In 1992, Harris got a big break when she won the grand prize in a local rap contest sponsored by Yo! MTV Raps. For the prize, she got to meet Kris Kross, and they in turn introduced her to their producer, Jermaine Dupri, who signed her to his So So Def label. Dupri cultivated Da Brat's image as a "female Snoop Doggy Dogg", and she became one of the first female "reality-based" rappers.
Da Brat's debut album Funkdafied was released in 1994 and entered the rap albums chart at Number #1. The album went platinum, which made her the first female solo rapper to sell one million units. The single also entitled "Funkdafied" reached #1 on the rap singles chart and #6 on the Billboard Hot 100. She had a follow-up hit from the same album, "Give It 2 You", which reached #26 on the Hot 100.
In 1996, Da Brat released her second full-length album, Anuthatantrum, which included the single "Ghetto Love" featuring T-Boz of TLC.
During the rest of the '90s, Da Brat came to be known more for her "featured" appearances on other rappers' and R&B singers' albums rather than for her own solo work. She contributed a rhyme to the hip hop remix of Mariah Carey's hit, "Always Be My Baby". She also made her feature film debut that year in Kazaam with Shaquille O'Neal. During the summer of 1997, Da Brat appeared along with Dupri on a remix of Carey's "Honey (So So Def mix)" and recorded the hit remix of "Ladies' Night (Not Tonight)" with Lil' Kim, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Angie Martinez and Missy Elliott. Da Brat was also featured with Kris Kross on their track "Da Bomb" on the album Da Bomb, as well as on their third album Young, Rich and Dangerous.
In 1997, she was featured on "Sock It 2 Me", a track on Missy Elliott's debut album, Supa Dupa Fly. In 1999, she appeared, alongside Krayzie Bone, on the remix to Mariah Carey's cover of Brenda K. Starr's "I Still Believe". She also appeared as a guest artist with Elliott on Carey's remix of "Heartbreaker", and on the remix of Brandy's "U Don't Know Me (Like U Used To)". That year, she was also featured on a remix of the Destiny's Child single "Jumpin', Jumpin'".
In early 2000, Da Brat released her third full-length album Unrestricted, which produced the moderately successful singles "That's What I'm Looking For" (U.S. #56) and "What Chu Like" (U.S. #26), featuring soul singer, Tyrese. The album was not well received compared to Brat's earlier work. However, the new album and new millennium did inspire an image makeover for Da Brat. Abandoning her "gangsta" persona, she decided to follow the trend in popular music and attempted to add to her sex appeal; the video for "What Chu Like" featured Da Brat and Tyrese rolling around naked on a beach.
In 2001, Brat continued her trend of being featured on other artist's remixes, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart along with rapper Ludacris on the main remix of Mariah Carey's "Loverboy" and being featured artist on Destiny's Child's "Survivor" remix. Da Brat also appeared as Louise in Carey's 2001 movie Glitter. In 2003, Brat released her fourth album, titled Limelite, Luv & Niteclubz, and appeared on the 4th season of VH1's The Surreal Life.
In 2001, Da Brat pleaded guilty to misdemeanor reckless conduct after she had beaten a woman with a gun during a dispute over VIP seating in a Buckhead, Georgia, nightclub in 2000. The victim in that incident received six stitches for a head wound. Harris ended up serving a year's probation, performed 80 hours of community service and paid a $1,000 fine.
In 2005, she made a comeback of sorts when she was featured on the remix to the song "I Think They Like Me," by Dem Franchize Boyz, which also featured Bow Wow and Jermaine Dupri. The song peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles chart and #15 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 2006, she was an onstage guest on Mariah Carey's The Adventures of Mimi Tour in Atlanta, New York City, Long Island, Washington DC, Chicago, and Los Angeles performing her rap verses on the "Heartbreaker" and "Honey" remixes. She was also featured on Kelly Rowland's "Gotsta Go", a bonus track from her 2007 album Ms. Kelly and is also featured on a bonus track from Carey's E=MC² on a track entitled "4real4real". She also co-wrote a song with Mariah Carey called "O.O.C." which appears on E=MC² and contributes backing vocals on the track.In 2007, she participated in the fifth season of the VH1 reality series Celebrity Fit Club.
On October 31, 2007, she was involved in the altercation that ended in assault at a Halloween party at Studio 72 nightclub in Tucker, Georgia. Harris sparred verbally with a hostess, and later, when the hostess proceeded to talk to her manager, Harris attacked her from behind, striking her in the face with a rum bottle. Harris entered a guilty plea to aggravated assault charges. She was sentenced to three years in prison, seven years of probation, and 200 hours of community service. In May 2010 she was released from prison after serving 21 months.
Fire It Up
Da Brat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I take flow from all dat smoke dat I smoke, no joke.
As I commence to take flight, it's gotta be first class 'cause this ass
Could give a fuck about coach... bitch.
(How high do you fly when you fly back?)
From da bottom to top; top to bottom and back.
Now as I lay me in da cup, gettin' fucked up,
Puffin' on blunts, and comin' up with some mo' of dat funky stuff.
No, it's dat hocus pocus, abracadabra, smokeyas;
Fills up da room as I breathe again.
One smoke from da ghetto; it's dem braids, and
When flossing in my benz, with my friends, it begins.
Smell the aroma puttin' you in a coma;
It's dat super sanky dank that'll make ya faint, go blank.
