Last September I wrote a post called Brandy Through the Years, which featured music from American singer Brandy. I ended up splitting it into two parts because it was long! You can see Part 1 here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/09/brandy-through-years.html
Now here is Part 2! I didn't intend to take so long to do it but never mind, lol. I had several posts that I ended up making two-parters last year (such as my Timbaland Link-up), so I'm catching up. It's actually 30 (!) years in 2024 since Brandy released her debut album (September 1994), so Part 2 coincides with that. :)
Who Is She 2 U
Who Is She U was the 2nd North American single from Afrodisiac, Brandy's 4th studio album which was released in June 2004 (20 years ago this month!). It was co-written and produced by American producer Timbaland, who also worked on the album. The lead single from Afrodisiac was Talk About Our Love with Kanye West (see Part 1).
Brandy had been going through a difficult time in her personal life prior to the release of Afrodisiac. She had split up with her partner (and father of her daughter Sy'rai) Robert "Big Bert" Smith, with whom she'd also been working on her 4th album. She chose to start fresh with Timbaland and the result was Afrodisiac.
Who Is She 2 U is inspired by true events and is about a woman who suspects her partner of cheating on her, due to the way he acts around a strange woman. It samples the 1977 song Instant Love by American singers Leon Ware and Minnie Riperton. It was released in July 2004 in North America, and the following March in Europe and Australia. (It was the 3rd single in those regions, coming after Afrodisiac; see below.)
The single wasn't that commercially successful but it's a good song, in my opinion. It remains one of my favourite songs from Afrodisiac. :) You can hear Timbaland vocalising in the background.
Afrodisiac
This was the title track from Afrodisiac. It was the 3rd single to be released in North America, but the 2nd international single in Europe and Oceania (preceding Who Is She 2 U there). It was one of the first songs that Brandy and Timbaland worked together on.
Afrodisiac is an R'n'B song that also has pop, dance-pop and Afro-Caribbean influences. It came out in September 2004 and did well in the charts. I like Brandy's red hair in the video! :)
Right Here (Departed)
Right Here (Departed) was the lead single from Brandy's 5th album Human, which was released in December 2008. She had left Atlantic Records in 2005 and Human was her first release on her new record label, Epic. It also saw her reunite with American record producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, with whom she'd collaborated on previous albums.
The song is about being there for a loved one (family member, friend etc.). It was released in September 2008 in the US and later internationally, charting quite well in America and abroad. In the music video Brandy plays the role of an angel crossing over to the other side and coming back into her family's life. Her younger brother Ray J (who also sings and acts like Brandy) makes an appearance too.
One more single from Human was released, Long Distance which came out in October 2008. It was only released in North America and I'm not sure if I'd heard it prior to writing this (maybe when listening to the album online). I can't find the music video on YouTube but it's available on Apple Music (subscription required to see the full video).
It All Belongs To Me (with Monica)
In 2012 Brandy reunited with American singer Monica for the duet It All Belongs to Me. The duo previously released The Boy Is Mine in 1998, one of the hit songs of the time that is still popular today (see Part 1).
It All Belongs To Me was previously a song of R. Kelly's, but was given to Monica and ended up becoming a duet with Brandy.
The song is an empowering anthem for women and served as the lead single from Monica's 7th album New Life (released in April 2012). It came out in February 2012.
As someone who has memories of The Boy Is Mine from my early teen years, it was nice to see Brandy and Monica teaming up again. (They also both appeared in an episode of the live battle webcast series VERZUZ.) While for me, It All Belongs To Me doesn't live up to their previous song, it's a pleasant R'n'B ballad and I like how the video is reminiscent of The Boy Is Mine.
Put It Down feat. Chris Brown
2012 was also the year that Brandy released a new album, Two Eleven. It was her 6th and came out in October 2012. She had left Epic Records after the release of Human, and signed to Chameleon Entertainment and RCA Records. Two Eleven was her first release on the new record label. The title comes from Brandy's birthday (February 11th) and was also the day on which star singer and actress Whitney Houston (who Brandy was friends with) died that year.
