Brandy Norwood was barely 16 when her strutting breakthrough, “Baby", established the R&B singer as a pop trailblazer, but her stylistic innovation was far more subtle than her arrival. Her voice—at once gentle, raspy and controlled—layered the urban-dance single with a sweetness and sophistication that commingled hip-hop soul, neo-gospel and teen pop. The domino effect of Brandy's delicate adjustments are her legacy: Her Chris Brown collaboration “Put It Down” is an ancestor to trap-soul, and the breathy electro atmospherics of “Afrodisiac” indisputably helped pioneer alt-R&B.