MH: So I Bought The Brandy CD

Sure, gas has gone down, but funds remain limited as securing gigs that pay well during a recession is not the easiest thing to do. Plus, keep in mind that I have 14 musicians plus a manager to pay. That being said, last week, a decision had to be made. Q-Tip's album (that I've been meaning to buy since it dropped), Musiq's new joint, or celebrate with the return of Brandy. Musiq scared me with the "Radio" single. I figured I had already missed the hype of having Q-Tip's on the release day, so I could wait another week or so. Off to Walmart it was to get Brandy's "Human". Of course, they gave me the runaround and I got it around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning as Chantae Cann was on the phone interceding, yet laughing. For whatever reason, I chose not to preview it first, as a few of my friends had it before the release. See, I haven't always been a Brandy fan, but over the past few years, I've come to realize that beyond some good production, this girl can sing her natural butt off. I get the CD, listen to it once and go to sleep. I listen to it again and have yet to listen to it since. (Sigh) I'm not saying it's a bad CD. To me, it's just no better or any worse than everything else that has dropped recently. The production is that trendy power-pop synth revolution stuff with the 4 basic triad chords (like 1, 6, 2, 5 for you musicians out there) and honestly that grew old to me a while back. So, if you like the stuff that's out now, this is a great buy. Needless to say, her vocals and vocal production are amazing. When it comes to execution and BGV arrangement, I think she's one of the best if not the best. Anyway, I just felt deprived of the passion and emotion that I felt in "Afrodisiac" and "Full Moon". All of this being said, may it also be known that I'm a firm supporter of the Okayplayer family and Soulquarian camp--so maybe it's just that all of this pop-r&b stuff is just not my taste. That's cool, too. Like Common says, "if I don't like it, I don't like it...that don't mean that I'm hating." I guess I have to repent and grab the Q-Tip and hope and pray that the D'Angelo return is for real this time. I leave you with this wonderful bit of lyricism:

"I'm standing on the edge of the industry...wondering if it's all that important to me...to get my records back out there on the street...it ain't like I'm hurting or anything...I'm at a point right now where money ain't an issue...I can go where I wanna, do what I want to do...tempted to leave it in my rearview...because this game ain't what I'm used to...should I go? should I stay? I'm in control either way..." ~Brandy, "Should I Go", Afrodisiac~