Human

The long-anticipated return by Brandy

If we do not take in consideration the hit compilation The Best Of Brandy, then it is clear that the singer was silent for about four long years. It is a rather risky step, especially taking in consideration the crazy speed, with which the tendencies and preferences substitute each other in the world of today’s show business. However, the long–term silence, during which Brandy surpassed many life trials, was only a benefit for her, as her listeners missed their favorite performer. So what did make the diva so busy that she did not record a new album for about four years? Firstly, it was her break of relationships with the long-time partner – producer Robert Smith. The singer has a daughter from that romance, and she concentrated fully on the child after the undeservedly failed album Afrodisiac. The following love story by Brandy and NBA player Quentin Richardson also was a failure. Further, the artist left her label, Atlantic Records. After that, Brandy became one of the judges on the show Got Talent, but preferred to leave the project after the first season. Maybe, the reason for this decision was her role in an auto crash on the highway in Los Angeles. In the result, the tragedy took the life of a woman driver. Although Brandy’s guilt was not proved due to insufficient witnessing, the artist still can get a lawsuit from the family of the victim for fifty million dollars. Well, the life of a singer took a difficult turn. However, Brandy managed to record the new album this year titled Human, which became her debut at the Epic Records.

Human: the central composition of the album

The disc opens with the decisive R&B work The Definition. It is followed by the optimistic love hymn Warm It Up (With Love), in which the singer calls the listeners to add love and kindness to ones’ lifes – the idea of the track was for sure inspired to Brandy by the election campaign by Barrack Obama. The fast and energetic single Right Here (Departed) is filled with emotional revelations by Brandy and facts from her uneasy biography; it also has a calling to the listeners. The expressive and heart-grasping ballad Piano Man is definitely one of the strongest compositions on the disc Human. It is a brilliant ode to relations that have place between a performer and a producer – in this particular case, it is Brandy Norwood and Rodney Jerkins. Opening with a brief interlude, the gospel-inspired balladry piece Long Distance wonderfully demonstrated Brandy’s vocal abilities. One more pop-R&B-ballad Camouflage tells us about the trials that the artist has to surpass and all the mistakes she made. She concludes with the extremely important idea – people should take her with all her strong and week points, as she is. The powerful ballad Human deservedly has its central place on the disc, becoming the real manifest by the singer. In this song, Brandy apologizes for all her missteps (the crash has its place there) and acknowledges that she is “only human”. The other piercing ballad Fall was written by the artist along with her hew label mate Natasha Bedingfield.

All human is close to Brandy

Well, the best decision by Brandy of all was to re-unite with producer Rodney Jerkins for the creation of Human. Rodney’s cooperation brought her the Grammy in 1998, for the duet with Monica The Boy Is Mine. Although the singer has writing credits only for two songs, all without exception tracks on Human are extremely autobiographical, personal and expressive. There is one more striking thing on Human. While many celebrities try to look flawless and hide their mistakes or wrongdoings from the press, Brandy calmly and bravely enumerates her missteps and asks an apology for them. “I am human, and all human is close to me” – this ancient phase can precisely characterize Brandy’s last full-length. As for the musical part, the disc Human has urban dance beats (1st & Love), piercing contemporary pop ballads and even an astonishing composition A Capella (Something Missing), which is fully centralized on Brandy’s vocals. It is even more praiseworthy and surprising that after a four-year break, the artist managed to record not only a qualitative, but also a modernly sounding album Human. On this work, you will notice both Brandy’s personal growth and her progress in the role of performer.