Da Brat has spent more than three decades making hip-hop history. In 1994, Funkdafied made her the first solo female rapper to earn a platinum-certified album. But even at the height of her early success, the rap icon didn’t feel free to be fully herself.
“It was against the rules back in the day for a female artist,” Da Brat said this year of being closeted early in her career.
What a difference three decades — and the right woman — can make. Da Brat publicly came out in 2020 after falling in love with Jesseca “Judy” Harris-Dupart. Today, they’re married, raising their son, True Legend, and telling their love story in The Way Love Goes, a candid book about marriage, motherhood, IVF, and building a life together.
“For a long time, I kept parts of myself private because I didn’t know how the world would receive me,” Da Brat says. “Today, I understand how powerful it is to simply stand in your truth.”
What’s next? “More life, more love, more music, and more purpose,” she says. And after a career spent finding her own freedom, Da Brat wants others to find theirs: “There is no expiration date on evolving, reinventing yourself, or becoming more of who you were always meant to be.” @sosobrat