Only two singles were released from the album- Put It Down and Wildest Dreams. I haven't heard that much of Brandy's music after the Afrodisiac era. I think that singles such as this one weren't released or promoted as much in the UK, which is a shame. Of course, the music landscape has changed a lot since Brandy started her career and even in the past 10 years or so, with people mostly buying or listening to music online nowadays.
Put It Down (the lead single from Two Eleven) features American singer Chris Brown and was released in May 2012. It was one of Brandy's best charting songs in a while, reaching Top 5 in the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart in the US and doing well in other countries too.
Love Again (with Daniel Caesar)
In 2019 Brandy teamed up with Canadian singer Daniel Caesar for the song Love Again. It was released as a single in July that year (to streaming and digital outlets) and both artists included it on their albums.
While Daniel featured the duet version on his 2nd album Case Study 01 (released in June 2019), Brandy also recorded a solo version, which appeared on her 7th album B7 the following summer. The single was well received, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard US Adult R&B Songs chat.
This is the official lyric video for the duet version.
Baby Mama feat. Chance the Rapper
In July 2020, Brandy brought out her 7th album B7. It was her first album in 8 years (the previous being Two Eleven) and her first release on her own record label Brand Nu, Inc, which she set up with Canadian entertainment company eOne. The album release happened to come in the middle of the pandemic and Brandy said that she felt it was a good time to release music, because everybody needed to feel uplifted.
Only two official singles from B7 were released (Baby Mama and Borderline) but it was successful, debuting at No. 12 on the US Billboard 200 charts and was nominated for a GRAMMY award.
Baby Mama features Chance the Rapper and was the first single from the album, released in May 2020. The inspiration for the song was Brandy's daughter Sy'rai (who turns 22 later this month and now releasing her own music) and how she makes her a better person. It was intended to inspire fellow single mothers.
Somebody's Son (with Tiwa Savage)
2021 saw Brandy collaborating with Nigerian singer Tiwa Savage for the single Somebody's Son. It was from Tiwa's 2nd EP Water & Garri (released in August that year), which also had a connected film of the same name, in which Tiwa made her acting debut.
Somebody's Son is a mid-tempo song with a mix of Yoruba, English and Pidgin lyrics. It's about waiting for the man of your dreams (somebody's son) to come into your life. It's nice to see a Nigerian/American crossover from the two artists.
The single was released in October 2021.
The Roof (When I Feel the Need) (with Mariah Carey)
The following year Brandy did another collab, this time with my favourite singer Mariah Carey. Mariah released a new version of her 1998 single The Roof, which is from one of her most popular albums Butterfly (1997) and featured Brandy on the track.
To celebrate the 25h anniversary of Butterfly in September 2022, MC brought out a 25th anniversary edition, which featured 8 extra tracks. The Roof (When I feel The Need) with Brandy was one of them and was also released in September.
I featured the video for the new version of The Roof in my 25th Anniversary of Mariah Carey's Butterfly Album post (scroll down): https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2022/10/25th-anniversary-of-mariah-careys.html
Or you can watch it directly here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdF0S7oXpm0
Christmas Party for Two
Finally, here is Brandy's most recent single. Since I wrote the first post in this series, she released another album, Christmas with Brandy. It came out last November and was her first Christmas album and 8th studio album overall (as well as her debut release with the record label Motown).
The lead single from Christmas with Brandy was Christmas Party for Two, an R'n'B love song. It was also released in November, just prior to the album coming out. Brandy later released a video in December and I included it in my Christmas Songs for 2023 post, which you can see here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/12/christmas-songs-for-2023.html
Or you can watch it directly on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V4jmENmNmg
Next Christmas is 6 months away, but you might want to listen if you feel like getting festive extra early! lol.
Hope you liked the post! :) If you're a Brandy fan, what are your favourite songs of hers? Some of mine are The Boy is Mine Top of the World, What About Us?, Who Is She U and Afrodisiac.
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