Hip-hop's first lady (though some would attribute that to Roxanne Shanté), the woman behind the moniker is Dana Owens, who was born on March 18th, 1970, in East Orange, New Jersey. She came from a police family--both her father and older brother were cops, which would later influence her rhyming style and life philosophy. Owens witnessed both sides of Black urban life in the USA while growing up. After a brief stint as a Burger King employee, she soon found herself making waves in the h ...[Read Story]