Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business

If you're anything like me and you came up when Brandy, Monica, Usher, Immature and the like were dominating the music scene, then you know just how phenomenal that time was in R&B music. The music was energetic and honest, coming from artists who were well-managed and well-maintained; lyrics hadn't yet reached the level of perversion that exists today and dial-up was still the fastest way to connect to the world wide web.

I love Brandy and Ray J. As artists, their voices are so distinct. As actors, they deliver the goods; they're both very funny and have always seemed like all-around good kids. I love how close they are and how well their collaborations have gone over in the past. I really look forward to them working on an album together in the future.

With all that said, I want to comment on a statement made by Brandy during the second episode of their new reality show titled Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business. Ray J is in the process of striking a deal with super-producer Rodney Jerkins on a project of a collaborative nature and Brandy felt very strongly against the whole idea. Apparently, Rodney and Brandy's relationship (personal and professional) is on the rocks because she feels that her collaboration with him on her latest album, Human, did not fair so well while her previous work with him on her sophomore effort, Never Say Never, did extremely well (5x platinum). Her feeling is that Rodney did not put his all in to her project and that is why it did not do so well.

Truthfully, I feel that Brandy is being very immature and placing way too much weight on Rodney. An album's success is not attributed solely to the production, but rather to the entire package. You're talking marketing, promotional appearances, packaging, the artist's popularity at the time of the album's release... There are so many things that, as a consumer not involved in the music industry at all, I know are crucial to an album's success. Speaking as a Brandy fan who owns Never Say Never and Human (and the ones in between), they were both really good projects. There's no doubt that Never Say Never was the bomb, but you also have to consider Brandy's level of exposure and popularity when that album dropped. She was in our homes every week as Moesha and we loved her. When Human was released, we hadn't heard from Brandy in a minute and that can be an eternity in the entertainment world. The last wave of publicity surrounding Brandy wasn't the best: her fans were shocked to learn that she lied about being married to her daughter's father, she'd been involved in that unfortunate accident, she was no longer a judge on America's Got Talent, that dang tape of her brother and his ex had surfaced... Way too much negative going on and not enough ways to spin it in her favor.

In my opinion, Human was a great album. I didn't find a problem with production. I found a problem with marketing and promotion for the album. Perhaps, the real culprit behind the album's success (or the perceived lack thereof) is her label. There are artists with very lackluster albums who manage to sell big on the strength of promotion, alone. You live, you learn and you move on.


NEXT!