Brandy Just Received an Incredible Honor

Brandy is having a renaissance. Simultaneously with the release of her now-New York Times Best Selling memoir, Phases, the singer received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

To celebrate the occasion with the singer were her daughter Sy’Rai Smith, singers Monica, Kehlani, producer Warryn Campbell, his wife, gospel singer Erica Campbell, and her Moesha co-stars, including Shar Jackson and Marcus T. Paulk. 

“So this really happened, huh?” an emotional Brandy said during her acceptance speech. “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 witnessing the formal unveiling of her star, Brandy said, “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. 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.”

Prior to taking the podium, Brandy was honored by Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds and Issa Rae. Babyface spearheaded the production of the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, which featured Brandy’s hit “Sittin’ Up In My Room.” The soundtrack was put together by Whitney Houston, who starred in the film, and was a lifelong mentor to Brandy until her death in 202.

“When Whitney and I sat down, we went over a list of who we wanted to be on the album,” said Babyface. “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. 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.”

Rae praised Brandy for being a trendsetter for Black girls around the world at a time when positive representation for Black girls coming of age was lacking. She admitted that when asked to speak at the ceremony, it was the quickest yes she ever gave her publicist. She said of Brandy: “The most inspirational part of her career is just how she had no lanes. 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.”