For fans of Brandy, revelations about collaborators like Darkchild taking her signature sound for other singers after their split over Beyoncé and Kanye West hijacking creative control might as well be blasphemy for the Vocal Bible. For the first time, the perfectly polished singer gets vulnerable about the silent battles that shaped her personal and professional life in the new memoir, Phases.
Source: Rebecca Sapp/ Paras Griffin/Arnold Jerocki
The fallout continues from from details about Wanya Morris “using” Brandy in their relationship when he was 22 and she was only 16. However, the Boyz II Men singer isn’t the only man in the industry she said betrayed her behind the scenes. In the book, she discusses the game-changing partnerships between singers and producers, like Janet Jackson and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, or Aaliyah and Timbaland. Brandy forged a similar sacred bond with Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins, but she claims things took a treacherous turn after they became romantically involved.
In Phases, Brandy recalled the moment she knew her relationship was over Darkchild after an argument ended with a jab about Beyoncé.
“We were going at it like usual, the way siblings do when they know exactly which buttons to push. Only this time, he looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘Go do what you’re gonna do while I go sell 5 MILLION records with Beyoncé.’ The words landed like a gut punch. I stormed out of the studio; humiliation burned through me like a wildfire. Left behind in the ashes was a sad realization that it was time for me to move on,” she wrote.
The working relationship started with Brandy’s admiration for his work on Mary J. Blige’s 1997 song, “I Can Love You.” The pair quickly became a powerhouse, with Darkchild producing some of her biggest hits, including “The Boy Is Mine.” Brandy discussed the synergy that defined her unique sound. Once the relationship was over, so was the exclusivity for the musical magic they made in the studio together. Darkchild not only went on to sell millions of records with other artists like he threatened, but also took their trailblazing techniques with him. Meanwhile, she claims the super producer prohibited her from continuing with the sound that made Brandy “Brandy.”
“Him working with other artists wasn’t an issue for me. I was exceptionally proud of what he built with Darkchild. I celebrated every one of his victories as if it were my own. But the pride got harder to hold when I started to hear our sound, my sound echoing from the sound of their other women—the same intricate vocal arrangements with stacked harmonies that have been my signature. The same song structure, the same approach we innovated on ‘Never Say Never’ and ‘Full Moon’. At first, I told myself I was being sensitive and petty, even. ‘This is the business,’ I whispered to myself. Nobody owns sound [until he refuses to let me use them on my own songs],” she continued.
Ouch! Some social media users ran with these excerpts as proof of a rumored feud with Beyoncé or jealousy of other singers. Instead, the reactions became another example of the push to pit women in the industry against each other while men face little to no consequences for manipulating or taking advantage of them. Many comments called out internet instigators for trying so hard to read between the lines for their own narratives that they miss this recurring theme throughout Brandy’s career.
Read more about Brandy’s hardest fight for creative control when Kanye West unexpectedly entered the chat after the flip!
Brandy Describes Kanye Starting A Musical Feud For Creative Control After Her Album Was Nearly Finished
With or without added relationship drama, women in the music industry often fought uphill battles for every aspect of their creative vision. Even when Brandy was nearly finishing her fourth studio album, Afrodisiac, her own record label was undermining her.
“The dust had barely settled when I discovered the truth: the label was hoping to court Kanye to come to Atlantic. Without consulting me, they had offered Kanye two placements on my album, with the added condition that one of his records would be the lead single. They would also give him free rein to create the video treatment for that single. Despite her track record of success, including movies and her own hit TV show, Brandy’s approval was an afterthought to Atlantic Records. Kanye’s sudden involvement was bargaining chip presented as “a decree wrapped in the thin disguise of collaborative decision-making.”
“The dust had barely settled when I discovered the truth: the label was hoping to court Kanye to come to Atlantic. Without consulting me, they had offered Kanye two placements on my album, with the added condition that one of his records would be the lead single. They would also give him free rein to create the video treatment for that single,” Brandy said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
Both stars worked well for their first track together, “Talk About Our Love.” Unfortunately, it didn’t last on the second song, “Where You Wanna Be.” There was so much tension and turmoil that there were two different versions of the single, and a heated debated between Brandy and Kanye.
“The album was otherwise complete, and I was still hot over having to compromise my creative vision by bringing in another producer at the eleventh hour. But I made the concession and played the team game. The records came out dope — no denying that. But our disagreement over which version of ‘Where You Wanna Be’ would make the final cut became a power struggle. And I didn’t understand why Kanye was fighting me on it. I just wanted a different mix of the vocals. We went back and forth for days, and I refused to make another concession. Especially not about how my voice was presented,” she explained.
No matter how much she tried to compromise about which version to release, Brandy said it still wasn’t enough for controlling Kanye. She tried one last time to work things out only for the rapper to shut down the conversation before it started.
“He barely looked up from the soundboard. ‘Nah, I can’t do that.’ His eyes met mine, unflinching, a challenge in their depths. ‘I can’t because I turned it in already,'” she continued.
When she asked what he meant by that, Brandy wrote that he barely acknowledged that he had already steamrolled over her creative vision:
“He shrugged, turning back to his work as though this conversation was already over. ‘You’ll be aight,’ he said with a smug grin that set my teeth on edge. That may sound like a minor disagreement to someone on the outside looking in. But to me, it represented a stripping away of my agency, on a deeply personal project. But I couldn’t afford to be upset or angry. I still had a video to shoot and a record to promote with Kanye. I’d also promised [Atlantic executive Gee Roberson] that I would return the favor and do a record on Kanye’s sophomore album, Late Registration. So, I swallowed my pride along with the lump in my throat, forced a smile that didn’t reach my eyes, and nodded like this was all part of the process.”
For every triumph of another project completed, Brandy fought countless uphill battles to make them happen. These shocking and often tragic revelations stayed hidden for years to protect her image and reputation among peers. Now, they’re a testament to all that the legendary singer overcame to find her voice and defy the odds.
