ATLANTA — Da Brat’s tomboy style was greatly admired and emulated during her reign in the 90s.
She says that she is thankful to So So Def founder Jermaine Dupri for giving her the freedom to allow her to be herself — and not have to shake her private parts to get ahead.
“I had my pants backward, cut a hole in my baseball cap, stuck my ponytail through it. I wanted to be the third member of Kris Kross. So I’m grateful that I had a producer like Jermaine Dupri who did not try to change me and say, ‘Hey, in order for you to be famous or sell records or become somebody, you need to show your [t-ts and a–].’ So I am blessed that he let me be myself, I blended right in with them,” she said to HipHopDX.
She continued: “I was a tomboy back then. I didn’t know I was into girls back then, I just thought I was a tomboy. I was never attracted to women until around maybe 18. So, yeah. And I’m grateful that I have someone now who shows me how to be a better person.”
In a separate interview with TMZ Live, the rapper also weighed in on DaBaby’s recent homophobic remarks on stage.
“Back in the day it wasn’t cool,” Da Brat said of being openly gay in hip-hop. ”Now it’s 2021 so it’s a different vibe, totally, and people are 100% supportive.”
Da Brat came out as a lesbian last year and is engaged to Kaleidoscope Hair magnate Jesseca DuPart.
“I’ve always felt like being private is the better way to go, because then you don’t have so many people in your business,” Da Brat told Variety at the time. “I was fine staying quiet, but my partner is a social media mogul — that’s 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: ‘Hey, she’s the one.'”
