{"id":33807,"date":"2022-06-20T19:00:26","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T19:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/traklife.com\/featured\/brandy-old-school-star-new-school-icon\/"},"modified":"2023-09-16T21:11:38","modified_gmt":"2023-09-16T21:11:38","slug":"brandy-old-school-star-new-school-icon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/traklife.com\/culture\/brandy-old-school-star-new-school-icon\/","title":{"rendered":"Brandy: Old School Star, New School Icon"},"content":{"rendered":"

Of all the female R&B singers who have left their mark on music history, Brandy is set apart due to her incredible staying power. Unlike other artists, she\u2019s been successful in multiple decades and eras of music. Brandy has remained a confident, classy presence both as a teenage star and an industry veteran. She reflects stylistic aspects of soul legends before her time while also serving as an inspiration for newcomers to the R&B game. And it\u2019s her unique, velvety tone and sophisticated vocal techniques that earned her the title of \u201cThe Vocal Bible\u201d and established her as a blueprint for the many singers following in her footsteps.<\/p>\n

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Brandy stars as Moesha Mitchell, in the United Paramount Network popular half-hour comedy series “Moesha.” Photo by Matthew Rolson \/ United Paramount Network.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brandy began her solo career in 1994 with the release of her self-titled, funk-soul debut album, Brandy<\/em><\/a>. Hit singles like \u201cI Wanna Be Down,\u201d \u201cBaby,\u201d \u201cBrokenhearted,\u201d \u201cBest Friend,\u201d charted on the Hot 100 and gave Brandy her first taste of success. Alongside contemporaries such as Aaliyah, Erykah Badu, Mary J. Blige, and TLC, the young singer\u2019s early music reflected the neo-soul movement of R&B in the mid-90s.<\/p>\n

Early on in her career, Brandy found a mentor in Whitney Houston, who was peaking in her own career. Not only did Whitney include her on the Waiting to Exhale<\/em><\/a> soundtrack, but she chose Brandy to star in Disney\u2019s 1997 remake of Cinderella<\/em><\/a>, which Houston also co-produced. <\/em>She and Whitney made history as the first black women to play Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother onscreen.<\/p>\n

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Everett Collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, 1998 was her breakthrough. Brandy teamed up with another young R&B star at the time, Monica. The pair faced off on the fiery duet, \u201cThe Boy Is Mine,\u201d which became the best-selling song in the U.S. that year. \u201cThe Boy Is Mine\u201d also scored Brandy and Monica their first number one hits and Grammy Awards. Brandy included on the song on her sophomore album, Never Say Never<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n