Following years of speculation, Da Brat came out as a lesbian in March, confirming her relationship with Kaleidoscope Hair Products CEO Jesseca Dupart with an emotional Instagram post celebrating an early birthday gift (ahem, just a Bentley).

At the beginning of her career, Brat never felt comfortable revealing her sexuality. In a new interview with Variety, she explained why she not only kept it a secret for almost 20 years but also why she ultimately decided now was the right time.

“Both misogyny and homophobia created a culture where coming out would have been career suicide for a black woman in Hip Hop,” she said. “I’ve always felt like being private is the better way to go, because then you don’t have so many people in your business.

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“I was fine staying quiet, but my partner is a social media mogul — that’s how she became who she is. And when you get with somebody, you have to meet in the middle. So to me, the middle was just letting everybody know: ‘Hey, she’s the one.'”

Disclosing her relationship with Dupart wasn’t planned — in fact, Brat didn’t even tell her longtime manager. But now that she has, she wonders why she waited so long.

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“Oh, my God, the reaction made me feel like, ‘Why didn’t I do this shit years ago?’” she said. “I got so many positive messages, phone calls, and I had at least 1,500 texts. My DMs were flooded too. Granted, some of the comments were served with a side of snark.

“There were some people saying, ‘We knew it.’ Well, good for you! Now I know it, and I’m able to say it. I did this on my own terms.”

With the proverbial cat out of the bag, the So So Def vet has more space to be herself. Simply put, she feels free.

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“If I can inspire someone or help somebody to deal with their issues and their sexuality, then I’m here for it,” she said. “It feels like a weight has been lifted.”

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Despite some of the progress made in the LGBTQ community, Brat knows there’s still a long way to go. Her “tomboy femininity” — as Rapsody calls it — isn’t exactly a “big sell” in the music industry.

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“It’s still tough for female MCs, producers and writers if you don’t have the support of a major male artist backing you — or if you’re not super-duper sexy and have some big titties and a nice ass and can twerk.

“You can’t go in there looking [tough] like I did [back in the day] and be like: ‘I’m a rapper.’ They’re going to say, ‘Let’s get you out of those tomboy clothes and dress you up in a teddy.’ But that changes who you are — and then your rhymes start changing because you look different. Then you’re not so relatable because you’re not being yourself anymore. Now you’re somebody else.”