Da Brat has come a long way from her tough 1990s rap persona. At age 48, she is now in full-fledged mommy mode, having gone through a surprisingly stress-free pregnancy via in vitro fertilization.
Thanks to WE-TV, her journey with her wife Jesseca “Judy” Harris-Dupart is on full display on “Brat Loves Judy,” with a focus on baby True Legend, who was born in July. The series returns Thursday, Nov. 30 at 9 p.m.
“He’s our miracle drop,” said a glowing Da Brat in a Zoom call with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday with Judy by her side. “There’s nothing quite like it in the world having a child and it coming from you, out of you, looking up at you and just being yours. ... It’s unconditional love.”
Before this happened, Da Brat said she had never gotten pregnant and figured it wasn’t in the cards: “Then I was granted the most miraculous blessing in the whole world having him. He’s healthy and happy.”
Da Brat said she named her son Legend because “I believe me being the first solo female rapper to ever sell a million records [the 1994 release “Funkdafied” went platinum] constitutes me being a legend. I just felt like it would be perfect if we had a boy to name him Legend and if it was a girl, we’d name her Legacy. It’s just a royal, regal name. We needed the first part. My wife said, ‘True Legend.’ That was perfect.”
They are currently nicknaming him “Stanky Man” because of the constant farting and poop.
Now four months, Judy said True Legend started flipping.
“He had never turned over,” Da Brat said.
“Watching him grow is phenomenal,” Judy added.
Da Brat: “He’s reaching for his bottle now. It’s crazy seeing him grow.”
Judy looked at Da Brat: “You know you had a human in you, beautiful!”
Da Brat: “That thing was in my belly! Can you imagine that? I have so many questions still!”
Judy, 41, had three kids when she was much younger. She convinced Da Brat to take Judy’s eggs and an anonymous sperm donor and carry the child.
“We had a couple of complications, a miscarriage,” Judy said. “We kept going and we ended up here.”
“I’m so blessed and so happy I listened to her,” said Da Brat.
Her pregnancy had relatively minimal complications despite high blood pressure. She recalled no morning sickness or any need for bed rest. The worst issues were minor: swollen ankles and some carpal tunnel.
“I didn’t have any strange cravings,” she said. “I ate a lot of fried chicken but I always eat fried chicken.”
Judy, who runs Kaleidoscope Hair Products, said when she was a teen having kids, she didn’t appreciate motherhood the way she does now. “I have a different level of appreciation,” she said. “I can see the moment and understand the moment. This is something we did intentionally. Years ago, I didn’t understand it. I was still a child.”
Da Brat said the most surprising aspect of motherhood is breastfeeding. “I didn’t realize what a commitment it is,” she said. “It’s all day long, all night long, pumping every three hours, every four hours.”
She plans to keep that going until True is one. “I don’t want him be like two or three, saying, ‘Yo, mom! What’s up! Gimme some of that’.”
The subsequent four episodes will focus on multiple issues such as whether they get a nanny, a debate over a second child and what religion True Legend will embrace.
Da Brat, after a maternity break, is now going into the office every day to do The Rickey Smiley Morning Show live on syndicated radio, then tape the syndicated gossip TV show “Dish Nation,” seen in Atlanta on Fox 5 at 7 p.m. weekdays. Judy works from home and says having True Legend in her lap does not make work easy.
In the first episode, Da Brat is super protective of True Legend and is resistant to a nanny. “I’m very over protective,” she said. “I don’t want anyone breathing on my kid. I don’t want anyone touching my kid.”
IF YOU WATCH
“Brat Loves Judy”
Thursdays at 9 p.m. on WE-TV, available on ALLBLK streaming service
