TRACK REVIEW: Brandy - Borderline — Music Musings & Such

TRACK REVIEW:

Brandy

Borderline

9.5/10

The track, Borderline, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr2r3H477uY

The album, B7, is available here:

https://www.roughtrade.com/gb/brandy/b7

RELEASE DATE:

31st July, 2020

GENRE:

R&B

ORIGIN:

Los Angeles, U.S.A.

LABEL:

Eone Entertainment

PRODUCERS:

Matthew Burnett/Darhyl "Hey DJ" Camper/LaShawn Daniels/Jordan Evans/Hit-Boy/Brandy Norwood/Cory Rooney/Alonzo "Lonnie" Smalls II/Joshua "YXSH" Thomas

TRACKLIST:

Saving All My Love

Unconditional Oceans

Rather Be

All My Life, Pt. 1

Lucid Dreams

Borderline

No Tomorrow

Say Something

All My Life, Pt. 2

I Am More

High Heels (ft. Sy'rai)

Baby Mama (ft. Chance the Rapper)

All My Life, Pt. 3

Love Again (with Daniel Caesar)

Bye BiPolar

__________

IT is good to have Brandy back…

with a new album! I really love her music and her last album, 2012’s Two Eleven, was a success. There are various reasons why it has been a while since her last record but, with B7, we get some classic on her seventh album! Before I look at a few different aspects of Brandy and her music, I want to nod to one of my favourite songs of the 1990s: The Boy Is Mine. A duet with Monica, the song is taken from Brandy’s hugely admired second album, Never Say Never, of 1998. That entire album was a real breakthrough from Brandy, and it not only showcased her broad thematic range, but an incredible voice – she was crowned the ‘vocal Bible’ after that album. I have been listening a lot to music from the ‘90s, and there was something about the time that was electric and hugely inspiring! Some artists might feel slightly regretful being linked to just the one song or people talking about it so much but, for Brandy, it gave her some fresh exposure and took her music to new levels. In a recent interview with Billboard, Brandy talked about the legacy of The Boy Is Mine:

“Currently on the Billboard Hot 100, several female duets are hitting No. 1, a feat that only eight songs have ever accomplished, including “The Boy Is Mine.” Thinking back, did you have any idea how big of a hit it would become?

I didn't know how big it was gonna be; I had no idea that it would be No. 1 for 13 weeks. I didn’t know. But I did know that it was a special record. I knew that it was a special record before I got on it, before Monica got on it. I knew just with the way the track sounded, I never heard anything like that.

But then when the song was written on top of it, and then ... when it all came together, I was like, "OK, this is different." And then when Monica put her stamp on it, you just heard the contrast between her and I. I knew that it was gonna be something special, but I had no idea it was going to do what it did. I'm still blown away today. It was an incredible moment that I kind of wish we would have seized even more”.

To go in a slightly different direction, and it is amazing to consider where great singers started out; what was the root of their soulfulness and ability. For some, it is their peers or a particular place. In the case of many singers, they learned about singing and a different way of performance from the church. Many might assume it is just Soul and Gospel singers who are influenced by church music, but there are so many different artists who sang at church as a child and, from that moment, they were transported. From Aretha Franklin and Mavis Staples to P.P. Arnold, some of the real greats sang at church and things grew from there. I’d like to think that a lot of the new generation sang at church, but I think it is rare. Brandy definitely learned and honed some of her talent and promise from going to church when she was young. In this interview with The Guardian from this year, she discussed her bond with the church:

“Brandy Norwood was always destined to be a singer. As a young child she would accompany her dad, a gospel vocalist and choir director, to their local church in Mississippi. “Watching what people’s voices did to audiences, I wanted to see if my voice could do a little of that,” she recalls. When she was four, her family moved to LA. A talent show regular, her demo CD eventually found its way to Atlantic; when the label signed her, Brandy’s mum became her manager”.

