The Memoir Of Ms. Butterfly

Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979), better known by her mononym Brandy, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, and model. She is known for her distinctive sound, characterized by her peculiar timbre, voice-layering, and intricate riffs, which has earned her the title of “the Vocal Bible. As of August 2020, she has sold over 40 million records worldwide, with approximately 8.62 million albums sold in the United States alone. Her work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including Grammy and American Music awards. Brandy Norwood, television’s talented African-American teen idol, boasts a successful singing and acting resume that many an entertainment veteran could envy. With a flash of her broad, contagious smile, and a toss of her signature mane of glossy braids, the award-winning singer turned her focus to acting and captured a television audience as the star of the UPN sitcom Moesha, causing Entertainment Weekly to note. “She’s one of the few pop-music stars who can act even better than she can sing.”

Brandy’s parents, Willie and Sonia Norwood recognized stand-out talent in both their children—Brandy’s younger brother Willie, Jr., called Ray-J, is also a singer—and launched a non-stop business plan. Aimed at early careers in the entertainment industry. They moved the family from Mississippi to Los Angeles when Brandy was four and Ray-J was two and started their vocal training in a church youth choir. “My brother and I were always in the front as featured singers because our dad was the choir director,” Brandy explained to Rolling Stone. “Then I started being the directress of younger choirs, and I was really hot in the church. The church was Brandy’s first stage. Willie handles the kids’ musical grooming, while Sonia serves as business manager/chaperon. Brandy calls her “Momager,” and Sonia takes the job to heart. Mom must okay clothing, costume, diet, social, and career choices. “She says, Tm going to be as big as Whitney [Houston],’” Sonia told T.V. Guide. “It’s our job to go out and help get her there.

At age 11, Brandy won second place in a talent contest and was singing at local events; at 12, she earned a spot singing backup for an R&B group named Immature. In 1993, when she was 14, Brandy signed her first recording contract with Atlantic. Several months later, she landed a role on the ABC sitcom Thea as 12-year-old Daneesha, the title character’s daughter. The show didn’t last long, which suited Brandy fine. “I’m always smiling and happy,” she told People,” Other people on the set weren’t. I was miserable. I couldn’t wait for it to go off the air.”

Brandy used the extra time to polish and launch her debut R&B album, simply titled Brandy. The recording was a wild success, rocketing to the top of music charts with triple platinum sales, producing best-selling singles “Baby” and “I Wanna Be Down,” and two.

Brandy’s mother acted as her manager early in her career. Her songs were well-liked because of the element of childish innocence in them, which audiences found refreshing.

 She made sure never to use profanity in her lyrics or to overstep the boundaries her parents had set for her. One of the significant influences on her music is Whitney Houston, whom she greatly admires. After her album’s release and positive reception, Brandy returned to acting, this time on the UPN sitcom “Moesha.” The show ran for 6 seasons and was very popular.

During this time, Brandy recorded a second album titled “Never Say Never.” It was released in 1998 and featured her mega-hit song “The Boy is Mine,” on which she collaborated with fellow R&B singer Monica. The song reached the No. 1 spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 charts and was also nominated for 4 Grammy Awards, of which it won the Grammy for “Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

“The album became the bestselling R&B of 1998 in the United States and sold more than 16 million copies worldwide. At the end of her teenage, brandy worked as a model and released her next album in 2003. This was titled “Full Moon” and was followed up by her 2004 album “Afrodisiac and Human.

Brandy Norwood was engaged to an NBA player named Quentin Richardson in 2004, who was then playing for the Los Angeles Clippers. She also briefly dated the rapper Flo Rida and in 2012, she got engaged to a music executive Ryan Press, but the couple has since split up. She was romantically involved with Robert “Big Bert” Smith, the producer of her album “Full Moon,” and has a daughter with him. She established the Norwood Kids Foundation along with her brother. The organization aims to inculcate positive values in youth via performing arts. She is also a UNICEF spokesperson and supports other causes, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation and RAINN.

In 1996, Brandy was bitten by the acting bug once again. She recorded a pilot for a show entitled Moesha. CBS passed on the show, and UPN quickly picked up the series. Starring alongside veteran actors William Allen Young and Sheryl Lee Ralph, Brandy held her own. Not only was her character involved in almost every scene of the show, but she also took on a producing role.

In 1997, after a two-year relationship with Wanya, things fell apart. During her Behind the Music episode, Brandy said Wanya fell in love with someone else. R&B singer Adina Howard, also Brandy’s label mate, revealed during an episode of Unsung that she was the missing piece of the Brandy and Wanya love triangle.

