November 19--This day in Hip-hop celebrates twenty years of Foxy Brown's debut record Ill Na Na.
Upon being discovered by production team Trackmasters and appearing on multiple singles with Case, LL Cool J, and Jay-Z, a solo record from the Brooklyn rap diva proved both inevitable and highly-anticipated, thus, Def Jam released Foxy Brown's memorable debut, which sold well over 100,000 copies nationwide in its first week.
Synonymous for her impressive resume of collaborative performances, the album marked a myriad of guest appearances from artists like Blackstreet, Havoc, Method Man, Kid Capri, and Jay-Z, all of which only complimented Brown's braggadocio themes anchored upon fashion, flirtation, and mainstream media.
The album reaped much commercial success, debuting at #7 on the US Billboard 200 and #2 off the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, while fans and critics alike alluded much recognition towards the record's three critically-acclaimed singles, “Get Me Home” and “I'll Be”, as well as “Big Bad Momma” with the eventually being added onto the album's UK reissue.
\Brown's raw rhymes seemingly flow effortlessly as evident on “I'll Be” with Jay-Z, “Nasty girl don't pass me the world/ I push to be not the backseat girl/ Don't deep throat the C-note she float/ Murder she wrote, and keeps the heat close/ Firm n—ga, we 'posed to be the illest on three coasts.”
The song signified Brown's highest chart-ranking single, climbing onto #7 on the Billboard Hot 100, and even making #52 inducted onto VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of Hip-hop. Three months following its debut, Ill Na Na attained RIAA Platinum, accounting over one million copies sold within the US.
By Jods Arboleda for RAPStation.com
