Due to that LP’s poor commercial performance, the singer was dropped from Epic, and she then signed to RCA imprint Chameleon. The title of her sixth album, Two Eleven (out today, ), simultaneously references the singer’s birthday and the exact date when mentor Whitney Houston died. Additionally, the record’s aims are rooted in well-established standards — as Chameleon CEO Breyon Prescott emphasized and Brandy has echoed, “no gimmicks, real R&B music.” But preconceived notions of genres be damned, Two Eleven feels most like a career revival; it’s a concise album of sleek, modern songs that Brandy, now 33, can call hers and hers alone.
On 2004′s, Timbaland-produced Afrodisiac, Brandy openly mourned of a lost love while sounding at times like an Aaliyah stand-in. (Her “More Than a Woman” shout-out didn’t help.) In contrast, Two Eleven‘s second single “Wildest Dreams” is about her new boyfriend, music executive Ryan Press. First single “Put It Down” pairs the singer with a stupidly giddy Chris Brown (“Girl I know you’re fancy / but this party I’m finan-cing!”). “Put It Down” is also Brandy’s biggest hit in a decade, perhaps because she hasn’t sounded this cool or confident since 2002′s Full Moon.
Despite her blessings, Two Eleven often finds Brandy in romantically shaky situations, if not under self-imposed house arrest. In “Hardly Breathing,” she sings of having reached a breaking point as synths drip in the background like a leaky faucet. Elsewhere, on “Scared Of Beautiful,” co-written by Frank Ocean, the singer sighs as she takes stock of a lover’s lack of mirrors — to her, a sign that he’s refusing to see a good thing.
Two Eleven‘s songs are about being bedridden (“So Sick”), cursing the other women in his life (“Wish Your Love Away”), and, in rare weak moments, “painting” closets, faucets, the balcony “with our love.” What makes it all work, though, is how Brandy’s voice hints at strength that can only come with emotional distance. Its voice is tinged with regret, but it also has some bite, never sounding defeated for long.
Granted, Brandy isn’t a powerhouse vocalist like Whitney was. But while her voice isn’t muscular, it certainly is agile. Fortunately, she teamed up here with a slew of new-to-her producers and songwriters (Rico Love, MIDI Mafia, Sean Garrett, Mario Winans, etc.) who know how to play up her strengths. “Slower” (as in how he should act in bed) owes a sizable debt to Justin Timberlake‘s “My Love,” although Brandy raps through her compliments and directions faster than T.I. did. The Lykke Li-sampling “Let Me Go” is particularly infectious because of its skipping, hiccuping chorus: “B-b-b-let me go, b-b-b-baby don’t you let me.” And even in the pulsing “So Sick,” Brandy alternates between coasting and scattering through her grievances, tugging at her voice as if it was strapped to a leash.
“Just wanted someone real to love me for me / me, just Brandy,” the singer declares at one point on Two Eleven. She’s singing to a new beau, but her words also make for an apt statement to fans, if not critics who’ve heard her since age 15. She may have felt hard-pressed to emphasize the album’s firm R&B roots, but what’s more important is that for once, she doesn’t sound hard-pressed to play a wholesome role, or some hyper-idealized version of herself. Here, she’s just Brandy.
The Best Song Wasn’t the Single: Well, it is now. “Let Me Go” has been stuck in my head for days.
Pops Like: At times, like a milder version of Justin Timberlake’s FutureSex/LoveSounds.
Full Disclosure: I am one of those people who have listened to Brandy since she was 15.
Idolator Rating: 4/5
— Christina Lee
Human and afrodisiac Saved my life
Same here! I have listened to the album, Afrodisiac, more than all of Brandy’s other albums combined—thus far. I thought it was so extremely well produced. The only thing I wanted out of that album was Brandy’s power voice; I wanted her to sing like she was at the edge of a cliff. And she delivered that emotion on, Human, and on 2/11. Music is therapeutic, and I am so happy that Brandy could contribute to your positive ambience; much Love.
I thought this review was more than less disrespectful. A lot of unnecessary jabs add to this unprofessional attempt at a review. Even more, some of this review was just incorrect and false. For instance, “Scared of Beautiful” is not a song about underappreciating a lover; it is a song about one being insecure and unable to appreciate one’s own self-worth and beauty. Once that message is received, the song takes on an even more significant resonance for the audience. Not to mention, Brandy sang that song to death; KUDOS. I bought the deluxe album and can say with complete confidence that the only song worth skipping over is “Put It Down”, a song that actually confuses the rest of the album for me. Luckily, I downloaded this on I tunes and just removed it from the set. :) With that said, this album is versatile and capable of reaching a wide variety of listeners. Brandy sings about love, sex, anxiety, insecurities, pain, and humility. Though the content may not be as groundbreaking as her previous albums, 2/11 is honestly amazing. To be honest though, I could listen to Brandy singing the ABC’s for an hour and be completely content.
