on several others, though Gordon Williams, a prominent recorder, engineer, and mixer on Miseducation, described the album as a "powerfully personal effort by Hill" and said "It was definitely her vision."
Hill responded that New Ark had been appropriately credited and now were seeking to take advantage of her success.
New Ark requested partial writing credits on most of the tracks on the album as well as monetary reimbursement.
After many delays, depositions took place during the latter part of 2000.
In part, the case illustrated the difficult boundaries between songwriting and all other aspects that went into contemporary arranging, sampling, and recording.
The suit would eventually be settled out of court in February 2001, with Hill paying New Ark a reported $5 million.
A friend of Hill's later said of the suit, "That was the beginning of a chain effect that would turn everything a little crazy."
2000–03: self-imposed exile and MTV Unplugged No. 2.0
Hill began writing a screenplay about the life of Bob Marley, in which she planned to act as his wife Rita.
She also began producing a romantic comedy about soul food with a working title of Sauce, and accepted a starring role in the film adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel Beloved; she later dropped out of both projects due to pregnancy.
She also reportedly turned down roles in Charlie's Angels (the part that went to Lucy Liu), The Bourne Identity, The Mexican, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions.
During 2000, Hill dropped out of the public eye. The pressures of fame began to overwhelm her. She disliked not being able to go out of her house to do simple errands without having to worry about her physical appearance.
She fired her management team and began attending Bible study classes five days a week; she also stopped doing interviews, watching television and listening to music.
She started associating with a "spiritual advisor" named Brother Anthony. Some familiar with Hill believe Anthony more resembled a cult leader than a spiritual advisor, and thought his guidance probably inspired much of Hill's more controversial public behavior.
She later described this period of her life to Essence saying "People need to understand that the Lauryn Hill they were exposed to in the beginning was all that was allowed in that arena at that time… I had to step away when I realized that for the sake of the machine, I was being way too compromised. I felt uncomfortable about having to smile in someone's face when I really didn't like them or even know them well enough to like them." She also spoke about her emotional crisis, saying, "For two or three years I was away from all social interaction. It was a very introspective time because I had to confront my fears and master every demonic thought about inferiority, about insecurity or the fear of being black, young and gifted in this western culture."
She went on to say that she had to fight to retain her identity, and was forced "to deal with folks who weren't happy about that."
In July 2001, while pregnant with her third child, Hill unveiled her new material to a small crowd, for a taping of an MTV Unplugged special.
An album of the concert, titled MTV Unplugged No. 2.0, was released in May 2002 and featured only her singing and playing an acoustic guitar.
Unlike the near-unanimous praise of Miseducation, 2.0 sharply divided critics. AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the recording "is the unfinished, unflinching presentation of ideas and of a person. It may not be a proper follow-up to her first album, but it is fascinating."
Rolling Stone called the album "a public breakdown" and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said the album's title opened Hill up for jokes that she had become unhinged.
NME wrote that "Unplugged 2.0 is a sparse and often gruelling listen, but there is enough genius shading these rough sketches to suggest that all might not yet be lost." With the mixed reviews and no significant radio airplay, 2.0 debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, but then quickly fell down the charts and ended up selling less than 500,000 copies in the U.S.
Neither the album nor its songs placed in the 2002 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll. Her song "Mystery of Iniquity" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rap Solo Performance and used as an interpolation by hip-hop producer/song-writer Kanye West for his single "All Falls Down" (eventually recorded by Syleena Johnson).
Around 2001, Marley and Hill's third child, Joshua Omaru, was born.
He was followed a year later by their fourth, John Nesta. While Hill sometimes had spoken of Marley as her husband, they never married, and along the way she was informed that Marley had been previously married at a young age.
Furthermore, according to a 2003 Rolling Stone report, he had never secured a divorce; but Marley later disputed this and made public to a blog a 1996 divorce document from Haiti.
The two had been living in a high-end Miami hotel, but around 2003 she moved out into her own place in that city.
Hill later said that she and Marley "have had long periods of separation over the years".
Hill slowly worked on a new album and it was reported that by 2003, Columbia Records had spent more than $2.5 million funding it, including installing a recording studio in the singer's Miami apartment and flying different musicians around the country.
By 2002, Hill had shut down her non-profit Refugee Project. She said, "I had a nonprofit organization and I had to shut all that down. You know, smiling with big checks, obligatory things, not having things come from a place of passion. That's slavery. Everything we do should be a result of our gratitude for what God has done for us. It should be passionate."