I want to take a slightly chronological path from here because, as I consider the young Brandy singing at church to the successful artists she is now, one has to look at her earlier years. Brandy Norwood’s 1994 album, Brandy, was a great introduction to a wonderful vocalist. Though she only co-wrote a few songs on the album, I think her personality shines through, and that record is a lot more than a template for her voice.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tyren Redd

After that promising debut, a new team of writers and producers worked on 1998’s Never Say Never. The album established her smooth sound, and it afforded Brandy a way into film and T.V. The album combined R&B and Pop, and Never Say Never was impactful to artists like Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears who were about to break through. There are so many great tracks on that album, including The Boy Is Mine, Never Say Never, and Almost Doesn’t Count. In some ways, I think Brandy has incorporated some of the sounds of Never Say Never on her new album, B7. I remember that album coming out in 1998, and it was clear that a very authentic and accessible artist was in our midst! Whilst Never Say Never’s success cannot be defined by a single factor, it seemed that the discovery of Rodney Jenkins was a real boost. This article discusses the success of Never Say Never, and how Rodney Jenkins helped expand and strengthen Brandy’s music:

“Never Say Never was completed in the spring of 1998 and ready for a June 9 release. Brandy, Darkchild, Foster and so many others had no idea that this album would go on to be the singer’s best-selling album to date. Darkchild’s production mixed with Brandy’s complex yet controlled runs, effortless riffs, and dope background vocal arrangements were a musical marriage made in heaven. On top of all of this, the pair were so young, with Brandy being 19, and Darkchild 20 when the album was released.

Some music critics and Brandy aficionados argue that the singer’s third studio album Full Moon secured her place in R&B history and catapulted her into the greats category, complete with the "Vocal Bible" title. As Brandy stated in an August 2012 interview with Complex, “To find Rodney Jerkins was rare. They don’t come around like that every day. To find him, it was a match made in heaven, and it still is…. He helped me to be versatile…. He helped me find my voice.” Brandy grew confident as both an artist and a young woman on Never Say Never, creating an album that showed both personal and vocal growth. There was a sound that was created 20 years ago with Brandy’s vocals and Rodney’s production that is still unmatched. A sound that gave us Never Say Never, a sound that birthed the Vocal Bible.

After such a huge success, Brandy’s career did take a slight downturn after 1998. The aforementioned article from The Guardian documents the success of Never Say Never, and how Brandy navigated some difficult years that followed:

“For a period in the late 90s and early 00s it felt as if Brandy, AKA the fan-ordained “vocal Bible”, was being fast-tracked for Houston-level success. Her second album, 1998’s Never Say Never, sold 16m copies worldwide, thanks in part to its lead single The Boy Is Mine. A playfully confrontational duet with fellow R&B upstart Monica, it spent 13 weeks at No 1 in the US, finishing as the year’s best-selling single. Its opulent sound – fluttering harps, cascading backing vocals, elasticated bass – rewired the genre, with its then-unknown co-producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and co-writer LaShawn Daniels going on to craft era-defining hits for the likes of Destiny’s Child, Jennifer Lopez and Houston herself. A year later, now one of the biggest pop stars in the world, Brandy was given her own line of Barbie dolls. “A black Barbie with braids and little baby hairs coming out,” she smiles. “Truly unbelievable.”

While there were other hits – Have You Ever, What About Us?, Talk About Our Love – by 2005 Brandy’s commercial appeal had stalled. In 2006, she was involved in a fatal road accident (a topic very much off the table during our interview) that forced her to quit as a judge on America’s Got Talent. While subsequent albums showed flashes of brilliance, they were often undermined by her rocky relationship with music itself. “Sometimes you get caught up in being popular and relevant, and that makes you lose the reason why you’re connected to music,” she says. “I’m scared of that. I don’t ever want to get to a point where I’m doing music for the wrong reasons”.

I do not want to dwell on the rough years, but the fact that Brandy has just released one of her best albums and is still hugely important shows her incredible spirit and resilience! I think a lot of artists face struggles and pressures, and after such a blockbuster album like Never Say Never, I can only imagine what life was like for her. If an artist self-pens and produces material, I guess they can mould and progress their own sound but, in the case of so many R&B and Pop artists, they have teams behind them that help define the sound of an album. 2002’s Full Moon had a lot of the team and D.N.A. of Never Say Never, but it never reached the same heights, and there were few songs that had the same connectivity and magic as The Boy Is Mine. If Brandy has inspired a lot of young artists coming through, by the turn of the century, a lot of them were overtaking her and at the forefront – as the years progressed, it became harder for Brandy to establish a hit and find consistency.

As this article highlights, Brandy faced a low point and battled depression and disorientation:

“Despite working with everyone from Frank Ocean to Bruno Mars, by 2008 Brandy’s music career was flagging — even she recognised writer/producer Rodney Jerkins didn’t give her his best work on the project. The 2012 follow up, Two Eleven, fared even worse. She even dabbled with rapping as Bran’Nu on Timbaland’s Shock Value 2 album.

