This week’s Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business was all about Sonja bonding with her children. She took Brandy camping, where hilarity ensued via faux-hitchhiking and a fake snake, and she took Ray J to visit their old neighborhood in Carson, California. Outside the house where Ray spent the bulk of his childhood, Sonja was filled in on a few details she missed while out on the road with Brandy. She learned about parties, that Ray frequently sneaked out of the house and that his friends carried guns. Though Ray (or editing) kept things vague, he did concede, “I was to the point where I was gonna get shot or killed, ’cause I was at that point.” Um, what? Did anyone have any idea that while his sister was selling millions of albums, Ray J was growing up fast on the mean streets of Carson, California? Can you even picture that now?
The episode contained a few more references to Ray’s “activities,” his friends doing things they weren’t supposed to do and toward the end there was mention that Ray was “associated with a gang,” whatever that means (really the explanation started and ended there). Ray admitted, “We weren’t bad like some of the kids. We was just not good.” This is a trip back in time not just for Ray, but for us: this is “Things That Make You Go Hmmmm”-retroism at its most head-scratching!
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In this dispatch from the 2010 VH1 Hip Hop Honors red carpet, Chilli of course talks about the Southern music she there to help pay tribute to. Perhaps most importantly, though, she gives VH1 News’ Janelle Snowden the dirt of what went on after the What Chilli Wants cameras stopped rolling. Would you believe that she still hasn’t kissed Bill, the guy she chose at the end of the show? She has seen him, though, so she’s not entirely depriving those who are invested in her love life as a result of her reality show.
Actually, Janelle’s other red-carpet interviews are just as great (Janelle probably doesn’t get enough credit for just how awesome she is). When talking to Brandy, she points out that Flo Rida, whom Brandy shared a brief association with (as played out on Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business), is just a few red-carpet steps away and then watches the reality diva squirm. (The oddest point in the interview, though, is when Brandy says she’s Ray J‘s date — how La Toya/Michael circa “Say Say Say” of them). Finally, Janelle straight-up reads Birdman for talking on his cell phone on the red carpet and for his casual attire. Then she gets him to reveal that Tha Carter IV‘s release date is set to coincide with Lil Wayne‘s release from jail. Is there anything this woman can’t do?
2010 VH1 Hip Hop Honors is set to air tonight (June 7) at 9/8c.
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While Ray J forged on with his new music project (and was made to cut a verse from Shorty Mac, who was shockingly mature about the whole thing) on this week’s Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business, Brandy dealt with much more serious matters: namely, the 2006 car accident she was involved in that resulted in a fatality. It all came about when her publicist suggested she do an entire interview on the matter to achieve closure and clear up misconceptions (scenes of Brandy crying about the public’s perception of her as a “murderer” were interspersed between ones of her mulling over the interview prospect). To Brandy’s credit, she refused to play the victim (even after Sonja claimed, “You were a victim, just like everybody else, but because you were ‘Brandy,’ you became the target”).
In the end, Brandy decided that it wouldn’t be a good idea to speak about the incident at length (“How do you say the right thing about something like that?”). That seems reasonable, although it was unsatisfying from a viewer’s perspective: the juicy bits of info that passed through her filter (her doubts about an interview regarding it being positive, Ray’s assertion that the “media created a false story” that cast Brandy as the culprit of the incident, and the portion of the extended scene above, in which Brandy admits, “A part of me believes it, that maybe it was my fault…”) only made me want to know more. Still, the fact that this show broached the subject was surprising enough to make for compelling TV. Did you ever think Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business would go there?
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They’re baaaaack and they haven’t even left yet! VH1′s current Sunday-night round of hits is set to return for more and soon. Details in the press release below…
VH1 announced today that its latest hit series Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business, Basketball Wives and What Chilli Wants have all been picked up for second seasons. Closing out their first seasons, Basketball Wives and What Chilli Wants finale on Sunday, May 30 at 10PM and 10:30PM, respectively. Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business will finale on Sunday, June 27 at 9PM.
“VH1 viewers connected strongly with these three new series this year, and we’re so happy that we can continue to share these real-life stories from the worlds of music and celebrity. Will Chilli really ever let down her guard in her quest for love? How well will Brandy and Ray J step up in their family business? And how will the Basketball Wives move forward in their complicated lives? We’re looking forward to answering those questions in their next cycles,” said Jeff Olde, Executive Vice President, Original Programming & Production, VH1.
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This week’s Brandy & Ray J: A Family Business explored Brandy’s tempestuous relationship with her mother Sonja in greater detail than ever before. This bonus clip gives us even more footage of the mother-daughter pair’s blow-up argument, and sheds light on Brandy’s life growing up in the spotlight. “I’ve always been the product and I’ve always been the person,” she says matter-of-factly, which is kind of insane. Think, when was the last time you heard someone refer to herself as a product? Brandy’s upbringing is probably alien to 99.9 percent of the population.
Whose side are you on in this debate: Sonja, who raised her daughter using her business sense, or Brandy who so desperately just wants a mom? And can you believe this episode aired on Mothers Day? That can’t be a coincidence, right?
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