R&B singer, actress, and all-around icon Brandy just achieved a major career milestone.
On Monday, March 30, The Vocal Bible received the 2,839th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce also declaring it Brandy Day in the Los Angeles city.
Source: PATRICK T. FALLON / Getty
“So this really happened, huh?” Brandy said during her speech, becoming emotional as the crowd cheered her on. “I was just a little girl with a big dream, but growing up in Hollywood made those dreams feel close enough to touch; seeing the stars on the Walk of Fame lit something in me. It made me believe. It made me affirm … ‘I’m going to sing my way onto one of these stars.’ And I did. That is what makes this moment so profound for me.”
Before Brandy took the stage, though, two of her friends and collaborators, Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Issa Rae, spoke in her honor. Babyface looked back on working with Brandy on the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack in 1995, which also involved Whitney Houston.
“When Whitney and I sat down, we went over a list of who we wanted to be on the album,” he said. “Yours was the first name that came up. ‘I want Brandy,’ she said, because you had one of the best voices she had ever heard. And I agreed. When we recorded that song [‘Sittin’ Up in My Room’] in my house … I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.”
He continued,
“I’m just here to say that for me, you have one of the best voices I’ve ever heard. You give one of the best feelings I’ve ever heard. The soul that’s in your voice; the way you move your voice; you’re like an athlete. No one can do it the way you do it. And there’s always heart. With everything that you sing, you put your whole heart into it. That’s what I appreciate about you most.”
During Issa Rae’s speech, she shared that she’s been a fan since of Brandy since she was a kid, first discovering her through “I Wanna Be Down,” which she bought with her own allowance in fourth grade. She also pointed to Brandy’s acting work, including Moesha, her role in Cinderella as the first Black actress to play the lead, and her Broadway turn as Roxie Hart in Chicago.
“The most inspirational part of her career is just how she had no lanes,” Rae explained. “As her career progressed, so did her ambitions. To me, Brandy was and is the blueprint. Without Brandy as Moesha, there’s no The Parkers, no Girlfriends, no Insecure … I just want to thank you so much for your impact. Thank you for showing a little girl from L.A. that her story was worth telling. This star has always been yours.”
Issa Rae delivers opening remarks at Brandy’s Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony:
Right before the star was officially revealed, Brandy reflected on what the honor means to her.
“A star on the Walk of Fame is a definition of legacy. It doesn’t just celebrate your success; it cements your story. It doesn’t just honor your work; it immortalizes your light. It is a symbol that says you didn’t just arrive, you endured. You didn’t just dream, you became,” she told the crowd. “It means you made it in a way that stands the test of time. Not just in popularity, not just in the moment, but in a way that leaves fingerprints on culture, on art and on history. Dreams don’t have an expiration date. … So today, I stand grateful, humbled, inspired and most of all, I stand as living proof that what you speak over your life with faith, consistency and belief can one day meet you in reality.”
In addition to Babyface and Issa Rae, Brandy also celebrated the moment surrounded by family, including her parents and daughter, along with friends and collaborators like Monica, Kehlani, Warryn Campbell, Erica Campbell, and members of the Moesha cast.
