After a four year hiatus and more than her fair share of bad press, R&B vet Brandy checked in to talk up the new project, her reunion with super producer Rodney Jerkins and to set the record straight on who she really is despite the fame.
Human, Brandy’s fifth studio album, serves as a reunion of sorts. Partly for Brandy and her rabid, cult like fans– of which I am one– but mostly for her and long time collaborator, Rodney Jerkins who was the wizard to the oz known as Never Say Never and Full Moon.
“I just didn’t want to do another album without him,” Brandy tells The Urban Daily exclusively. Brandy swore off working with Jerkins after the release of Full Moon before going on to form the ill-fated union with producer Timbaland for 2004’s Afrodisiac.
“It was something that just needed to happen; something we needed to get off our chest. And that’s what we did. We got it off our chests and I fee like we made an album that was honest and from the heart.”
“Righ Here (Departed),” the album’s lead single, with its introspective lyrics, motivational tempo is the perfect preface for the entire album which is filled with songs that speak metaphorically to the one characteristic shared by every person on earth: being human. Human is more pop than R&B and seeks out an audience with lyrics about the foundations of love and life. Re: no club bangers, rappers or autotune. And trust us, that’s not a complaint.
“This album is about me, listen to it and you’ll get to know me. But you’ll also get to know yourself. This is about you as much as it is me, because we’re all human,” shares Brandy. “We love. We lose, but we continue to try to do our best at life.”
As usual, Brandy keeps the collaborations to a minimum on Human. Aside from the usual suspects involved in a Dark Child production, Toby Gadd co-wrote the album’s title track and Natasha Beddingfield shows up on “Fall” — a song Brandy says reminds us “not to be afraid to fall in love after having your heart broken.”
Despite our probes into her personal life, Brandy insists that there isn’t much to tell. Although, some would beg to differ. In a matter of years she went from being the first African American girl to portray Cinderella to having her personal life become the makings of tabloid fodder.
“I think I’ve pretty much set the record straight on who I am. With this album, I’ve come to terms with who I am and I let people see a different side of me,” admits Brandy. “You’ll see, I’m only human; just a girl singing songs. I’m like everybody else.”
Human is in stores now.
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