BRANDY

Some soundstage on a forgettable movie lot

Hollywood, CA

February 18, 2001

Photo credit: Brandy

There were 40 people, at best, in this big, open soundstage on a small studio lot in Hollywood. I was at a taping of the Source Sound Lab music and dance television show hosted by Brandy’s younger brother, Ray J.

Some of the people there were off-camera crew coming and going with clipboards and walkie-talkies; others were camera operators. A couple of people like me were just there to watch, and others were dancing on the simple stage wearing flashy clothes trying to make this look like a big production. I’d never heard of this show, but some well-known entertainers were there to perform.

Because we were standing in the back of the room, I could see everything. The band 112 was on stage entertaining the teeny crowd when Brandy and her dad walked in the door. Her cousin Snoop Dogg was going to perform next and they were coming out to support the fam.

I pointed her out to my friend when I spotted her. “You get your camera,” he said, “I’ll get her.” 

As she got closer to us, looking genuinely sweet, my friend stopped her and quickly pitched my idea. “She has a book with pictures of her taken by celebrities. Will you take a picture of her?” Something was lost in his approach but time was of the essence. Brandy looked a bit confused but understood what we wanted and said, “Sure.” She was friendly. I handed her my camera and she calmly snapped a quick picture. No problem. We smiled at each other and I thanked her as she handed the camera back.

Then, grooving to the music, she carefully stepped over the cords that meandered across the floor and proceeded deeper into the event. She was a pleasant diva.