Foxy Brown

Inga DeCarlo Fung Marchand, known professionally as Foxy Brown, is an American rapper born on September 6, 1978, in Brooklyn, New York. She grew up in Park Slope alongside her two older brothers. Of Trinidadian-American descent with Afro-Trinidadian, Indo-Trinidadian, and Chinese-Trinidadian ancestry, her family moved in with her maternal grandfather after her parents divorced when she was four years old. She later attended Brooklyn College Academy.

While a teenager, Marchand won a talent contest in Park Slope, attracting the attention of the production team Trackmasters. They invited her to rap on LL Cool J's track "I Shot Ya." Following guest appearances on soundtracks and singles like Case's "Touch Me, Tease Me" and Jay-Z's "Ain't No Nigga," she sparked a label bidding war and signed with Def Jam Recordings in March 1996. Her debut studio album, Ill Na Na, was released later that year, peaking at number seven on the US Billboard 200. The RIAA platinum-certified album sold over seven million units worldwide and featured singles like "Get Me Home" and "I'll Be."

In 1997, Brown formed the hip hop supergroup The Firm alongside rappers Nas, AZ, and Cormega. Their collaborative project, The Firm: The Album, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Brown followed this with her second solo album, Chyna Doll, in 1999. It debuted atop the Billboard 200, making her the second female rapper to reach number one with a debut week performance, and eventually achieved platinum certification.

Brown released her third studio album, Broken Silence, in 2001. It peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, was certified gold by the RIAA, and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance for one of its songs. The release featured tracks such as "Oh Yeah" and "Candy." That same year, she collaborated with singer-songwriter Hikaru Utada on "Blow My Whistle" for the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack.

After promotional disagreements led to the cancellation of her planned album Ill Na Na 2: The Fever, Brown left Def Jam before re-signing under Jay-Z to record Black Roses. The project stalled, during which time Brown experienced severe, sudden hearing loss in late 2005 before regaining her hearing through surgery in 2006. Following her departure from Def Jam, she released the street album Brooklyn's Don Diva in 2008, which peaked at number 83 on the Billboard 200.

In later years, Brown made guest appearances on Nicki Minaj's 2018 track "Coco Chanel" and reunited with The Firm on Nas's 2020 song "Full Circle." Outside of recording music, Brown founded the label Ill Na Na Entertainment, worked as a spokeswoman and model for Calvin Klein, acted as a muse for Dior designer John Galliano, and launched a luxury fur collection called Champagne and Ice in 2004.