West Coast Wednesday: Brandy & Monica. The Boy is Mine Concert Afrodisiac

Brandy & Monica

Brandy & Monica graced the stage of the Kia Forum in Inglewood, CA, for their SOCAL leg of their tour on November 6th and 9th. Fortunately, I was in attendance for night one, and all I can say is a time was had. I was singing along and dancing nearly the entire night. As mentioned in my review of GNX, I had hoped to secure floor seats at my next concert, allowing me room to dance, and lucky me, I got just that. After working a 10-hour shift and getting off at 6:00 pm, I had to prepare for the 8:00 pm showtime. When I arrived at the stadium, I had already reached my goal of 10k steps for the day, and by the time I left the concert, another 9k steps had been accumulated to give y'all an idea of how much dancing around I was doing. The show is definitely in my top three.

For starters, the DJ did an outstanding job of hyping the crowd, playing all the nostalgic R&B hits, getting everyone out of their seats, and encouraging them to sing along to the tunes. The crowd was great, also. Everyone was engaging, and Black LA was like a big family. There were opening performances by Jamal from American Idol (he can SANG!), Muni Long (Yippie!), and her mic was on, and the vocals were strong. I loved the concept of the Muni show with her two backup dancers, Dolla & Bill. Ms. Kelly Rowland (she's so damn gorgeous) gave an excellent performance, and I feel that you could really see her personality bloom through, with lots of smiling, playfulness, and flirtiness while singing all the DC and Kelly hits—pure joy to witness in person.

As for the stars of the main event, Ms. Brandy Norwood and Ms. Monica Denise (muah, chef's kiss). Both ladies did the damn thang. They provided us with vocals, dancing, fashion (including badass boots and blazers), and a fantastic lineup of special guests, such as 50 Cent, Miguel, Ty Dolla $ign, Kehlani, who presented Brandy with flowers, and Ella Mai. I personally saw celebrity attendances by Omarion, Joie Chavis, Kayla Nicole, and Ms. Niecey Nash. Yeah, the ladies just got it like that. Brandy and Monica sang all of their smash hits and deep cuts. I am so glad all the performers sang my favorite songs.

I waited all night to hear Brandy's 'Sittin' Up in My Room" and Monica's 'Angel of Mine'. While both are love songs, they hold different sentimental meanings for me. As a child, I was always in my bedroom (by choice) listening to music, and every time 'Sittin Up in My Room' came on the radio, I would blast it through the big speakers on my Aiwa multi-CD player/radio. I remember begging my granny at the Sam Goody Music store in the Crenshaw Mall to buy me Monica's cassette tape for 'Angel of Mine', I played it so much it popped. Needless to say, I did not walk away disappointed; in fact, I smiled the entire ride home, blasting all of the '90s hits. This concert gave me a much-needed reset and natural high! Well done, Ladies, Brava!!!