Adina admitted the love triangle was the start of her career going a downward spiral. You can find out more about what happened to her career right here.

Reeling from her breakup, Brandy still had to film episodes of Moesha. According to ABC, the pressure to look perfect caused Brandy to stop eating. As a result, her weight plunged to 105 pounds. She said, “It was destroying me. But I looked great, and that’s what mattered.”

In 1997, she was handpicked by Whitney Houston to play Cinderella in a made-for-TV movie.

 Though her career was soaring, she was still trying to get over Wanya. She decided to channel her feelings into her 1998 album, Never Say Never. The duet entitled “The Boy Is Mine” featuring R&B singer Monica would escalate into an on-again-off-again feud between the two singers. Despite the drama, the chart-topping song earned them a Grammy award.

Moesha ended in 2001, and Brandy told ABC she dumped her boyfriend, became a vegetarian, and fired her mom as her manager to mend their relationship. With her mom reassigned to a new role as the CEO of Brandy’s company, she allowed the singer to hire veteran music exec Benny Medina as her new manager.

She began working on her third album with some help from producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. While recording, she became romantically involved with Rodney’s cousin, Robert Smith. Vibe magazine reported Brandy and Robert married soon after meeting, but it was all a lie. We’ll get into that in a bit…

Their relationship coincided with Robert branching out as a solo producer. At the same time, Brandy decided to cut ties with Rodney after he began giving out her unique sound to other artists. This caused some tension between them and Rodney. Brandy told Vibe, “I think Rodney felt like he lost his best friend and artist simultaneously.

Nothing would stop Brandy and Robert’s love from flourishing, though. She told the magazine, “I felt like nothing else mattered but me to him. And I loved that feeling because I hadn’t felt like that with anybody.”

In 2002, her album Full Moon was released. That same year, Brandy and Robert went public with their relationship, and Brandy revealed they were expecting a baby. Unfortunately, a year after the birth of their daughter, they separated. Brandy blamed their demise on a lack of passion.

One year after their split, Brandy Norwood’s life story got interesting when she began dating basketball player Quentin Richardson. At the same time, she was promoting her fourth album while her ex-Robert was running his mouth to the media.

 In an interview with Wendy Williams’ radio show in July 2004 (via E! News), he admitted he and Brandy were never legally married. Next, he interviewed Power 99 radio station and referred to Brandy as his jump-off.

Robert said he was dating a film producer when he found out Brandy was pregnant with his baby. Brandy’s mom devised a plan to tell everyone they were married to protect Brandy’s wholesome image. Robert told the radio host he reunited with the film producer following his and Brandy’s breakup, and the film producer was pregnant with his baby.

Almost two weeks after Robert blew the lid off their fake marriage, Brandy announced Quentin Richardson had proposed to her with an 11-and-a-half-carat diamond engagement ring (via MTV). Unfortunately, just 15 months after their engagement, the wedding was off. The National Enquirer reports they kept in touch following their breakup and attempted to reconcile a few times.

In 2004, Brandy fired her manager and left Atlantic Records. She signed a new deal with Epic Records, and in January 2005, the L.A. Times revealed her Moesha co-star Lamont Bentley, who played the character Hakeem Campbell, lost his life in a car accident at the age of 31.

A tragic accident

She appeared in a few more acting projects, but in December 2006, her life changed. Brandy was driving on the freeway when her Land Rover rear-ended a Toyota Corolla occupied by a 38-year-old woman and her two children.

 The woman’s car was then forced into another vehicle in front of hers, swerved into the freeway’s center divider, and was broad-sided by a fourth automobile. The woman passed away from her injuries the next day.

The incident caused the singer to be taunted online and in public. The National Enquirer (via Celebitchy) claimed Quentin dumped Brandy for good on the morning of the car accident. A heartbroken and distraught Brandy was allegedly seen leaving his hotel in tears before getting on the freeway. 

On an episode of a Centric docuseries, Brandy said she didn’t think she deserved to be alive. Prosecutors were also looking to lock her up for a year for her role in the woman’s passing. On top of that, the other drivers and the family of the woman who passed away,

 were seeking judgments from Brandy and her insurance company.

TMZ reported charges against Brandy were dropped when toxicology reports showed the woman who passed away had “slight traces” of marijuana in her system. Brandy eventually paid 600,000 dollars to the woman’s children and settled out of court with the other parties.

Life retook a turn for her in June 2007 when she fell unconscious before her Delta flight took off from LAX. Brandy was rushed to a hospital, and her rep told the Associated Press the singer was suffering from exhaustion due to a hectic work schedule.

