{"id":853,"date":"2020-06-03T22:11:00","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T19:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/da-brat-on-coming-out-why-didnt-i-do-this-s-t-years-ago\/"},"modified":"2020-06-03T22:11:00","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T19:11:00","slug":"da-brat-on-coming-out-why-didnt-i-do-this-s-t-years-ago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/da-brat-on-coming-out-why-didnt-i-do-this-s-t-years-ago\/","title":{"rendered":"#Da Brat on coming out: \u2018Why didn\u2019t I do this s\u2013t years ago?\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Da Brat on coming out: \u2018Why didn\u2019t I do this s\u2013t years ago?\u2019<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n On the third floor of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., one photograph in particular stands out amid the general<\/a>ly august and serious portraits. While the image looks like it could have been taken at a hip-hop slumber party, the four women laughing in the photo are pioneers: rapp<\/a>ers Missy Elliott, Lil\u2019 Kim, Da Brat and the late singer Aaliyah, posing together 21 years ago to celebrate their chart reign and newfound music-industry power. And while there was no shortage of women who achieved successful solo careers in the \u201990s, these four dominated in the most masculine genre of all.<\/p>\n

Two decades later, Elliott \u2014 who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019 \u2014 and Kim are largely resting on their musical laurels; Aaliyah tragically died in a 2001 plane crash at the age of just 22.<\/p>\n

But Da Brat, whose 1994 album \u201cFunkdafied\u201d made her the first female rapper to go platinum, is getting more airtime than ever \u2014 four hours a day, five days a week \u2014 now that she\u2019s crossed over from artist to radio personality and joined the nationally syndicated \u201cRickey Smiley Morning Show\u201d in Atlanta. On top of that, every weekday afternoon she\u2019s in front of the cameras as a co-host of Fox\u2019s syndicated \u201cDish Nation,\u201d and she serves as executive producer of WE tv\u2019s reality show \u201cGrowing Up Hip-Hop Atlanta,\u201d having joined the cast in 2017 when the show debuted. This fall, she\u2019s scheduled to tour the country in \u201cSet It Off,\u201d the stage production of the beloved 1996 female heist movie that starred Vivica Fox, Jada Pinkett and Queen Latifah (tickets are being sold for a planned Sept. 25 start in New Orleans).<\/p>\n

In it, Brat plays the lesbian character, Cleo, which was originated by Latifah and suits Brat for a number of reasons. \u201cI love being a badass, and I love being a part of an ensemble of women,\u201d she says. Writer and director Je\u2019Caryous Johnson (\u201cWhatever She Wants,\u201d \u201cFor Love or Money\u201d) gushes, \u201cShe was my first choice \u2014 I couldn\u2019t think of another soul who could do this role \u2014 and it\u2019s going to enhance the opportunities for Brat in acting: When we come to L.A., a lot of studio people will be in the house to see her brilliant performance. She has raw talent along with work ethic \u2014 the girl gets up at four in the morning for her radio show, then goes to tape \u2018Dish Nation\u2019 and she comes straight to rehearsal staying until 10 or 11. She is literally working around the clock.\u201d<\/p>\n

The role fits Brat, 46, for another reason: She came out publicly in March, confirming her relationship with Kaleidoscope Hair Products CEO Jesseca Dupart via a tearful Instagram post celebrating an early birthday gift (a white Bentley, complete with a red bow). It\u2019s a move that would have been unimaginable at the beginning of Brat\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

