Team Brandy or Team Monica– that is the question. In case your mom or aunts didn’t let you know, last Monday night, 90s R&B stars Brandy and Monica appeared together for the first time in years for a trip down memory lane on the webcast series Verzuz, which features virtual music battles. Both Brandy and Monica reminisced for three hours on their favorite songs from each of their careers. Remembering hit after hit, these ladies pulled in over a million viewers onto the Verzuz live stream.
It is no secret that Brandy and Monica may have had so-called “beef” in the past. The media and music industry have pitted them against each other since the beginning of their careers. However, this longtime friendly rivalry was set straight during this iconic faceoff. They took turns listening and singing along to over 40 songs all together.
In addition to playing their hit songs, Brandy and Monica also had Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris briefly join to speak about how important voting is. They both spoke about social causes that are important to them and brought awareness to those issues as well.
Both Monica and Brandy threw fun shade towards each other the entire night. The running joke for the night seemed to be Brandy trying to convince Monica to do a reunion tour. Fans all over were able to make commentary through the livestream and over Twitter. This is the music 90s and early 2000s kids grew up on, so of course, people were picking sides– team Brandy vs. team Monica. Jokes were up and down the timeline like “Monica is your favorite cousin on your dad’s side of the family, and Brandy is your favorite cousin on your mom’s side.” This Verzuz session was a fun, nostalgic virtual event that everyone could enjoy and appreciate.
Hit songs like “I Wanna Be Down,” “Baby,” “Angel of Mine,” “The First Night,” and so many more were played and recollected on throughout the entire night. They closed out the show with their most infamous duet, “The Boy is Mine.” This record earned both of them their first and only Grammy for the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group category.
Monica and Brandy created a path for many black female R&B artists. They were truly pioneers of their time. Both of them were role models for young black girls everywhere. Although they have always been compared to each other, this virtual music battle did a perfect job showing how different they are from each other. Their differences are what makes their dynamic work though. No matter if you are team Brandy, or team Monica, you have to admit that both women are masters of their craft.