Rapper Foxy Brown Almost Deaf, Lawyer Says

NEW YORK – Rapper Foxy Brown is almost totally deaf, her lawyer said Monday.

Attorney Joseph Tacopina disclosed Brown's hearing problem after a question about why they exchanged notes while waiting in Manhattan Criminal Court for her case to be called on an unresolved 2004 assault charge.

"She's pretty much totally deaf now," Tacopina said. "She can't hear me. We have to write things back and forth. Anything I have to communicate with her now has to be written."

Brown, 25, revealed during a court appearance in September that she would soon undergo surgery to try to correct her hearing. Obviously straining to hear questions, she refused to discuss the possible cause of the problem.

Tacopina said Monday the prognosis from that surgical procedure is still undetermined, but "hopefully it (the condition) is reversible. She has to undergo another surgery."

Meanwhile, Judge Melissa Jackson adjourned Brown's case until Dec. 23 when, Tacopina said, he expects it will be resolved. Brown, whose real name is Inga Marchand, is charged with misdemeanor assault, attempted assault and harassment.

Brown has rejected at least two misdemeanor plea deals that would have let her avoid any jail time for allegedly assaulting two nail salon workers on Aug. 29, 2004, in a fight over payment for a manicure at Bloomie Nails in Manhattan's Chelsea district.

Prosecutors alleged that Brown, with a cell phone clutched in her closed fist, attacked and kicked one worker, and hit a second worker in the face.

Under the proposed plea deal, Brown would have pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and served 10 days of community service.

"I'm innocent," Brown said at the time. "I feel like I'm being railroaded."

Tacopina said they rejected the offer because he wanted Brown to plead guilty to a disorderly conduct violation, an offense less serious than a misdemeanor.

Tacopina said in September that the complainants in the case, the nail salon workers, "don't want to proceed. This is a waste of their time, her (Brown's) time, and the public's time."

However, he said Monday that he also did not want to expose Brown to an easy civil lawsuit by allowing her to plead to assault. "We're concerned about the motives of others," he said. "She's been seen as a bull's-eye for a quick payday."

Brown's latest CD, "Black Rose," is expected to be released soon.