Album of the Day

Brandy Norwood practically grew up in the spotlight; by age 14, the multi-talented performer had a TV sitcom under her belt and by age 15, a self-titled album on Atlantic Records. BRANDY was a big success, powered by hit singles “I Wanna Be Down,” "Baby,” “Best Friend” and “Brokenhearted,” all co-written by Keith Crouch. “He didn’t give me teenybopper records,” noted Brandy of the producer. “It was age-appropriate, youthful ... but it was still real music.” The singer's buoyant, confident take on old school R&B, pop and hip-hop proved irresistible, and the 1994 collection eventually went 4x platinum and brought the teen a pair of Grammy nominations including Best New Artist. We'll celebrate Black Music Month by giving BRANDY another listen.