Remember when 'No Scrubs' ruled the charts and Busta Rhymes was actually an interesting artist? In this weekly feature, I’m going to take a look back at some of the best RnB artists of yesteryear, sharing their signature videos and underrated hits, as well as looking at what they’re up to nowadays.
Previous
posts have focussed on Cassie, Ciara and Missy Elliott. Today, it’s Brandy’s
turn!
Hey B
Rocka!
Brandy first appeared on the scene in the early 90s and quickly became one of the most successful RnB artists of the decade. Her distinctive look and that husky voice of hers helped Brandy to sell millions of records worldwide and secured her over a hundred awards, including a Grammy win for ‘The Boy Is Mine’. Combine that with a starring role on the hit TV show Moesha and she was unstoppable! Here she is singing over the opening credits.
So 90s! Anyway, back to the music. Brandy’s self titled debut was released in 1994 while she was still just a teenager.
Loving the hat.
While sales
were initially slow, the album eventually gained a grammy nomination and became
a big success for the star. Lead single ‘I Wanna Be Down’ was my personal
favourite, showcasing Brandy’s blend of smooth RnB vocals with a classic
pop hook and ridiculous 90s clothes. Check it out here.
Before the
release of her sophomore album, Brandy recorded a couple of songs for successful film
soundtracks. First up is the little known song ‘Where Are You Now?‘ for the
Batman Forever movie. I only heard this song because I won a Batman competition
as a kid and the CD was one of the prizes. Random I know but while the rest of
the soundtrack was average (aside from ‘Kiss From A Rose’ of course), Brandy’s
effort was a standout track, which moved the singer into surprisingly dark
territory for so early on in her career.
Um.... colour clashing anyone?
In 1998, Brandy returned with her sophomore effort ‘Never Say Never’, which eventually became her most successful album to date.
In 1998, Brandy returned with her sophomore effort ‘Never Say Never’, which eventually became her most successful album to date.
‘Excuse me? Can I please talk to you for a minute?’ Ha love it!
Now, I'm
tempted to just share every video from the ‘Never Say Never’ album here but
that would be ridiculous so I’ve chosen the underrated ‘You Don’t Know Me (Like
You Used To)’ because it features a great Darkchild beat and some freaky
stop-start editing while Brandy does her thing.
Brandy
returned in 2002 with her third album ‘Full Moon’, which saw the singer reunite
with producer Darkchild to create a more adult, edgy sound.
This
surprised me a lot at the time, as I thought by enlisting Timbaland and Kanye
West to produce the majority of the album, Brandy would have had a huge smash on
her hands. Lead single ‘Let’s Talk About Our Love’ even featured Kanye rapping
but the song was only a minor success. So underrated. See it here.
Shout out to Aaliyah!
As the track suggests, Brandy subsequently took some time out from music and in 2006, she became a judge for the first season of ‘
B Rocka!
After Brandy has seen a steady decline in popularity since her debut almost TWENTY YEARS AGO (!!), she came back this year with the song ‘It All Belongs To Me’, another duet featuring Monica. While of course the song doesn’t match the dizzying heights reached by ‘The Boy Is Mine’, ‘It All Belongs To Me’ is another great showcase of their talent and both voices compliment each other brilliantly once again.
‘Log off
your faceboooook!’
After the
success of that duet, Brandy is back sounding fresher than ever with her
new album ‘Two Eleven’.
Lead single ‘Put It Down’ doesn’t sound like anything
else out there and with Chris Brown also appearing in the Hype Williams
directed video, I thought it would be a big comeback for the star.
Here’s the promo. I love it so much.
I think ‘Put It Down’ wasn’t quite the huge hit that Brandy was hoping for but the album could still be a success, with songwriting credits from diverse artists such as Mario Winans and
While other RnB stars have ignored their roots in favour of more poppy or dancey music, ‘Two Eleven’ sees Brandy continue evolving her sound without selling out to become more successful. And god knows we need some proper RnB back in the charts! Love ya Brandy! For a track by track review of 'Two Eleven', click here. And come back next Sunday to look back at the career of one of Brandy’s closest contemporaries and past rivals, Monica. And remember to share and comment if you like what you've read so far!
Glad someone appreciates the amazingness of Brandy. Also never heard that track on the batman album til now, I love it!! To me, her albums get better her better. My favourite so far is Human but I'm hoping Two Eleven will be even better :) I also have a lot of appreciation for "I wanna be down" too. Oh, and BRING BACK MOESHA! I miss that show! :(
ReplyDeleteMOESHA!!! glad u like the batman track! I loved Human but my favourite has to be either never say never or afrodisiac. Bought the album today and loving it so far!!!
Delete