It took him two years to create Da Brat’s “Funkdafied” because, at the time, Dupri said men didn’t want to be caught “riding around listening to a female rapper.”
Back in the 1990s, Da Brat became the first woman signed to So So Def. She went on to give us her Platinum-selling debut Funkdafied and delivered hits like “Fa All Y’all,” “Sock It To Me” alongside Missy Elliott, and “Not Tonight (Ladies Night Remix)” with Lil Kim, Angie Martinez, Left Eye, and Missy. It’s been years since the world has received new music from the Chicago native, and in a recent interview with Angela Yee for Fox Soul, her good friend Jermaine Dupri reflected on why creating Funkdafied was one of his most challenging projects to date.
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“Da Brat project was probably the hardest project that I put together,” said Dupri. “Because I made song after song after song after song and I could not figure it out and Brat’s project was actually the project that made me start questioning if I was really good, and if what I had done was luck. Because I was used to going in the studio, making a song, and okay, the first song might not be so good, but the second song, I’d figure it out.”
However, Dupri ran into creative difficulties because it took him two years to finish Funkdafied. “I worked every day,” said the So So Def mogul. “I was in the studio every night.” He said he was writing songs and producing tracks, but he couldn’t get into the groove. Dupri added that at that time, men didn’t want to be caught “riding around listening to a female rapper,” so it was even more of a challenge.
“I had to figure out something that would make guys gravitate to Brat and then listen to her. What would make her cool enough to make her fit in with you so you would kick it with her.” Dupri said once he saw Brat hanging out, laid back, and smoking marijuana, he found his angle, and Fundafied was born.
Check out Da Brat’s single “Funkdafied” and Jermaine Dupri speaking with Angela Yee about his good friend below.