It’s been eight years since Brandy’s last album – forgivable for someone who’s “been an original since 1994”, as she boasts on I Am More on this new one. The R&B singer is such an icon that when you google the phrase “the vocal bible” her picture comes up, all thanks to the supremacy and range of her voice.
B7 isn’t exclusively a trip down memory lane, but it does cruise past a few old haunts. Brandy’s trademark raspy vocals and sublime harmonies on Rather Be and Lucid Dreams are nostalgia-inducing for anyone who grew up listening to her acrobatic riffs and runs. Baby Mama featuring Chance the Rapper is a rhapsody to her 18-year old daughter and an anthem for single mothers. “I’m every woman,” she sings, evoking Chaka Khan and Whitney Houston.
Perhaps Brandy shouldn’t quit her day job when it comes to rapping – her attempt on High Heels is so-so – but the singer sure knows how to duet. Love Again, featuring Daniel Caesar, ripples with lavish melodies, and their layered and distinct voices marry to create the bespoke cocktail your strange summer’s been missing. So good it could square up to 1998’s beloved The Boy Is Mine.
