Foxy Brown

Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand (born September 6, 1978), better known by her stage name Foxy Brown, is an American rapper.

Upon signing to Def Jam Recordings in 1996, she released her debut studio album, Ill Na Na in November of that year to critical and commercial success.

It peaked at number seven on the Billboard 200, received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), sold over seven million units worldwide, and was supported by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten single "I'll Be" (featuring Jay-Z).

The following year, she formed the New York City-based hip hop supergroup the Firm with Nas, AZ and Cormega (who was replaced by Nature).

Brown was featured on the soundtrack to the 1996 film The Nutty Professor on the songs "Touch Me, Tease Me" by Case and "Ain't No Nigga" by Jay-Z.

She became an instant sensation due to being very talented and rapping provocatively at such a young age.

The immediate success led to a label bidding war at the beginning of 1996, and in March, Def Jam Records won and added the then 17-year-old rapper to its roster.

In 1996, Brown released her debut album Ill Na Na to strong sales.

The album sold over 128,000 copies in the first week, and debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 album charts.

The album was heavily produced by Trackmasters, and featured guest appearances from Jay-Z, Blackstreet, Method Man, and Kid Capri.

The album was platinum and launched two hit singles: "Get Me Home" (featuring Blackstreet) and "I'll Be" (featuring Jay-Z).

Following the release of Ill Na Na, Brown joined fellow New York-based hip hop artists Nas, AZ, and Cormega (later replaced by Nature) to form the supergroup known as The Firm.

The album was released via Aftermath Records and was produced and recorded by the collective team of Dr. Dre, the Trackmasters, and Steve "Commissioner" Stoute, then of Violator Entertainment.

An early form of The Firm appeared on "Affirmative Action" from Nas' second album It Was Written.

A remix of the song and several group freestyles were on the album Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album.

The album entered the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 1.

The Firm's sole album (1997) was released by Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment and peaked atop the Billboard 200 despite unfavorable critical reception.

In March 1997, she joined the spring break festivities hosted by MTV in Panama City, Florida, with performers including rapper Snoop Dogg, pop group The Spice Girls, and rock band Stone Temple Pilots.

Later, she joined the Smokin' Grooves tour hosted by the House of Blues with the headlining rap group Cypress Hill, along with other performers like Erykah Badu, The Roots, OutKast, and The Pharcyde, the tour set to begin in Boston, Massachusetts in the summer of 1997.

However, after missing several dates in the tour, she left it.

Her second album, Chyna Doll (1998) saw continued commercial success and also debuted atop the Billboard 200, making her the second female rapper to do so after Lauryn Hill in 1998.

Chyna Doll was released in January 1999 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart, selling 173,000 copies in its opening week, making her the second female rapper to accomplish this feat after Lauryn Hill.

However, its sales quickly declined in later weeks.

Chyna Doll has been certified platinum after surpassing one million copies sold in shipments.

Her third album, Broken Silence (2001) peaked at number five on the chart and earned her first Grammy Award nomination for its song "Na Na Be Like".

In 2001, Brown released Broken Silence.

The first single from the album was "Oh Yeah", which featured her then-boyfriend, Jamaican dancehall artist Spragga Benz.

The track "Na Na Be Like" was produced by Kenya Fame Flames Miller and Nokio from Dru Hill.

The song "Candy", which featured guest vocals from Kelis, was never officially released as a single, but was hugely successful on the radio; it managed to chart at 48 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Track Chart and number 10 on the Rap charts". Na Na Be Like" was also on the Blue Streak Soundtrack.

The album debuted on the Billboard Charts at No. 5, selling 130,000 units its first week.

She then parted ways with Def Jam in 2003, cancelling the release of her fourth album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever; however, frequent collaborator and the label's then-president, Jay-Z signed her to the label once more to record for another ultimately-shelved album, Black Roses.

Following years of legal issues and a lack of output, Marchand released the mixtape Brooklyn Don Diva in 2008.

Her visual album, King Soon Come was slated for release in 2019, but has since been delayed indefinitely.

Marchand is a Trinidadian-American of Dougla (mixed Afro-Trinidadian and Indo-Trinidadian) and Chinese-Trinidadian descent.

She and her two older brothers grew up in Park Slope, a neighborhood in Brooklyn.

Her parents divorced when she was four, and her family moved in with her maternal grandfather.

She later attended Brooklyn College Academy.

While still a teenager, Brown won a talent contest in the Park Slope neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

Members of the production team Trackmasters who were working on LL Cool J's Mr. Smith album were in attendance that night and were impressed enough to invite Brown to rap on "I Shot Ya."

She followed this debut with appearances on several RIAA platinum and gold singles from other artists, including remixes of songs "You're Makin' Me High" by Toni Braxton.