Brandy kept busy — judging on America’s Got Talent with David Hasselhoff, starring in a reality show with Ray J, competing on Dancing With the Stars and more acting work in both films (I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Temptation — Confessions of a Marriage Counselor) and TV shows including Drop Dead Diva, 90210,The Game and this year’s Zoe Ever After.

The singer has been open about her battle with depression, following turmoil in her professional and personal life and a string of setbacks and missed opportunities.

Brandy admitted she renewed her faith in God and focused on daughter Sy’rai, who is about to turn 14 and regularly features singing on her mother’s social media.

“People would never guess the dark space that I was in about a year ago and how long I was sad and depressed. It showed in my physical frame and in my eyes,” Brandy said in 2014”.

I think it is great that, through renewed faith and direction, Brandy was able to regain strength. Brandy’s daughter, Sy'rai Iman Smith, is following in her mother’s footsteps, and she appears on a track from B7, High Heels. Though it is great that Brandy has a daughter with a flair for music, there comes with that a sense of protection: a need to make sure that she does not fall into the same traps as she did. Though the music scene is different to the one Brandy entered in the 1990s, there are definite hazards to navigate.

One can see parallels between Brandy and her daughter and, as she (her daughter) has the music bug, Brandy understands the business and wants to keep her daughter protected. When promoting B7, Brandy spoke with Rolling Stone and that subject came up:

“She’s the same age that you were at the peak of your ascent, as both a singer and actress. I can’t imagine what your teen years were like, especially having a foot in both those worlds. Do you look back on that time with fondness, or does it feel like a traumatic thing to have gone through as a young woman?

I think it’s a little bit of both. I got a chance to experience things that I’d never dreamt of, and then everything that I ever dreamed of. But then also, I had to grow up in front of the public. I didn’t get a chance to make private mistakes and really discover my own voice without having to deal with everyone else’s voices and thoughts and opinions about the things that I was doing. Trauma definitely comes along with that, but I was able to overcome that and I’m able to look back on my past with a lot of compassion and no regrets.

I’m also able to protect my daughter. I’m able to give her advice and let her know that she has a lot of time, she can grow up a lot without having to be in front of the public eye. She can take her time with it, she can be known a little bit right now and then grow in privacy and then come out a little bit later. She doesn’t have to come out at 18. She doesn’t have to come out at 21. She can wait until she’s in her mid-twenties. She doesn’t have to follow the same path. I can just teach her different things that I didn’t know at that time. I’m thankful for the life that I’ve had and for the things I’ve been able to experience”.

The discussion about gaps between albums is one that frequently comes up. Today, as in years past, there is this sense of expectation from fans and record labels. At such a competitive and busy time for music, taking a while between albums can be risky. If artists hurry and put out albums every year, they can rush and create something quite disposable and untrue to them! I do worry about the sort of pressure artists face to keep putting out material, and that is true of Brandy. She is in a different position to many of her peers, but 2012 was when her last album arrived, so many people have been asking whether she has disappeared, or her career has ended. Her first album came out when she was a teenager and, at forty-one, Brandy is still a young woman! It does seem insane that an artist takes a few years away and they are either forgotten about or people wonder whether their career has ended. I think rushing albums and releasing material that is not to her best could have been damaging. Instead, Brandy has come back with one of her best albums! That said, many people have been wondering about Brandy and what started the process for B7. When chatting with Rolling Stone, Brandy talked about the process of putting her album together:

“This is the longest between two albums for you in your career. When would you say that the process for this album started for you?

I feel like it started about three years ago. I was balancing television and studio time. I put everything I could into this project. It was so freeing for me, because I did get a chance to really dig in and write from my heart of hearts. I was able to really get a lot of things off of my chest, really use music as a way to escape and heal.

I really don’t like that it took me this long, but I’m glad that I didn’t rush it because when you’ve been absent from music for so long you want to make sure that it’s your best work. For me, I approached this album like this is my last project. What would I want it to sound like? How would I want to express myself? I took my time in that way.

What were the actions that you had to take in your life, besides getting out of that bad label contract, to feel that freedom on a day-to-day basis?

