Foxy Brown

Foxy Brown (born Inga Marchand on September 6, 1978 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rapper of Trinidadian - Afro-Asian descent known for her solo work as well as numerous collaborations and a brief stint as part of hip-hop supergroup The Firm. Brown has faced many obstacles during her rise to fame, including feuds with other rappers, personal tragedy and run-ins with the law, thus being labeled as one of the more controversial female rappers. She has released four solo albums: 'Ill Na Na' (1996), 'Chyna Doll' (1999), 'Broken Silence' (2001), and 'Brooklyn's Don Diva' (2008). After a bitter split with her record label Def Jam in 2003, Brown ended up in label limbo. In 2004 childhood friend/collaborator Jay-Z resigned Brown to Def Jam and his Rocafella Records label, when he became the President of Def Jam Records. Foxy later split with Def Jam once again to go independent with Black Hand Management. In 1999 Foxy Brown made history as the first female rapper to have a number 1 album with 'Chyna Doll 'selling over 173,000 copies in the first week. In 2005 while in the midst of recording her studio album 'Black Roses', Brown faced another hardship when she was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss. The hearing impairment took 100% of Brown's hearing, but 20% was restored after an operation to repair it. After her fifth surgery Foxy regained 99.9% of her hearing. Following a relatively quiet career period which coincided with an eight month jail sentence in 2008, Foxy continued to record the long in-progress 'Black Roses' with a projected release date of late 2010.