RnB sensation Brandy Norwood recently released her memoir titled Phases. A chapter about the heartbreak she experienced following an inappropriate relationship with a fellow older singer has stirred conversation.
The 47-year-old singer reflected on dating Boyz II Men’s Wanya Morris back when he was 22 and she was 16.
‘The shame ends here’
“The shame ends here. The silence ends here. I was not a fast girl with a crush. I was not a dramatic teenager who couldn’t handle rejection. I was not an unstable, obsessive fan. I was a child. And he was an adult. And it’s time the world understood the difference,” reads the end part of the Heartbreak chapter. Readers have quoted the excerpt several times on social media.
Brandy also shared how the relationship began in secrecy at Morris’s behest. This is the main reason why they hid it from her parents and the public.
“I was in over my head. Sneaking around with Wanya and lying to my parents had become a constant,” she wrote, before explaining that they maintained the image of waiting until she turned 18 to avoid backlash.
The relationship later became problematic, with him comparing her to other artists like Mariah Carey and becoming increasingly distant.
“These are the things that with hindsight you realise are wildly obvious signs of something wrong.”
The relationship ended after she discovered he had been unfaithful, having cheated on her with another, older artist.
Shyne, Mase and Brandy
This revelation comes days after rapper-turned-politician Moses “Shyne” Michael Leviy Barrow made comments about his past interactions with Brandy. He made the comments in mid-March during an appearance on the “It Is What It Is” podcast hosted by Mase (Mason Betha) and Cam’ron.
According to reports by People and Hot New Hip Hop, in the episode,C am’ron brought up old rumours about both Mase and Shyne having romantic and/or sexual involvement with Brandy in the late 1990s (with some overlap).
Mase joked about being the “MVP” or “Shaq” in the situation, and Shyne chimed in, agreeing, describing himself as the up-and-coming “Kobe” who wanted to “be special” too.
He recounted stories of pursuing her, getting excited about mutual friends’ connections, and a moment where she reportedly “checked” him for talking about their interactions by reminding him that he was an up-and-coming artist at the time, which he said motivated him.
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Shyne framed parts of it positively as admiration and reminiscing, while implying a romantic dynamic existed alongside Mase’s involvement.
Shyne later clarified on Instagram and in follow-ups that he wasn’t claiming to have “hit it first” and emphasised he spoke from a place of praise, stating “I was giving her flowers”.
‘Debunking misnomers’
Brandy, who was also recently honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, responded quickly via an Instagram post. She described their connection in the late ’90s as a “platonic friendship” only, denying any dating or romantic involvement:
“In the late 90s, I had a platonic friendship with rapper Shyne. In an unfortunate turn of events, that friendship is now being mischaracterised as ‘we dated’. Unequivocally, we did not! I’m not sure why an untrue narrative about a scope of what was a friendship more than 20 years ago is being reshaped during his current media interviews.”
She added that people telling their versions of her story is why she’s releasing her memoir to share her truth and “debunk misnomers”.
Shyne later doubled down in a TMZ interview and other statements, accusing Brandy of lying to protect her image, referencing her past admission of lying to Oprah about a fake marriage. He also suggested she might be downplaying the situation because she was seeing both him and Mase at the same time, and insisted his account was accurate. He maintained the context was positive admiration, not negativity.
The exchange also drew in Ray J (Brandy’s brother). He pushed back against the podcast remarks with a strongly worded, borderline-homophobic Instagram rant.
