Some Brandy for that picnic? Yes please!
By Waithera Mbuthia
The vocal bible of pop and R&B has returned with her first album in…. get this.. Eight years!!,and this time, on her own terms. B7 is the seventh studio album by American singer Brandy Norwood. The album was released on July 31, 2020, through her own label, Brand Nu, Inc.and eOne Music. It is her first independent release, on her own record label, and her first studio album since 2012 Two Eleven…. This girl is winning… right? Right!.
Eight years is a long time without an album, but forgivable for someone who has been an original since 1994. Her album is all about healing and self-love. It also focuses on self-worth, and her own spiritual transformation. The album which comprises of fifteen tracks, also features Chance the rapper in a single, ‘Baby mama’, and also Daniel Ceaser in ‘Love again’.
“Sorry for my tardy / long time I was broken-hearted,” she sings on ‘Saving All My Love’, the opening track on‘B7’. Many people have viewed this as an apology for her close to a decadeabsence. The song also serves as a tribute to her late mentor and idol Whitney Houston, as she nods to “the goat” over a euphoric hotbed of kick drums and unrelenting keys doused in urgency.
On ‘Unconditional Oceans’ she acknowledges a dysfunctional past: as she sings of how she used to be a mess, and was self-sabotaging. She doesn’t stay down for long, though, finding herself a new swagger on the empowering ‘I Am More’, on about maneuvering the busy production, understanding her worth, and even finding time to flip some of Eminem’s and Biggies lyrics.
She addresses mental-health on the raw ‘Bye Bipolar’, and demands communication on the pristinely produced ‘Say Something’. ‘Rather be’ finds her copping to a moment ofweakness, warmly wearing her heart on her sleeve as her love interest playshard-to-get. But Brandy shines brightest on ‘Love again’, which features Ceaser.
The album, could use a little more spark, and has an average score on 7.5/10 on reviews. Though it took almost a decade to come by, it was well worth the wait.
We wish her well, and hope we get another album soon.
Stay safe, and listento some Brandy.