Finally, stating that Brandy’s voice is not powerful is completely unjust. She can project emotions in registers that other artists cannot even manage to whisper in. Her voice is ethereal, organic, and takes me to another universe…literally. I am in love with this album! Thank you Brandy for this album and its absence of auto tune…
Favorites: Scared of Beautiful, Music, Hardly Breathing
The ONLY song I could do without: Put It Down (Should have been on some random mixtape… it’s not a useless song, just out of place on this otherwise beautiful album).
@Macchio I wasn’t saying that Brandy was underappreciated, but that she was the one being underappreciated. When I hear her sing, “I’m scared for me, I’m scared for you,” that definitely drove the rest of the lyrics home. I feel like we came away with the same interpretation, but definitely correct me if I’m wrong.
Also, being a ‘powerhouse’ vocalist is different from being a ‘powerful’ vocalist. ‘Powerhouse’ is more or less associated with being an aggressive singer, with tons of energy — hence, why I associated the term with Whitney. But you’re right to point out that, in a sense, being a ‘powerhouse’ isn’t always a good thing. (See: Mariah and her tendency to oversing.) Brandy’s a far more subtle performer, and in my review I was trying to show my appreciation.
Bottom line, I think we agreed on a lot more than you may have thought. I appreciate your feedback either way.
Mariah has a tendency to oversing? Please, tell me when and where. I think you’re thinking of Christina because Mariah’s notes and ad libs are ALWAYS complementary to the melody of the song.
You Just Blessed me totally with the content of your Statement Ofn Brandy Period & This Album. She Is Genius.. They Must Have Forgotten She Was the FIRST to do the fast talk lyrics and crazy runs no one can do the self harmonies and sing chords like she does there is a difference from GENERIC & GIFTED I Am So Overwhelmed At this CD To No End. The Clarity Of Every Word Is Heard Her Songs Have No More Than Music & Her And Even In The Songs She Has Lots Of Breaks Without the Music You Can Just Hear her. No Comparisons Can Be Made To Anyone Else This Is SIgnature Sealed And Stamped BRANDY !!
The most beautiful thing about music is that we can have our own interpretation of how we see it. You cannot tell one what the song means to them. Give the reviewer a break; She gave the album a worthy 4 stars!
Y’all need to listen to the Bonus track “Music”. I can’t stop listening to it. It’s a love song to the love of her life…
two eleven is amazing
It’s funny what people see as strenghts in a voice. This review is okay but seems to be lacking sonething from someone who says that they have been listening to Brandy since she was 15. Brandy may not be a Whitney or a Mariah but who else is? Brandy’s strenghts and power are in the fact that she has an original agile voice that is unique to her and can not be replicated by others and she doesn’t shout to emulate power as many of todays artists unfortunatly do. For me Brandy’s music has stood the test of time. i have enjoyed her music and have always found her to have a air of class to whatever she is singing and this is continued with 2/11 where she shows further maturity and growth vocally and lyric wise but doesn’t come accross as smutty or cheap with the subject matter. For me this is the most complete Brandy album as i like all the songs and play it front to back and back to front, i agree that put it down and let me go could’ve been left out or placed at the start or the end simply because where they are placed messes with the albums flow. A great album from a great artist
Yeah, I been lovin this CD! AND THE BASS SHE PUT IN IT! Front to back like you said, but I don’t think Brandy sat out to make a slow jam record. She had to mix it up a bit with some up beat jams.
So far I keep Hardly Breathing on repeat. Paint This House, has been background music in a few of my dreams. And the Intro and Outro I wish were turned into songs featuring Common or some other insight rapper. (the beats are crazy good on this one, Brandy!)
I wasnt really feeling this review. Anyway. I LOVE this album. I havent felt this good about an album in a long time. I love Alicia Keys but in comparison to Girl on Fire, I wasted my money! Two Eleven is the business front to end, back and forth, beginning to end.
Brandy,
You did your thing on this one!!! Front to back slaps. You have put the magic back into music with this album. Thank you.