I went to Broadway, and Broadway was an eye-opener for me. [Brandy played Roxie Hart in Chicago during several stints between 2015 and 2017] I had never felt so inspired the way I felt when I was on Broadway, I felt so free every night when I was performing. Just being able to feel my voice in that way, being able to feel a crowd in that way, it opened up a lot of dreams that I didn’t know I still had. From there, I started to go into the studio again and record. I released a few songs, just for the fun of it, just to feel the interaction with my fans. From there, I really wanted to create a body of work”.

That last question-and-answer is quite striking! Another theme that keeps coming to mind, and one that I am really interested in, is how an artist’s music sounds when signed to a label, and how much freedom they have. Certainly, an artist cannot release albums at their own speed, and the nature and sound of their music might not be what they wanted. Labels, especially big labels, help get the music out there, but some of the autonomy and flexibility artists enjoy can be stripped. For Brandy, assuming assertion and taking her music where it needs to go was a big consideration when making this return.

This article from Entertainment Weekly talks of Brandy putting out B7 on her own label:

“B7, meanwhile, marks Brandy’s first independent release on her own Brand Nu Entertainment/eOne label (2012’s Two Eleven was released by RCA). “I was inspired by the opportunity to have control over my music and be the ultimate decision maker of my career," she says. "It’s not that I had no creative control before but I was inspired to be more hands-on with this project because I was approaching it as if it could be my last time making music.” Brandy co-wrote and -produced all but one of the new project’s 15 songs, and worked with an impressive group of collaborators, including Kim “Kaydence” Krysiuk, songwriter/producer Darhyl Camper Jr. (H.E.R., Mariah Carey), and the late LaShawn Daniels, the Grammy-winning producer and "Boy is Mine" co-writer who died last September in a car crash. “He was such a light,” says Brandy of Daniels." “He knew how to bring out the best in me. He always made me feel comfortable to dig deep outside of my comfort zone. And I listened. I just pray he’s proud of what I was able to complete”.

This year has been an incredibly strong and varied one, despite the fact it has been a very challenging time, some truly wonderful albums have been released! As I have said many times, women have been leading and dominating the scene! From Haim and Phoebe Bridgers to Fiona Apple, Brandy, Waxahatchee, Dua Lipa and Jessie Ware – and so many others -, it is the album from women that has made the biggest impact, I feel. It is not the case that women from a certain genre have been leading the charge: artists from various corners have added so much brilliance. If R&B, in recent years, has seen men make big strides, 2020 is the year where women have regained assertion and power. As this Billboard interview with Brandy from this year highlights, 2020 has been a year when women have led; she also talked about the power of music:

“We’re going to remember 2020 for a lot of things, but it’s become the year that women led the R&B pack. Why do you think Black female R&B artists like yourself, Jhené Aiko, Chloe x Halle, Kehlani and Teyana Taylor have been showing up in such a major way over the past few months?

I believe that music heals. Music is the language that we all speak. It is what we all need, and I feel like we need it more now than we ever have. This is the year where we all need to feel like we have something to get us through. ... I was a little hesitant with putting out music in this time because, of course, you want to speak to the times. And I'm thinking, "My music is not about exactly what's going on right now." But then I thought, "But this is the time where people need to feel like they have something to just escape and just help them heal." ... So that's what made me feel better about releasing [the album].

And I think that we don’t want to feel alone. We need to feel community, we need to feel togetherness, we need to feel love right now. And I think music is the best way to feel that. It’s the shortcut to feeling that right away”.

Before reviewing a track from B7, I wanted to lead in with a positive aspect. I have looked at Brandy’s breakthrough in 1998, and the ensuing years which were more unpredictable and tough. Although Brandy has gone through some bad times, I think she has managed to gain new strength and focus. Her latest album seems like one of her most realised and personal. I have been sourcing from other sites and articles quite a lot, but I think it helps contextaulise the music and give more insight into a fantastic and inspirational artist. The last article I want to quote from is from The Guardian. Brandy spoke with them last month and, whilst she discussed how great it would be to collaborate with Enya (a dream collaboration for her), she also highlighted how music has acted like therapy and a source of guidance:

“For now, Enya can wait. While in many ways B7, released via her own label, is classic Brandy, off-kilter production anchored by a voice still deep enough to swim in, it also feels like a fresh start. No more placating egos, no more chasing commercial expectations. Having previously had her experiences distilled into other people’s words, she is now credited as a co-writer on every song, often alongside her early mentor LaShawn Daniels, who helped turn those burning ambitions into reality. Tragically, Daniels died last September during the making of the album.