Hey, when I hits da door, all my niggas say...
[Chorus]
Adi, adi, adi, adi, ah... (It's probably all dat chronic that I smoke.)
Oh, how we love it when ya fire it up.
Adi, adi, adi, adi, ah... layin' in da cut, gettin' real fucked up.
Layin' in da cut, gettin' real fucked up.
It's a new day, new day; truly, ain't nathin' changed.
Fall up out my bed to the same ol' thangs.
Your average, everyday, black, surrounded. Barbecue, a little weed.
It's some niggas with some bass pounding.
One o'clock is da time to raise.
Take a shower, brush my teeth, and correct my braids.
Now listen up to what I say, because this typa shit... it happens everyday, and
(I gotta place where I soak some, so...) In da summer it's a coolin',
In da winter it's a smoke, ho.
Twenty feet away from da house, in da back,
Surrounded by a gate draped in all black its.
(It's where me and my homies go smokin' on that thang till it ain't no mo'.)
How we smoke? (We smoke till I blast some mo'.)
Doin' my thang, kickin' back, relax, and then...
[Chrous x 2]
We like to smoke, we like to smoke, we like to smoke, baaaby.
We like to smoke, we like to smoke, we like to smoke, baaaby.
We like to smoke, we like to smoke, we like to smoke, baaaby.
We like to smoke, we like to smoke, we like to smoke, baaaby.
The lyrics to Da Brat's "Fire It Up" describe the singer's love for smoking weed and the effect it has on her day-to-day life. The song suggests that smoking is a routine activity, something that happens every day, in the morning and at night. The singer uses smoking to escape from the world around her, and she revels in the feeling of being high. Throughout the song, she describes smoking weed as a transformative experience, one that takes her on a flight and enhances her senses. The lyrics suggest that smoking is a communal activity, something that the singer does with her friends, and that it has a powerful, almost magical effect on the people around her.
There's a strong sense of rebellion in the lyrics, as the singer scoffs at the idea of flying coach and revels in her status as someone who doesn't care about the rules. There's also a sense of defiance, a refusal to conform to societal norms and expectations. The lyrics suggest that smoking is a way of pushing back against a world that is often too harsh and unforgiving. Overall, the song is a celebration of the joys and pleasures of smoking weed, and the sense of freedom it can bring.
Line by Line Meaning
My day starts out light, but it is very heavy as the night approach;
I start my day feeling good, but as the night comes closer, I smoke so much that I feel heavy.
When I take flow from all dat smoke dat I smoke, no joke.
I smoke a lot of weed, and it's not a joke.
As I commence to take flight, it's gotta be first class 'cause this ass / Could give a fuck about coach... bitch.
When I get high, it's like flying, and I prefer high quality weed because I don't care about anything less.
From da bottom to top; top to bottom and back.
I smoke so much that I feel like I'm going from the bottom to the top and back again.
Now as I lay me in da cup, gettin' fucked up, / Puffin' on blunts, and comin' up with some mo' of dat funky stuff.
I'm getting high, smoking blunts, and coming up with ideas for more weed.
Rough and tough is not enough to keep my focus; / No, it's dat hocus pocus, abracadabra, smokeyas;
Just being tough is not enough for me to stay focused, I need the magic of smoking weed.
Fills up da room as I breathe again. / One smoke from da ghetto; it's dem braids, and
As I smoke, the room fills up with the smell of the weed, which is from the ghetto and reminds me of my braids.
When flossing in my benz, with my friends, it begins.
When I'm riding in my Mercedes with my friends, that's when the weed smoking begins.
It's dat super sanky dank that'll make ya faint, go blank.
The weed I smoke is so strong that it can make you faint and blank out.
Adi, adi, adi, adi, ah... (It's probably all dat chronic that I smoke.) / Oh, how we love it when ya fire it up.
I love to smoke weed, and everyone loves it when I light up.
Layin' in da cut, gettin' real fucked up.
I'm lying down, smoking weed, and getting really high.
It's a new day, new day; truly, ain't nathin' changed.
It's a new day, but nothing has really changed for me.
Fall up out my bed to the same ol' thangs.
I wake up to the same old routine.
Your average, everyday, black, surrounded. Barbecue, a little weed.
I'm just an average black person, surrounded by others like me, and we like to smoke weed and have barbecues.
It's some niggas with some bass pounding. / One o'clock is da time to raise.
There are some guys playing loud music with a lot of bass, and it's time to get high at one in the afternoon.
Take a shower, brush my teeth, and correct my braids.
I take care of myself before getting high, making sure I'm clean and looking good with my braids.
In da summer it's a coolin', / In da winter it's a smoke, ho.
In the summer, smoking weed is a way to cool off, and in the winter, it's just a way to get high.
Twenty feet away from da house, in da back, / Surrounded by a gate draped in all black its.
I smoke weed in the back of the house, twenty feet away, and it's surrounded by a gate covered in black fabric.
How we smoke? (We smoke till I blast some mo'.)
We smoke until there's no more left.
Doin' my thang, kickin' back, relax, and then...
I'm doing my own thing, relaxing, and just taking it easy.
We like to smoke, we like to smoke, we like to smoke, baaaby.
I really like to smoke weed, and I like it a lot.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CLEMON TIMOTHY JR. RILEY, DWAYNE P. WIGGINS, JOHN T. JR. SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind