B7 (album)

B7 has been in production since 2018. During an interview with the HuffPost' Taryn Finley, Norwood said that despite feeling pressure she was letting her "authentic experiences inform her music". Despite feeling vulnerable and in relation to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Norwood said "It all aligned... I didn’t plan it like this, but it just happened to fall in the same space so I'm happy about that."[1] Finely asked Norwood to elaborate on why the time was right for new music, Norwood said "Well, I felt like I'm in a great place in my music. I feel very strong about my music, confident about where I am with it. I believe in it, and I just felt like this was the time".[1] Describing the album as authentic and her most personal to date, Norwood said that fans could expect her "entire heart" on the album, with themes of "love and heartache and coming into [her] own and finding [her] own self love".[1] Speaking about the process of making the album, Norwood was clear about the dedication she put into the project, "I've dedicated the last couple of years of my life to new music, my new project. It's taken me a while, but I'm so happy about the focus and work ethic I've put into this project."[1]

Norwood's look on the B7 cover art was compared to American singers Whitney Houston (left) and Syreeta Wright (right).

The album's cover art and title were unveiled on May 7, 2020. The cover pays homage to Norwood's idol Whitney Houston's look from the 1992 film The Bodyguard. In the image, Norwood is pictured face forward towards the camera with "beads cascading down her forehead".[2] Glennisha Morgan from KISS 95.1 FM commented that the cover featured Norwood's signature braids, and the choice of gold beads complimented the gold eye shadow in the cover photo.[3] In writing for Essence.com, Jennifer Ford called the album's cover nostalgic, and noted that although Norwood had "countless memorable braid moments", the micro braids chosen for the B7 "may be the greatest of all time". The look was designed and styled by celebrity hairstylist Kim Kimble.[4] Meanwhile Morgan also pointed out that font and typeface of the font used on the album was as the same as Norwood's first three albums: Brandy (1994), Never Say Never (1998) and Full Moon (2002). Comparisons were also drawn to singer-songwriter Syreeta Wright, who often wore her hair in braids too.[3] The cover art received positive comments from 107.5 FM in an article called Yasss! Brandy Drops Cover For New Album 'B7', where the station declared that they "loved" the cover.[5] Idolator's Mike Wass agreed, saying that the "orange-and-gold-hued cover art" shows that Norwood was "back and she really means business this time around".[6]

In March 2020, it was announced that Norwood would release the album's lead single "Baby Mama" featuring American recording artist Chance The Rapper on the American talk show The Talk. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the single was postponed and soon released on May 1, 2020.[7] Prior to the single's release, Norwood later appeared on Good Morning America on May 7, 2020, to perform the song live during the 2020 Spring Concert Series, where she would announce her seventh album and reveal the album cover, respectively.

• Brandy's official site