In December 2003, Hill, during a performance in Vatican City, spoke of the "corruption, exploitation, and abuses" in reference to the molestation of boys by Catholic priests in the United States and the cover-up of offenses by Catholic Church officials.
High-ranking church officials were in attendance, but Pope John Paul II was not present.The Catholic League called Hill "pathologically miserable" and claimed her career was "in decline".
The following day, several reporters suggested that Hill's comments at the Vatican may have been influenced by her spiritual advisor, Brother Anthony.
2004–09: sporadic touring and recording
Hill performing in Central Park, New York, 2005
In 2004, Hill contributed a new song, "The Passion", to The Passion of the Christ: Songs. A remix version with John Legend of his "So High" ended up receiving a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. Around this time, Hill began selling a pay-per-view music video of the song "Social Drugs" through her website.
Those who purchase the $15 video would only be able to view it three times before it expired. In addition to the video, Hill began selling autographed posters and Polaroids through her website, with some items listed at upwards of $500.
For the first time since 1997, the Fugees performed in September 2004 at Dave Chappelle's Block Party in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The concert featured Hill's nearly a cappella rendition of "Killing Me Softly". The event was recorded by director Michel Gondry and was released on March 3, 2006, to universal acclaim.
The Fugees also appeared at BET Awards 2005 during June 2005, where they opened the show with a 12-minute set. One track, "Take It Easy", was leaked online and thereafter was released as an internet single in late September. It peaked at number forty on the Billboard R&B Chart.
In 2005, she told USA Today, "If I make music now, it will only be to provide information to my own children. If other people benefit from it, then so be it."
When asked how she now felt about the songs on 2.0, she stated "a lot of the songs were transitional. The music was about how I was feeling at the time, even though I was documenting my distress as well as my bursts of joy."
The Fugees embarked on a European tour in late 2005.
Old tensions between Hill and the other members of the group soon resurfaced, and the reunion ended before an album could be recorded; Jean and Michel both blamed Hill for the split.
Hill reportedly demanded to be addressed by everyone, including her band mates, as "Ms. Hill"; she also considered changing her moniker to "Empress". Hill's tardiness was also cited as a contributing factor.
Lauryn Hill performing in Brazil in 2007.
Hill began touring on her own, although to mixed reviews; often arriving late to concerts (sometimes by over two hours), performing unpopular reconfigurations of her songs and sporting an exaggerated appearance.
On some occasions, fans have booed her and left early.
In June 2007, Sony Records said Hill had been recording through the past decade, had accumulated considerable unreleased material and had re-entered the studio with the goal of making a new album.
Later that same year, an album titled Ms. Hill, which featured cuts from Miseducation, various soundtracks contributions and other "unreleased" songs, was released. It features guest appearances from D'Angelo, Rah Digga and John Forté.
Also in June 2007, Hill released a new song, "Lose Myself", on the soundtrack to the film Surf's Up.
In early 2008, Marley and Hill's fifth child, Sarah, was born.
The couple was not living together, although Marley considered them "spiritually together" even while listing himself as single on social media.
Hill later said that she and Marley "have [had] a long and complex history about which many inaccuracies have been reported since the beginning" and that they both valued their privacy.
By August 2008, Hill was living with her mother and children in her hometown of South Orange, New Jersey.
Reports in mid-2008 claimed that Columbia Records then believed Hill to be on hiatus.
Marley disputed these claims, telling an interviewer that Hill has enough material for several albums: "She writes music in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on the wall. She writes it in the mirror if the mirror smokes up. She writes constantly. This woman does not sleep".
One of the few public appearances Hill made in 2008 was at a Martha Stewart book-signing in New Jersey, perplexing some in the press.
In April 2009, it was reported that Hill would engage in a 10-day tour of European summer festivals during mid-July of that year. She performed two shows for the tour and passed out on stage during the start of her second performance and left the stage. She refused to give refunds to angry consumers for the show.
On June 10, Hill's management informed the promoters of the Stockholm Jazz Festival, which she was scheduled to headline, that she would not be performing due to unspecified "health reasons."
Shortly afterward, the rest of the tour was canceled as well.
2010–present: further activities and tax problems
In January 2010, Hill returned to the live stage and performed in stops across New Zealand and Australia on the Raggamuffin Music Festival.
Many of the songs that Hill had performed and recorded over the past six years were included on an April 2010 unofficial compilation album titled Khulami Phase.
