Brandy Rayana Norwood (born February 11, 1979 in McComb, Mississippi ), known professionally as Brandy, is an American rnb singer-songwriter, record producer, actress, television entertainer, film producer and occasional rapper. In 1993, she signed a recording contract with Atlantic, releasing her self-titled debut album a year after. Following a major success with Grammy Award-winning "The Boy Is Mine," a duet with singer Monica and her second album Never Say Never in 1998, a series of successful records established her as one of the most successful of the new breed of urban R&B female vocalists to emerge during the mid-to late 1990s.