B7

B7 is the seventh studio album by American singer Brandy Norwood. It was released on July 31, 2020, through Brandy's imprint, Brand Nu, Inc and eOne Urban. B7 is Norwood's first studio album since Two Eleven (2012). The album was preceded by the release of lead single "Baby Mama" featuring Chance the Rapper. Norwood's collaboration with Canadian singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar, "Love Again" is also included on the album.
B7 is Norwood's first independent release on her own record label Brand Nu, Inc. in partnership with eOne. During an interview with the HuffPost' Taryn Finley, Norwood said she was letting her "authentic experiences inform her music". Despite feeling vulnerable and in relation to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Norwood said "It all aligned... I didn't plan it like this, but it just happened to fall in the same space so I'm happy about that." Finely asked Norwood to elaborate on why the time was right for new music, Norwood said "Well, I felt like I'm in a great place in my music. I feel very strong about my music, confident about where I am with it. I believe in it, and I just felt like this was the time." Describing the album as authentic and her most personal to date, Norwood said that fans could expect her "entire heart" on the album, with themes of "love and heartache and coming into  own and finding  own self love".
Speaking about the process of making the album, Norwood was clear about the dedication she put into the project, "I've dedicated the last couple of years of my life to new music, my new project. It's taken me a while, but I'm so happy about the focus and work ethic I've put into this project." This concept was expanded upon during Norwood's interview with Apple Music, where she stated: "I felt like I wanted to just be as honest as possible with this new project. I wanted to approach this project like if this was my last chance, if this was my last shot at creating music, what would this project be about? What would it sound like? Would I just bare it all? Would I tell my story as deep as I could tell it? And I wanted to, of course, stay true to R&B but at the same time go outside of the box." Similarly, when talking to Entertainment Weekly, Norwood said that she treated the album like it was her last. "I went into this album thinking, 'If this were my last project, if this were the last time I would ever sing…what would I do?' I used that  as a way to give my all. You can hear my entire heart on this. It took a while because I didn't want to rush."