Though her rapping is hard-hitting, Digga's background is surprisingly stable. Born in New Jersey, she attended a private school in Maryland and studied electrical engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. She started rapping with Twice the Flavor and was the only woman in Jersey's Da Outsidaz clique. When A Tribe Called Quest's Q-Tip discovered her at a performance at New York's Lyricist Lounge, he introduced her to Busta Rhymes, who invited her to join the Flipmode Squad. As a part of that hip-hop clique, she appeared on Rhymes' 1997 album When Disaster Strikes and the Flipmode Squad's The Imperial Album from 1998. She also appeared on the Fugees' "Cowboys" and dueted with Bahamadia on "Be Ok" from Lyricist Lounge, Vol. 1. Her full-length solo debut, Dirty Harriet, arrived in 2000 and featured cameos from Rhymes and the Ruff Ryders' Eve. ~ Heather Phares