I was listening to my Windows Media Player last night as I finished up some work emails before I jet away to Paris on tomorrow night. One of the tracks that played was Shareefa’s “Need a Boss”, the Darkchild hit from her Point of No Return release. It had been several years since I heard the track and the Darkchild magic on it instantly reminded me of another track. That brings me to this week’s moment in the Flashback Friday series: Brandy’s “What About Us?” music track.
How I first came across this moment? I first came across the track in January 2002. It played on 95.7 Jamz while I cruised I-59 South inbound to Downtown Birmingham in The Deuce.
What it meant to me then? My immediate reaction to hearing the track was “Brandy is back”. It was the first time I heard music from her since “Angel in Disguise” off the Never Say Never album 4 years earlier. Unlike the somewhat somber tone of that track—and really that entire album—the “What About Us?” track was very different. It had some bounce to it and I was immediately all in on it. I downloaded the track off LimeWire and it became part of the bump music in The Deuce.
What it means to me now? Today, the track still has some rotational play in my Windows Media Player. It was my true introduction to the Darkchild sound though “Every Which Way” off the Life soundtrack 2 years earlier is my official introduction. It’s still a quality track and it still gets my head rocking. It’s definitely getting added to The Book of Juan: The Original Soundtrack of the Blog.
