Brandy’s Work Is Bigger Than The Conversation About Her Weight

Brandy’s unreleased music is more legendary than some artists’ entire discographies.

I know how that sounds coming from somebody who would comfortably describe herself as the biggest Brandy fan in the world. “Fooled by the Moon,” the Diane Warren-penned ballad recorded during the Never Say Never era, was never officially released, yet Brandy fans have carried it for years like a classic.

After more than three decades of music, television, film, and culture-shifting representation, people found a way to look directly at Brandy Norwood and miss what was standing in front of them.

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Only weeks ago, one of my goals at the ESSENCE Festival of Culture in New Orleans was to see Brandy—not only as the child who grew up listening to her, but as the 44-year-old Black trans woman I have become.

I watched Brandy and Monica close the Superdome with a show honoring both their catalogs and the history connecting them. Brandy brought out MC Lyte and Yo-Yo for “I Wanna Be Down,” honored Whitney Houston, and ended the night placing a crown on Monica’s head as Monica crowned her. For two women whose careers were turned into a competition, it was moving to watch them choose reverence instead.

The following day, I watched Brandy receive the Legend Award at the ESSENCE Black Women in Music luncheon. I listened as she spoke about faith, artistry, and the seasons when she wondered whether her voice still mattered.
I stood beside her.