Brandy - Honey (2006)

Returning from her foray into reality television, Brandy's fourth album 'Afrodisiac' was released in June 2004, amid the well-publicized termination of her short-lived business relationship with entertainment manager Benny Medina. She ended her contract with his Los Angeles-based Handprint Entertainment after less than a year of representation, following controversies surrounding Medina's handling of the lead single 'Talk About Our Love', and failed negotiations of a purported co-headlining tour with R&B singer Usher. Despite the negative publicity, 'Afrodisiac' became her most critically acclaimed album, with some reviews highlighting the more consistently mature and challenging effect of Timbaland on her music, and favourably comparing her to Janet Jackson. A moderate seller, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, and 'Talk About Our Love' reached number six in the United Kingdom single chart, although subsequent singles failed to score as successfully. After eleven years with the company, Brandy asked for and received an unconditional release from Atlantic Records at the end of 2004, citing her wish "to move on" as the main reason for her decision. Completing her contract with the label, a compilation album titled 'The Best Of Brandy' was released in March 2005, and despite little promotion, it reached the top 30 in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, where the collection was appreciated by contemporary critics, who noted the creativity of her back catalogue. Recording sessions commenced for what would be the follow-up to 'Afrodisiac' while negotiations went on for a new recording contract under the auspices of her brother's Knockout Entertainment company. In 2006 she began appearing in a recurring role in the UPN sitcom 'One On One', and in June she was picked as one of the three judges on the first series of 'America's Got Talent', and so her singing career was once again put on hold. It was not until 2008 that she would sign to Epic Records and release the 'Human' album, meaning that the 2006 recordings remained unreleased, so here they are, along with the odd 'Afrodisiac' out-take, for an album that could have appeared in 2006 had her TV career not taken priority.     

Track listing

01 La La Land
02 Nodding Off
03 Honey
04 Ryde Or Die (feat. Posta Boy)
05 Follow Me
06 Maximum Risk
07 Fall Back (feat. DJ Whoo, Lloyd Banks & Fabolous)
08 Lately (What Have You Done For Me?) 
09 So Good
10 Sweet Nothing
11 Doesn't Really Matter