At just 17-years-old, Big Bratt has the kind of force-of-nature presence that instantly commands attention. Fueled by her confidence and unstoppable charisma, the Chattanooga-bred rapper imbues each track with her powerful brand of storytelling: hard-hitting, vividly detailed, and undeniably straight from the heart. “My songs are talking about life, struggles, losing friends, females, boys, growing up in the neighborhood I grew up in—anything that comes to mind,” says Bratt. “When I’m in my zone, I’m gonna make it into something good.” Raised on Southern hip-hop legends like Boosie and 8Ball & MJG, Bratt got her start way back in pre-K, thanks to the influence of her older brother, who was also a musician, while drawing endless inspiration from her experience growing up in Woodlawn, an affordable housing community in Chattanooga. “When you’re a kid, living in the hood is better than living in a good neighborhood, because there’s always a lot of fun,” she says. “But then you get older, and someone you used to play in the sandbox with or play Red Light Green Light with is just gone all of a sudden.”