Brandy Norwood’s life story took another turn when she briefly reconciled with producer Rodney Jerkins for her 2008 album Human. Her album Two Eleven was released four years later through Chameleon Records. That same year, tragedy struck again when actress Yvette Wilson, who played Andell on Moesha, passed away at 48 from cervical cancer.

In 2012, she dealt with the loss of Whitney Houston’s passing. Then, to make things even worse, the R&B legend passed away on Brandy’s birthday.

Brandy told Oprah Winfrey, “Whitney and I were very close.

 I couldn’t accept the fact that she was no longer here.” Sometime in 2012, she began dating music executive Ryan Press. She told Us Weekly that Ryan had restored her faith in men.

 In December 2012, they got engaged, but less than two years later, the wedding was off. A source told Us Weekly, “They decided to take a step back and reevaluate the relationship.”

By 2015, she had pulled herself out of another state of depression. Things began to look up for her when she started dating rapper Sir the Baptist. But, unfortunately, things ended four months after she reportedly found out he was cheating on her with his baby mama and two other women. Chile…

Brandy has reportedly been hospitalized after possibly suffering a seizure.

On Tuesday afternoon, first responders got a call to Brandy’s home, and she was taken to a nearby hospital, law enforcement sources told TMZ in a story published Wednesday.

The “The Boy Is Mine” singer’s parents were reportedly by her side at the hospital. Following the news, the singer gave fans an update about her health via her Instagram Story on Wednesday. Thank you for sending love and light my way,” she wrote. “I am following doctor’s orders and getting the rest I need due to dehydration and low amounts of nutrition.”

The 45-year-old then expressed gratitude for all the “prayers and support” she had gotten since she was hospitalized.

Brandy has been under the radar of late, but she did make a splash while performing the national anthem at the NFC Championship game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers in January.

She also seems to be going through some family drama after her brother Ray J made headlines after he got a tattoo of the singer’s face on his leg. When he faced backlash for his tattoo choice, he doubled down on his decision, saying, “It’s my leg, it’s my sister.

She also came out in support of her brother after he posted comments about experiencing suicidal thoughts. “If it wasn’t 4 my Kidz, I would jump off and die tonight,” he wrote in a since-deleted post earlier this month. Instead, brandy showed him love and support, captioning a throwback photo with her brother, “Need you bro @rayj,” along with a praying hands emoji.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Ray J was also with her family as she received medical attention.

The R&B & Soul music world has suffered significant losses, from Aretha Franklin to Aaliyah. As fans make time to mourn and pay homage to the greats, the general consensus is that the genre doesn’t need to lose any more talent. However, it can be a gamble as the great age and health complications come to light. So, when news of Brandy Norwood, aka “The Vocal Bible,” being hospitalized made its rounds, fans immediately hoped for the best and prepared for the worst.

For folks unfamiliar with Brandy, the 43-year-old remains one of the most renowned talents in the R&B world. After releasing her first studio album at 15, the world quickly realized that her enchanting voice was one-of-a-kind. And, of course, success struck with platinum-selling albums and success in the acting world.

That said, fans are hopeful that Brandy’s health will take a turn for the better. So here’s an update on Brandy’s current condition.

Great news, Brandy fans! In the afternoon of Monday, October 12, 2022, Brandy took to social media to thank fans for their support, prayers, and well wishes. The star also said she’s “getting the rest she needs. The news follows TMZ’s initial report of the star being taken to the hospital after a medical scare at her residence. Sources tell the site that Brandy was taken to a local hospital since “it’s believed that the singer suffered a seizure. Law enforcement shared that paramedics were called to Brandy’s home at noon on October 12. At the time, TMZ shared that the cause of Brandy’s seizure was unknown, and the singer is not known to have any preexisting health conditions.

Interestingly, Brandy made no mention of having a seizure in her message to fans on social media. Instead, the singer seemingly pointed at “dehydration and low amounts of nutrition” as the cause for her hospitalization.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time Brandy has been hospitalized.

In June 2017, TMZ shared that Brandy was taken to the hospital after falling unconscious on a Los Angeles Delta flight heading to New York City’s JFK Airport. The star reportedly lost consciousness moments before take-off and quickly alerted authorities. The outlet shares that Brandy regained consciousness before being transported to the hospital.

After the scary incident, Brandy’s publicist shared a statement citing the incident was brought on by “the stress of traveling and working incessantly causing her exhaustion.

Judging by Brandy’s latest health scare, it appears that the star has not taken the time to unplug from her career and care for herself. So, Brandy can get the R & R she needs to return to doing what she loves.

Our thoughts and well wishes are with Brandy at this time. 

Ms. Butterfly Genesis