Shawntae Harris aka Da Brat, is an American rapper and actress from Chicago, IL. Beginning her career in 1992, her debut album Funkdafied (1994) sold one million copies, making her the first female solo rap act to receive a platinum certification, and the second overall female rap act (solo or group) after Salt-N-Pepa. Brat has received two Grammy Award nominations.

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Born Shawntae Harris on April 14, 1974, in Joliet, Illinois, Brat was raised on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. Born to David Ray McCoy (1935–1988), a Chicago businessman and Nadine Brewer, a Chicago city bus driver, Her parents never married. Brat was subsequently raised in two different households. Da Brat lived part of the time with her mother and grandmother and attended a Apostolic church four times a week, where she sang in the choir. Da Brat attended Kenwood Academy during her sophomore and junior year, where she ran track and played basketball. She graduated from the Academy of Scholastic Achievement, a continuation charter school that caters to at-risk students in 1992.

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Da Brat is the younger half sister of actress and former model LisaRaye McCoy through her father. Source.