Anuthafunkdafiedtantrum

This edition of Da Brat’s second album combines the best songs from her underrated sophomore LP—1996’s Anuthatantrum—with the most popular songs from her first album, Funkdafied. Producer Jermaine Dupri saw Da Brat as a female Snoop Dogg, and he built her style from the same canon of '70s funk records so beloved by Snoop and Dre. Brat wasn’t as charismatic as Snoop—no one is—but as a rapper, she was equally slippery and malleable. Effortlessly, she steps inside samples of Rick James (“Sittin’ on Top of the World”), Roger Troutman (“Let’s All Get High”), and Isaac Hayes (“Just a Little Bit More”). For anyone who thought the original mix of “Funkdafied” was a little too smooth for such an aggressive rapper, this edition provides a rougher and heavier “D.J. Club Mix.” The real gem, however, is “Da B Side,” a non-album cut that features one of the last great guest appearances by the Notorious B.I.G. before his 1997 death.