has been a hip-hop icon for decades now, initially rising to prominence as an integral part of the So-So Def movement. With four studio albums under her belt, including the 2000 fan-favorite Undisputed, Brat has continuously held it down well beyond her musical career. Earlier this year, the Growing Up Hip-Hop Atlanta star took a moment to come out in an emotional Instagram post,  with Kaleidoscope Hair Products CEO Jesseca Dupart. Now, Da Brat has connected with Variety for the Pride Issue, where she opened up about her decision. 

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“I’ve always felt like being private is the better way to go, because then you don’t have so many people in your business,” Brat explained, speaking with Variety. “I was fine staying quiet, but my partner is a social media mogul — that’s how she became who she is. And when you get with somebody, you have to meet in the middle. So to me, the middle was just letting everybody know: ‘Hey, she’s the one’.” Brat also explained how the decision to make the announcement was spontaneous, a simple celebration of love. 

“Jesseca was showing me some pictures and we were going back and forth, joking ‘I’ll post it,’ ‘No, I’ll post it.’ So when she did, I was like, ‘Oh sh–! I just came out after 20-something years!’ But it feels good to share with the world when you’re happy,” continues Brat, who remembers when people weren’t so accepting within the industry. ““I was always told you want to be fuckable to men and women to sell records — you don’t want anybody to discriminate. It was absolutely my decision. I mean, you saw what happened to people like Ellen: Remember when she lost her TV show, and all these horrible things were happening? People were totally against it.”

Check out the entire Variety interview right here, and show some love for Da Brat for keeping true to herself.