The Evolution Of Monica And Brandy
Three hours of me hoping for a real performance to be delivered and being disappointed was the Brandy/Monica verzuz, but I definitely observed some things in that time:
To me it seems that Brandy is a more commercial “play by the rules” type and shes had more high caliber opportunities, which further boxed her into submission to a certain archetype. Which is why she eventually got frustrated with the industry enough to quit.
“Miss Thang”, Monica is the better SANGER and has maybe not had the same type of commercial success because she’s more likely to not take the BS. Her proximity to connections may not have been quite the same. While everyone has their own journey, I’m proud of both of these Queens for what they’ve achieved in their careers and how they now see the value of ownership and independence concerning their art.
For a free concert they definitely gave me my money’s worth. I could’ve just watched Spotify if I knew the actual performances would be half-hearted to nonexistent. What’s actually fun about Verzuz is the comments.
The highly anticipated Verzuz battle between Monica and Brandy, ended up with me being sorely disappointed, as if I was the one who got TKO’ed in the situation. The experience definitely took away my childhood notion that Brandy and Monica as celebrities had “THEE LIFE”, like they didn’t suffer like I did or go through struggles ”, when in fact growing up as young black women in the industry they probably suffered more.
They clearly have been through a lot, but it was inspiring to see them come out on the other side and be fierce. Brandy alluded to having her own label, and Monica mentioned a song that was produced independently reaching number one on the charts.
Both are immensely talented and they’ve set the stage for Keke Palmer who just hosted the VMA’s, and other artists to come out and be their best selves.
Overall, while their Verzuz battle was pretty trash, except for the nostalgia of it all and the comments. I’m proud of the women these two stars have evolved to be. I would love to see some fan art drawn of these two queens being free, independent and living their best lives. I also pray this is their reality.
Cheers to their differences, similarities and a greater bond to them going forward. The world likes to prey on and project sisters coming against each other, and weaponize petty comparisons. However, as someone mentioned in the comments: “Protect Black Women at all costs.” We must.