“It’s a little scary because I had to finish it without him,” she says, dabbing away tears. “I just wonder: would he be proud of what I was able to put together?” She takes a breath. “Music is my therapy,” she nods, almost to herself. “I don’t know what my life would be without it”.

I will move on now, as I am keen to assess my favourite song from B7. Borderline is the latest single from the album, and it is a terrific track! Brandy co-wrote every one of the fifteen tracks on B7, and I think that is a reason why the album has resonated with so many people. The fact that she has a say and can put her own experiences and blood into the music makes the performances sound pure and natural. Borderline is a terrific song that packs a powerful video. The start shows Brandy being led into a padded cell by two members of staff at a psychiatric ward, and that cuts to images of Brandy alone on stage as she looks up with a tear in her eye. It would appear that the song is going to be quite heavy and something that reveals her scars, but it less about personal tragedy and depression and more to do with the perils and unpredictable nature of relationships. In terms of sounds, one can notice a definite shift from Brandy’s earlier work to now, not just in terms of the production but her voice. There is a duskiness that many might not be expecting if they are only aware of her from the 1990s. Looking at the video, and we get fast-forward scenes of Brandy in a cell and, whilst it is quite unsettling, there is something quite stirring and striking. Brandy is a great actor, and I think she proves that in the incredible video! After a wordless introduction – or one consisting of ‘ohs’ and ‘ahs’ -, the first verse definitely builds images and possibilities. “You're sorry, you're sorry (Sorry)/What would you do if you're alone? (Yeah)/Would you think about me?/I know there's something wrong with you” leads me to think that there was this relationship that has gone wrong, or there is a division between the two.

Looking at the video, and it is clear that the scenes of torment and psychological distress are more a metaphor; the padded cell is Brandy feeling trapped, misunderstood, and castigated, whilst her on the stage is a feeling of isolation and trying to connect. It appears that this man is on her mind all of the time and, whilst she is feeling crazy and losing her mind a bit (again, that is perfectly reflected in the video), she knows that he really belongs with her – “You can feel it, you can't help it, baby/I'll give you this heart of mine”. I do like the unconventional nature of the video, and how it helps bring the song to life in a way many people might not have considered! Although one cannot experience the same bounce and lightness in vocal terms as on hits like The Boy Is Mine, this more mature and different-sounding Brandy is wonderful – and, to be fair, there are so many different moods on B7, that we get an essence of who she is now, in addition to a nod to her past days (as I mentioned earlier on). Brandy is able to return, to an extent, to her previous days and be very much in the present without losing focus. The video becomes lighter, literally, as the sunlight cracks through, and Brandy’s once-tear-stained and upset face employs a smile and there does seem to be this realisation/uplift. That said, the chorus does offer some honest and insight that may explain why this current relationship is not working out as harmoniously as it should: “Don't wanna be schizo this time (Oh)Never ever cheat, never lie to meI'm the most jealous girl (Girl)”. It is very heartening and brave of Brandy being so honest, and I can genuinely believe that Borderline pertains to a real-life relationship and experience, rather than her approaching the romance from a fictional headspace.

I keep referencing the video, but it is a very powerful film, and it will stay in the memory for a while – kudos to director Derek Blanks and his team for creating a video where, for the most part, we just see Brandy on the screen (which gives it a very personal and, at times, claustrophobic feel). Cutting in from different angles and speeding the film up and stopping it, we get this real sense of motion and a racing mind! Brandy looks very striking and fantastic in the video, and the white background offers light, but it also seems like this blank canvas; the heroine almost reassessing herself and trying to start afresh. Brandy sings how she is all alone and, whilst Borderline does not offer a catchy chorus or big hook, I think its consistency and directness is much more powerful. Brandy’s voice is at once smoky and dark, but there is so much nuance and layers to be found. She is an incredible singer and puts so much emotion into the song. She explains how she is loving alone, and it seems like, for the moment, she is wrestling with herself and something that cannot be cured right away – though she does need love and connection, and you can feel that sense of desire coming through. The third verse, again, takes us into Brandy’s psyche and offers reason as to why she has found herself in a strange and lonelier space “I'm so dangerous, baby/I need you to see/Believe what you see/Feel what I feel/And my feelings don't die/It's why I cry (Cry)”. I do wonder whether Brandy is trying to ward off the man or, to avoid any pitfalls and conflict after they get invested, she is being pretty frank and letting him know what is going on. As the video cuts from Brandy in her cell – where soon she is wrestled and restrained – and her on the stage shedding tears, some of the most standout lines arrive: “Got another lady, havin' a baby/Goin' crazy, but I'll be your friend, baby/Take what I can, baby”. I wonder whether Brandy has experienced cheating and trying to come to terms with someone who has led her astray.

