The Compass
Thursday, April 18, 2002
V.
Arts & Entertainment
BRANDY: FULL MOON
Clayton Mercer
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Cnice40 @ collegeclub. com
In the four years since her last album,
Never Say Never, was released, Brandy has
been a busy woman. From her own television
show and a stint in Hollywood to getting
married and becoming a soon-to-be mother.
Brandy has grown from a young lady to a
full-fledged woman right before our eyes.
Her maturation is easily noticeable, and it
shows throughout her latest album Full
Moon.
Brandy uses productions from Rodney
“Darkchild” Jenkins to perfection, writing
and producing nine songs on the 17-track
album. The song / Thought is similar to
previous work done by the duo. What About
Us, the lead-single from the album, has
Brandy using a deep voice that meshes well
with Jenkins’ production. Full Moon helps to
showcase Brandy’s vocal talents and a new
style. I Thought has Brandy speaking on a
love that was never really there.
The beauty of the album comes with the
ballads. The gem of the album, When You
Touch Me, will probably shock first-time
listeners who are expecting the braid-
wearing, good-girl Brandy of the past. The
song, reminiscent of previous Janet Jackson
work, has Brandy pleading with her man to
love her the right way. Like This has Brandy
taking control of the lovemaking: “If you
wanna celebrate me/And if you wanna keep
me pleased/ This is how my love has got to
be.”
Sadly, Brandy strays away from her
high self-esteem and sings songs that
portrays her in a state of disorder. She asks
her lover not to abandon her on It's Not
Worth It (which also includes additional
vocals by Michael Jackson!). She hopes he
will change on Anybody, fears she will be
dumped on Come a Little Closer and weakly
concludes: “/ am nothing without you" on
Nothing.
Full Moon is Brandy’s best work to
date. Although the album brings nothing
revolutionary to the table, it is nothing like
her previous work, with the exception of the
production. Brandy also co-wrote four songs
on the album, which was mostly written by
the “Darkchild” production crew. People
who are used to Moesha may cringe when
they listen to this album, but this is Brandy-
The Woman.
C-Nice’s Rating: ***1/2
BRANDY
-Photo courtesy of www.epinions.coiTi/musc_mu-444044
R. KELLY & JAY-Z; THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS
Clayton Mercer
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Cnice40@collegeclub.com
When the announcement was made on
January 24, 2001 in New York that Jay-Z and
R. Kelly would record an album together,
eyebrows raised in anticipation. Hip-hop and
R&B collaborations are nothing new, but
never before have such superstars united for
an album. Collectively, they have sold more
than 30 milhon albums and have 10 platinum
awards. The demand for the album was so
outrageous that numerous songs from the
album ‘leaked’ to the public weeks before the
release date. Amid the bootlegging and R.
Kelly’s alleged sexual misconduct. The Best
of Both Worlds was finally released on March
19, moved up from the originally planned
March 26 release date.
The album kicks off with the title song
introducing everyone to the album. As R.
Kelly sings the hook, Jay-Z makes sure that
everyone understands that this is an extraordi
nary event: “The combination of Perry Mason
and Larry Davis/ Martin and Malcolm/ This
is bigger than the album /?.” Surprisingly, Jay-
Z makes only one reference to his on-going
lyrical battle with Nas, saying: “We mastered
this/ don’t you know I eat Ether and breath
acid?” In Take You Home With Me (a.k.a.
Body), Kelly re-works an old lyric from Jay-
Z’s Ain’t No N***a and puts a 2002 spin on
it.
The album comes to a serious point on It
Ain’t Personal as Jay-Z and R. Kelly talk
about friendships that changed when success
came. The Streets add a little inspirational
flavor to the album, as Jay-Z and R. Kelly
send a message about the trials and tribula
tions that shortcutting can cause. R. Kelly
goes solo with Naked, a typical Kelly-style
slow song and the only solo selection on the
album. Other crowd-pleasers include
Somebody’s Girl, Honey, and Get This
Money. Spanish-style guitars, overpowering
drum beats and, of course, the often-mes
merizing interplay between Jay and Kelly
are present throughout the album.
The album, which was predominantly
produced by Trackmasters, includes guest
appearances from Beanie Sigel (Green
Light) and Lil’ Kim {Shake Ya Body. The
latter seeming unneeded as the “Queen B”
classifies herself as the best female in hip-
hop: “They picked the best of all girls/ So
how ya ’II sound? /1 got the best of both
worlds/Holdin ’ me down.”
This is a must-have album for all hip-
hop enthusiasts. It is truly the first time two
artists of this caliber have collaborated to
produce an entire album. The downfall may
come from the negativity of the bootlegging
of the album and the R. Kelly sex miscon
duct that overshadowed the project. Obvi
ously, Kelly and Jigga are capable of pro
ducing a better album than this release. This
album only heightens the anticipation for
their respective solo projects scheduled to
release in November. Regardless, The Best
of Both Worlds is a pleasing, 13-track effort
by R. Kelly and Jay-Z.
R. Kelly
-Photo courtesy of www.epinions.com/musc_mu-444044
C-Nice’s Rating: ****
WORKS OF ART DISPLAYED BY PORTSMOUTH POTTER
Works by Robert Davis of Portsmouth, VA
-Photos by Rich Harvey