Jacki-O facts for kids

Angela Brookins-Gillispie (born November 24, 1976), better known as Jacki-O, is an American rapper who is now signed to her own label Virtuous Woman Entertainment. Born in Florida, she got her first break in 2003 with the rap "P (Real Good)", best known under its clean name "Nookie", which garnered the MC comparisons to fellow Southern rapper Trina. Although it was the first time that many had heard of Jacki-O, she kept a high profile, prior to her radio and club successes, with several appearances on Miami-area mixtapes.

The success of "Nookie" led Jacki-O to discuss a similar subject matter on her second single, "Sugar Walls," released in 2004 in anticipation of her debut album, Poe Little Rich Girl Throughout her career, Jacki-O had worked with a variety of producers and rappers such as Timbaland, Busta Rhymes, Ghostface Killah, Ying Yang Twins and DJ Khaled. In 2014, Jacki-O reported her retirement in rap from her Facebook account saying, "she was getting closer to God and he is changing her life around". She is married and an ordained minister.

Early life

Angela Brookins was born on November 24, 1971 to an African-American mother and a Haitian/African-American father. She has two sisters and two brothers. 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. On December 23, 1989, Brookins gave birth to a daughter, Brittany Di'Angelis.

Music career

In 2002, Jacki teamed up with Poe Boy Entertainment to obtain a recording contract; 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 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". Her debut album, Poe Little Rich Girl, was released October 26, 2004, selling 90,345 in its first week.

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". 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. Following this, she released a mixtape entitled BBBP.

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.

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. Jacki-O net worth is $1.7 million in assets.

Writing

Jacki-O's first novel is called Grown & Gangsta (2008), an "urban tale". 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."

Discography

Albums

Mixtapes

• The Official Bootleg (2004)
• Free Agent (2006)
• Jack Tha Rippa (2007)
• Grown & Gangsta (2008)
• BBBP (2009)
• Griselda Blanco, La Madrina (2010)
• Straight From The Underground (2011)