\n<\/blockquote>\n

While people had long speculated and made assumptions, \u201cthe social<\/a> landscape was very different when she first came on the scene,\u201d noted African American-focused website The Grio. \u201cBoth misogyny and homophobia created a culture where coming out would have been career suicide for a Black woman in hip-hop.\u201d Now, industry insiders are buzzing about other female hip-hop pioneers who might be inspired to follow Brat\u2019s example.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always felt like being private is the better way to go, because then you don\u2019t have so many people in your business,\u201d Brat says. \u201cI was fine staying quiet, but my partner is a social media mogul \u2014 that\u2019s how she became who she is. And when you get with somebody, you have to meet in the middle. So to me, the middle was just letting everybody know: \u2018Hey, she\u2019s the one.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The announcement wasn\u2019t planned; Brat didn\u2019t even think to give her longtime manager a heads up. \u201cJesseca was showing me some pictures and we were going back and forth, joking \u2018I\u2019ll post it,\u2019 \u2018No, I\u2019ll post it.\u2019 So when she did, I was like, \u2018Oh s-\u2013t! I just came out after 20-something years!\u2019 But it feels good to share with the world when you\u2019re happy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brat stresses that it was her choice to stay in the closet, and not the result of pressure from label execs or managers. \u201cI was always told you want to be f\u2013kable to men and women to sell records \u2014 you don\u2019t want anybody to discriminate,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was absolutely my decision. I mean, you saw what happened to people like Ellen: Remember when she lost her TV show, and all these horrible things were happening? People were totally against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Da<\/img>
Da Brat shares a fun moment with gay performer Billy Porter at the 2019 Urban One Honors last December.<\/span>WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That group included Brat\u2019s religious family. Born Shawntae Harris, she hails from the West Side of Chicago and grew up in church, attending service five days a week. While she learned to play seven different brass instruments at school, in church she played piano and drums and directed the choir. \u201cAll that musicality from church plays into who I am as an entertainer today,\u201d she says. The strict dress code and traditional ideas about gender roles \u2014 Brat had to wear long skirts \u2014 also had a strong influence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can be a tomboy or an absolute lady \u2014 I gave myself the title \u2018The Best of Both Girls,\u2019\u201d she jokes. Her grandmother even enrolled her in etiquette classes. \u201cMy grandmother has passed away, but she was sanctified,\u201d says Brat. \u201cI would not want anyone in the church to judge her because of what I do. You never want to hurt the people that raised you; you don\u2019t want to disappoint them.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Brat\u2019s mother probably isn\u2019t going to join PFLAG anytime soon. \u201cYeah, my mom is not, like, jumping for joy,\u201d says Brat. \u201cShe\u2019s not going to condone it, but she loves me unconditionally. No one in my family has said anything bad or degrading.\u201d<\/p>\n

And the response from the public has been overwhelmingly favorable. \u201cOh, my God, the reaction made me feel like, \u2018Why didn\u2019t I do this s\u2013t years ago?\u2019\u201d she laughs. \u201cI got so many positive messages, phone calls, and I had at least 1,500 texts. My DMs were flooded too.\u201d Granted, some of the comments were served with a side of snark. \u201cThere were some people saying, \u2018We knew it,\u2019\u201d says Brat. \u201cWell, good for you! Now I know it, and I\u2019m able to say it. I did this on my own terms.\u201d (For the record, Brat says of her sexual identity: \u201cI had boyfriends in high school, and then I dated guys and girls, so I guess for a long time I was bisexual.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u2018To me, Pride is loving myself and not making excuses for anything: Live in your truth.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Brat also seems to be enjoying her newfound visibility as one-half of a power couple \u2014 she and Dupart are like Atlanta\u2019s answer to Ellen and Portia. \u201cWe just complement each other,\u201d says Brat. \u201cSome of my exes wouldn\u2019t be able to take how social media drags people \u2014 the hate and the trolls. But this one that I got now? She\u2019s built for it. She teaches me! So I\u2019m learning, and when you have a partner that you can learn from, grow with, who inspires you? I love that.\u201d<\/p>\n

This will be Brat\u2019s first time celebrating Pride out loud and proud, and the significance isn\u2019t lost on her. \u201cTo me, Pride is loving myself and not making excuses for anything: Live in your truth,\u201d she says. \u201cIf I can inspire someone or help somebody to deal with their issues and their sexuality, then I\u2019m here for it.\u201d She definitely doesn\u2019t miss the baggage she carried around for two decades: At least twice during this interview, she says, \u201cIt feels like a weight has been lifted.\u201d<\/p>\n

And while she\u2019s grateful that young LGBTQ artists like Lil Nas X have found acceptance in the industry, she fears that some things will never change. \u201cMen still run the labels and they probably will forever, and if they have to create you, they will,\u201d she says. \u201cSo it\u2019s still tough for female MCs, producers and writers if you don\u2019t have the support of a major male artist backing you \u2014 or if you\u2019re not super-duper sexy and have some big titties and a nice ass and can twerk.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t go in there looking [tough] like I did [back in the day] and be like: \u2018I\u2019m a rapper.\u2019 They\u2019re going to say, \u2018Let\u2019s get you out of those tomboy clothes and dress you up in a teddy.\u2019 But that changes who you are \u2014 and then your rhymes start changing because you look different. Then you\u2019re not so relatable because you\u2019re not being yourself anymore. Now you\u2019re somebody else. Who are you?\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a question Da Brat is proud to answer unequivocally today.\n <\/p><\/div>\n

Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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If you want to read more Entertainment News<\/a> articles, you can visit our General category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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