The album also features a range of other material found on the Ms. Hill compilation.
Hill appeared at the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, California, in June 2010, her first live American performance in several years.
An unreleased song called "Repercussions" was leaked via the Internet in late July 2010, debuting at number 94 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (and peaked at number 83 the following week), making it her first Billboard chart appearance as a lead artist since 1999.
Hill and her backing musicians performing at Coachella Valley Music Festival in California in 2011
Hill joined the Rock the Bells hip-hop festival series in the U.S. during August 2010, and as part of that year's theme of rendering classic albums, she performed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill in its entirety for the first time.
She increased the tempo and urgency from the original recording, but at times had difficulty in communicating with her band.
Hill continued touring, including a set at the 6th Annual Jazz in the Gardens, in Miami Gardens, Florida in December.
In Spring 2011, Hill performed at the Coachella Valley Music Festival,New Orleans Jazz Fest, and at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
In July 2011, Hill gave birth to her sixth child, Micah, her first not with Rohan Marley; the father remains publicly unknown.
In February 2012, Hill performed a new song titled "Fearless Vampire Killer", during a sold-out performance at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.
In late 2012, Hill toured with rapper Nas; her portion of the tour, titled Black Rage, is named after her song, released October 30.
Hill has described the song as being "about the derivative effects of racial inequity and abuse" and "a juxtaposition to the statement 'life is good,' which she believes can only be so when these long standing issues are addressed and resolved."
In June 2012, Hill was charged with three counts of tax evasion for not paying federal taxes on $1.8 million of income earned between 2005 and 2007.
In a long post to her Tumblr, Hill said that she had gone "underground" and had rejected pop culture's "climate of hostility, false entitlement, manipulation, racial prejudice, sexism and ageism." She added that, "When I was working consistently without being affected by the interferences mentioned above, I filed and paid my taxes. This only stopped when it was necessary to withdraw from society, in order to guarantee the safety and well-being of myself and my family."
On June 29, 2012, Hill appeared in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark and pled guilty to the charges; her attorney said she would make restitution for the back taxes she owed.
By April 22, 2013, Hill had paid back only $50,000 of the $554,000 she owed immediately; U.S. Magistrate Judge Madeline Cox Arleo criticized Hill, saying "This is not someone who stands before the court penniless. This is a criminal matter. Actions speak louder than words, and there has been no effort here to pay these taxes."
Hill also faced possible eviction from her rented home in South Orange as well as a civil lawsuit from the town for running a business, that being holding recording sessions, out of a home without a zoning permit.
On May 4, 2013, Hill released her first official single in over a decade, "Neurotic Society (Compulsory Mix)". She later published a message on her Tumblr describing how she was "required to release [it] immediately, by virtue of the impending legal deadline."
The release received some criticism for lyrics that appeared to tie societal decay to certain LGBT social movements. Hill responded that the song was not targeted at any particular group but was instead focused on anyone hiding behind neurotic behavior.
Following a deal with Sony Music, which involves Hill creating a new record label within the company, Hill was said to be scheduled to release her first album in fifteen years during 2013 (that did not happen).
On May 6, 2013, Hill was sentenced by Judge Arleo to serve three months in prison for tax evasion and will face three months house arrest afterwards as part of a year of supervised probation.
She had faced a possible sentence of as long as 36 months, and the sentence given took into account her lack of a prior criminal record and her six minor-aged children.
By this point Hill had fully paid back $970,000 in back taxes and penalties she owed, which also took into accopmunt an additional $500,000 that Hill had in unreported income for 2008 and 2009.
In the courtroom, Hill said that she had lived "very modestly" considering how much money she had made for others, and that "I am a child of former slaves who had a system imposed on them. I had an economic system imposed on me."
Hill reported to the minimum-security Federal Correctional Institution, Danbury on July 8, 2013, to begin serving her sentence.
Hill was released from prison on October 4, 2013, a few days early for good behavior, and began her home confinement and probationary periods. She put out a single called "Consumerism" that she had finished, via verbal and e-mailed instructions, while incarcerated.
Judge Arleo allowed her to postpone part of her confinement in order to tour in late 2013 under strict conditions.
During 2014, Hill was heard as the narrator of Concerning Violence, an award-winning Swedish documentary on the African liberation struggles of the 1960s and 1970s.
She also continued to draw media attention for her erratic behavior, appearing late twice in the same day for sets at Voodoo Fest in November 2014.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)