Brandy’s
solo return to the charts is almost here and the diva has lit the fuse
of excitement among her eager fanbase. In a candid new interview with YRB magazine, Brandy shared several details about her upcoming ‘Two Eleven’ album, such as how she chose the record’s title and how she plans to expand her unique sound with the project.
Working with songwriters such as Sean Garrett and Frank Ocean,
Brandy has crafted ‘Two Eleven’ to target fans of Hip-Hop, Pop and
R&B. Of course, she hopes to achieve her goals via the guidance of
her new “angel,” the late Whitney Houston.
On her ‘Two Eleven’ album title:
Management insisted that no questions be
asked about the loss of [Whitney Houston], but Brandy was quick to
reference her, explaining that she was important enough to inspire Two
Eleven’s title. “Some of the titles I was working with were Rebirth, Reincarnation, Reinvention, Resurrection…
I just felt like Two Eleven describes all of that. It’s the day I was
born, and each year, I evolve and change with time,” she says.
“It also has a whole new meaning to it
because I gained my angel. My icon is my angel now. It’s all tied in
there and I just think it best represents who I am and the
responsibilities I have moving on.”
On the songs included on ‘Two Eleven’:
Shying away from the smooth piano-infused sound of Human,
Brandy roughs up her sound on Two Eleven, maintaining the powerful
productions of previous records but mashing in genres outside of her
comfort zone. “It’s definitely R&B, but it has the crossover appeal.
It’s grittier, it’s edgier, it’s just different type of R&B. It’s
not your regular smooth, soft with the beat type music,” she describes.
“It’s just taking risks and hearing how I sound over different types of
music, and I wanted an album that different people can listen to. Not
just R&B, but pop and hip-hop. I wanted everyone to have something
that they can listen to on this album.”
Check out more over at YRB
