For some reason BETJ was showing a ton of Brandy videos. Y’know Brandy? The judge from America’s Got Talent? Well she used to be a recording artist. Here are some of my thoughts while watching a collection of Brandy’s “greatest” hits.
First and foremost, Brandy and Ray J are clearly related. In fact, Brandy almost looks like Ray J in drag. I’m dead serious. You peep the video for “I Wanna Be Down” and I’m sure that’s the first thing that’s going to strike you.
But the next think that struck me was how Brandy wasn’t really trying to be “sexy.” In the video she’s just acting her age. She’s not really sporting any skimpy clothing; she’s just dressed like a regular kid. It’s nutty to think that if a kid her age had a record out it’d probably be oozing with enough sex appeal to make a sexual predator stand at attention. Man, what a difference a dozen years makes.
I honestly don’t think that a video like “I Wanna Be Down” would be made today. The song is just too tame. Wow, maybe those crazy Evangelical Christians are right; perhaps our culture is filled with sin.
“Sitting Up In My Room” is another sweet video. But two things stand out for me. First is how great Babyface is at making records. Those lyrics really sound like they belong in the mouth of a teenager. There’s a chance that Babyface is underrated. The second thing is that I never realized that Donald Faison was once a video ho. That just makes me sad.