Music Review: Brandy "What About Us"
Brandy
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
What About Us
Album: Full Moon
Year: 2002
Brandy confronts her neglectful boyfriend in the slick "What About Us."
The single opens with producer Rodney Jerkins exclaiming "whoo!" He says it's Darkchild (his nickname) and tells B-Rock (Brandy's ill-advised and short-lived nickname) to start the song in the intro. ("Whoo!/Yeah, Darkchild/B-Rock let's go.")
Squiggly, testy beats accompany Brandy. She is the one always initating contact and it's ticking her off. She asks her boyfriend why he didn't call her back and gets angry if she's out with her friends somewhere. He doesn't visit her and uses the excuses that he's busy. She doesn't believe him and tells him she has better things to do than figure out his mind games. She tells him she will find another boyfriend who will want to be with her. ("Why don't you return my calls?/Why you trip out where I be?/You don't ever come to see me/You say that you're too busy (what?)/What the hell?/I don't have time/
Why you messin' with my mind?/I can find another guy/Someone who will treat me right.")
In the pre-chorus, she breaks up with him. She's not taking his crap anymore. She tells him he's independent and not to expect her to be devastated. ("I don't need this bull ish/I won't put up with it, any longer/You can, go if you want/I don't, need your pity/I will, be just fine/
If you decide, that you want to leave/Close the, door behind you/I just, want to know what.")
In the chorus, she asks the questions that have been in the back of her mind. Why did he compliment her if he didn't mean it? Why did talk about their future if he thought they didn't have one? Why did he buy her jewelry if he liked someone else? ("What about all of the/Things that you said/What about all of the/Promises that you made/What about all of the/Ice that you gave
What about all of the/Things you told me/What about all of the/Things that you said/
What about all of the/Promises that you made/What about all of the/Ice that you gave/
What about, what about/What about us? What about us, us?/What about us? What about us, us?")
She calls him on his lines he used on her. Next, it's his lies and empty promises. She tells him he told her he wasn't going to be like the jerks she dated before. He tries to explain himself but Brandy cuts him off. His credibility is shot. She now sees him as phony. ("I thought you said you were different/Was that what I heard you say?/Said that you'd love only me/Thought that you'd be all I need (what?)/What happened to promises?/Said that you were a better man/Your words have no weight with me/Cause you're counterfeit, I see.")
After the pre-chorus and chorus is the bridge. She tells him he needs hear a few more things from her, which may take him by surprise. For instance, she finds him to be a terrible guy and she figured out his game a while ago. She was unfaithful at times and has been his support system. He hasn't paid the rent like he said. She tells him to forget about living in her apartment and spending her money. She tells him to confess what she was to him. ("Baby you should now hear this/Now what if I said that you wasn't fit to be with/Now what if I told you you're game was played, I licked it/Yo what if I said I wasn't true, so do you/You and I know, without me there's no you/So what about the bills that were passed due/Before you, all you said to me was "Baby I'll owe you"/Forget about the brand new life that I gave you/Now what about us to me, now what about us to me.")
The chorus is sung twice to end the single.
While most R&B singers are devolving, Brandy manages to mature her sound a notch for each album. In "What About Us" Brandy leaves behind the sugary R&B which made her incredibly popular in the late 90s and goes for a techno-influenced sound. Producer Rodney Jerkins needs to lay off the knobs a little, though. For instance, the sound effects clutter the beats. The "busy" tone from a phone is not needed to emphasize the word itself. The "whoo's" scattered throughout do nothing but boost Jerkins' ego.
Album: Full Moon
Year: 2002
Brandy confronts her neglectful boyfriend in the slick "What About Us."
The single opens with producer Rodney Jerkins exclaiming "whoo!" He says it's Darkchild (his nickname) and tells B-Rock (Brandy's ill-advised and short-lived nickname) to start the song in the intro. ("Whoo!/Yeah, Darkchild/B-Rock let's go.")
Squiggly, testy beats accompany Brandy. She is the one always initating contact and it's ticking her off. She asks her boyfriend why he didn't call her back and gets angry if she's out with her friends somewhere. He doesn't visit her and uses the excuses that he's busy. She doesn't believe him and tells him she has better things to do than figure out his mind games. She tells him she will find another boyfriend who will want to be with her. ("Why don't you return my calls?/Why you trip out where I be?/You don't ever come to see me/You say that you're too busy (what?)/What the hell?/I don't have time/
Why you messin' with my mind?/I can find another guy/Someone who will treat me right.")
In the pre-chorus, she breaks up with him. She's not taking his crap anymore. She tells him he's independent and not to expect her to be devastated. ("I don't need this bull ish/I won't put up with it, any longer/You can, go if you want/I don't, need your pity/I will, be just fine/
If you decide, that you want to leave/Close the, door behind you/I just, want to know what.")
In the chorus, she asks the questions that have been in the back of her mind. Why did he compliment her if he didn't mean it? Why did talk about their future if he thought they didn't have one? Why did he buy her jewelry if he liked someone else? ("What about all of the/Things that you said/What about all of the/Promises that you made/What about all of the/Ice that you gave
What about all of the/Things you told me/What about all of the/Things that you said/
What about all of the/Promises that you made/What about all of the/Ice that you gave/
What about, what about/What about us? What about us, us?/What about us? What about us, us?")
She calls him on his lines he used on her. Next, it's his lies and empty promises. She tells him he told her he wasn't going to be like the jerks she dated before. He tries to explain himself but Brandy cuts him off. His credibility is shot. She now sees him as phony. ("I thought you said you were different/Was that what I heard you say?/Said that you'd love only me/Thought that you'd be all I need (what?)/What happened to promises?/Said that you were a better man/Your words have no weight with me/Cause you're counterfeit, I see.")
After the pre-chorus and chorus is the bridge. She tells him he needs hear a few more things from her, which may take him by surprise. For instance, she finds him to be a terrible guy and she figured out his game a while ago. She was unfaithful at times and has been his support system. He hasn't paid the rent like he said. She tells him to forget about living in her apartment and spending her money. She tells him to confess what she was to him. ("Baby you should now hear this/Now what if I said that you wasn't fit to be with/Now what if I told you you're game was played, I licked it/Yo what if I said I wasn't true, so do you/You and I know, without me there's no you/So what about the bills that were passed due/Before you, all you said to me was "Baby I'll owe you"/Forget about the brand new life that I gave you/Now what about us to me, now what about us to me.")
The chorus is sung twice to end the single.
While most R&B singers are devolving, Brandy manages to mature her sound a notch for each album. In "What About Us" Brandy leaves behind the sugary R&B which made her incredibly popular in the late 90s and goes for a techno-influenced sound. Producer Rodney Jerkins needs to lay off the knobs a little, though. For instance, the sound effects clutter the beats. The "busy" tone from a phone is not needed to emphasize the word itself. The "whoo's" scattered throughout do nothing but boost Jerkins' ego.