I do really love Brandy’s voice throughout Borderline, as it does take us deep inside her heart; the sheer conviction with which she sings cannot be faulted! Though it would have been nice to hear her voice really belt and strike in the chorus, that is not to say a more levelled and restrained vocal performance is less affecting and lacking! Conversely, it is impressive that she remains composed and does not succumb to the tension that is clearly there! There is little in the way of real anger and blame through the song. Instead, Brandy knows that her personal life is not as ideal and settled as it could be, so she provides some form of explanation in the fourth verse: “Maybe in another lifetime (Right place)/Caught me at the wrong time (Wrong time)/In the end, I'm the only one/Gon' get torn apart (Oh)”. Brandy’s voice does become more impassioned as the song nears its end. From a darker start, one can feel her open up more and, as I said, you get a combination of her more traditional R&B sound from the 1990s, and something more modern and a little darker. The song’s title, I feel, has more than one meaning. Maybe the ‘borderline’ refers to the two lovers being close to chaos and stability; teetering between the two, and maybe it is referencing to the two becoming too involved, and the fact that there will be problems if they do. It is interesting to speculate, and I think the simple-yet-effecting words that end the song offer some form of resolution: “We can't cross the line/Borderline/Schizo this time/We can't cross the line/Borderline”. B7 is full of gems and great Brandy songs and, whilst I would urge people to listen to the whole album, I wanted to focus on Borderline, not only because of its excellent video, but I feel it is Brandy at her most revealing, honest and brilliant. It shows that, eight years after her previous album, she has lost none of her authority, strength and passion!

I have talked a lot about Brandy and her impact. She has enjoyed major success, and there have been some years where things have been a little less stable. Right now, she has released one of her finest albums and things are looking very positive! It is good that, on her seventh album, Brandy is looking ahead and has found fresh spark. Before I wrap up, I want to return to the article/interview from Entertainment Weekly. I think a lot of critics have not given her albums the respect and love they deserve. Maybe they are not aware of Brandy’s legacy and how important she is to other artists. Look at some of the biggest R&B artists of today, and those who owe a big debt to Brandy:

“That’s good news for the R&B community, which unabashedly stans Ms. Norwood. When her last album, Two Eleven, was met with unfavorable reviews from some music publications, Solange suggested that no one without extensive knowledge of Brandy’s catalog was qualified to review R&B music, tweeting, “Like you really should know about deep Brandy album cuts before you are giving a “grade” or a “score” to any R&B artist.” Jhené Aiko has cited Never Say Never as a favorite album and once told Billboard that Brandy has “the perfect voice.” And Erykah Badu has said that Brandy’s debut album was what she was listening to while working on her own first album, Baduizm. “Just musically, production-wise and the writing, it was really good,” Badu told ET in 2016. “I hadn't heard anything else like it”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Tabone/Getty Images

Actually, I want to bring in an interview from Advocate as it discussed Brandy’s role in supporting the L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.+ community…but she was also asked about her legacy:

“These days, Brandy is well aware of her legacy and understands the importance of where it carried this generation’s young artists.

“I love being somewhat of an example to some of the artists that have really shown me love and respect, and it makes me feel that everything I’ve done and everything I’m doing, it serves a higher purpose than just coming out with music and topping the charts or winning awards,” she says. “It’s a deeper meaning as to the work I do, and I love that. I want to stay true to that because you never know who’s watching. You never know who you’re inspiring to become that next thing, or [if] someone’s dreams can come true because they’re watching you. I always want to be mindful”.

It is great to have Brandy back and, with her own label and a sense of personal control, I can imagine that future albums will come fairly frequently. I have seen some really positive reviews for B7, and a lot of people love what they are hearing! Brandy will not be able to tour this year, but there will be a load of fans who want to hear this new material in the flesh very soon. In the meantime, go buy or stream B7, as it is one of the year’s best albums and, as I said, women are dominating with so much variety and strength. Long may it continue! I will wrap up now but, if you have not heard B7 and wonderful songs like Borderline, then do so now and discover an iconic artist who…