Da Brat recently shared one of the most emotional memories from her time behind bars, opening up about the day she learned Michael Jackson had died in 2009.
The Atlanta rap legend revisited the moment during an appearance on the We Sound Crazy podcast, reflecting on how the devastating news reached her before it was even confirmed. At the time, she was in the middle of serving a three and a half year sentence for aggravated assault, though she was released after 21 months.
“He’s tattooed all on my whole leg,” Brat revealed around the 50 minute mark. “When he died, I was in prison. And I almost beat a bh a when they said he was dead.” She explained that another inmate told her about Jackson’s death before it was officially announced, sparking her disbelief and anger. “I hadn’t heard that he had passed yet. And she had said he died. I about whooped that bh a and was almost sent to the hole, ’cause I was like, ‘Don’t be saying that sh*t,’” she recalled.
Once the reports were confirmed, the loss struck her on a deeply personal level. “I was so upset like, ‘Oh man.’ That hurt me closer than some family members passing away,” she admitted. For Brat, Michael Jackson was more than a superstar—he was family in spirit. She revealed that she was on the verge of meeting him through Jermaine Dupri, who was dating Janet Jackson at the time, but her incarceration robbed her of that chance.
“JD was dating Janet, so I was going to get my chance to finally meet him,” she said. “And that hurt me. And I couldn’t be at the funeral or nothing. I felt like I wanted to say goodbye and at least be at the funeral. My family’s there. Usher sang. I’m like, ‘Oh my god.’ And I was like, I ain’t never ever getting in trouble again, ’cause I lost so many opportunities.”
Da Brat’s story paints a raw picture of how the King of Pop’s death echoed far beyond the stage, touching fans and artists in ways that still resonate more than a decade later.