Jacki-O

Angela Brookins was born on November 24, 1971 to an African-American mother and a Haitian/African-American father.[3] She has two sisters and two brothers.[4] Jacki-O grew up in the Pork & Beans public housing complex in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida. She started writing poetry in middle school and freestyle rap in high school. Brookins dropped out of high school, but later earned a GED.[5] Brookins started getting in trouble for stealing at a young age. As she got older, she became known for committing credit card fraud and stealing items from stores to resell at half price - which she frequently discussed in her music.[6] On December 23, 1989,[7] Brookins gave birth to a daughter,[8] Brittany Di'Angelis.[9][10] Brookins was 18.[11]

In 2002, Jacki teamed up with Poe Boy Entertainment to obtain a recording contract;[12] in the process, she helped established the Poe Boy brand with her first mixtape, entitled The Official Bootlegg. It went on to sell over 470,000 copies and was downloaded over 250,000 times. Subsequently, she released her first music video, "Nookie", which became her biggest hit to date. In 2008, Jacki-O revealed to Hip Hop Weekly that she was forced to have sex with a Poe Boy Entertainment executive to receive a $10,000 advance that she was previously promised. After the interview garnered negative comments, Jacki-O explained that she was not proud of what occurred, but wanted to come forward about abuse she endured in the industry. She said, "I'm very talented and my music speaks for itself. I don't have to have sex to get to where I need to be at. The authority that I was under … I was being abused by the authority."[13]

In 2004, Jacki-O was signed to TVT Records, whereupon she released another music video, "Fine", (featuring the Ying Yang Twins), as well as two more singles, "Slow Down" and "Sugar Walls".[12] Her debut album, Poe Little Rich Girl, was released October 26, 2004,[12] selling 90,345 in its first week.[14]

Her next mixtape, released four years later in 2008, was entitled Jack-Da Rippa and featured the singles "I Got Yo Man", "3rd Eye", "Cool It Now" and "Queen Of The South".[12] This led to a recording contract with her own label imprint Jackmove Ent. the next year, where she released Lil Red Riding Hood, featuring her newest single, "Baby Mama", as the lead-off track.[12] Following this, she released a mixtape entitled BBBP (Bad Bitches Bang Pink).[12]

In March 2010, Jacki-O announced that she is gearing up for the release of a new street album/mixtape, titled Griselda Blanco, which she plans to release digitally. The first single released from the mixtape was entitled, 'Bang Bang,' and was a rumoured verbal attack on fellow female rapper Lil' Kim.[15]

In 2014, Jacki-O announced via her official Facebook account that she transitioned from Gangsta rap to Christian hip hop due to religious commitment, stating that she has been "touched by God" and that she will release her next album when the timing is right.[16] Jacki-O net worth is $1.7 million in assets.

Jacki-O's first novel is called Grown & Gangsta (2008), an "urban tale".[17] She is currently working on an autobiography called Relentless (est. 2010), in which she will "detail her life growing up in Miami, her rise to fame as a rapper, and her charity work with people with disabilities."[17][18]

Before fame, Jacki-O was arrested for various crimes - including shoplifting, trafficking cocaine, aggravated assault, and carrying a concealed firearm. Her first arrest was for shoplifting a diary as an elementary school student. Jacki-O revealed that once she started making money from music, her mother still distrusted her and refused to go to the bank with her.[26] In January 2006, in an attempt to break her recording contract with Poe Boy Entertainment, Jacki-O filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy - declaring debts of $144,225 and assets of $1,340.[27] Later that year, she was arrested for shoplifting twice - once from Neiman Marcus[28] and later from Bal Harbor.[29] In a 2008 interview with Hip Hop Weekly magazine, Jacki-O revealed that she was forced to have sex with a Poe Boy Entertainment executive to receive a $10,000 advance that she was previously promised. Although she received backlash for discussing her experience, she remained adamant that she was not glorifying having sex for money and that she was a victim of abused authority.[30]