During the mid-1990s, Brandy (born Brandy Norwood) was an up-and-coming singer who’s debut self-titled album went multi-platinum, and an actress who starred in the ABC network sitcom Thea. The young lady was later given her own show, the sitcom Moesha. It was originally turned down by CBS in 1995, but picked up by UPN, a new station which premiered in 1995 (along with the WB).
Moesha made its debut January 23, 1996, and quickly became one of UPN’s flagship shows. Moesha featured a who’s who of Black star power popular during its stay on the air. Several of her music peers either guest starred or performed on the show including Usher, Master P, Dru Hill, A Tribe Called Quest, DMX, Jodeci, Lil Kim, and Morris Day, NBA stars Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant also made an appearance.
Moesha’s three best friends were Hakeem (Lamont Bentley), Kim (Countess Vaughn), and Shar Jackson as Niecy. Her father Frank Mitchell was played by veteran actor William Allen Young and his wife Dee was played by actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. Her younger brother Marcus T Paulk starred as Myles and Brandy’s real-life brother Ray J joined the cast as Dorian. Also, heavily featured rapper Fredro Star from the Hip-Hop duo Onyx played her on-and-off boyfriend Q. Late stand-up comedienne Yvette Wilson, the owner of the Den (popular hangout spot on the show) played Andell. Bernie Mac and Ricky Harris also had roles in the series as well.
Moesha dealt with real life issues that young Black teenage females faced. Other teen shows like Beverly Hills 90210 rarely featured Blacks in their cast. Brandy and Countess Vaughn won NAACP Image Awards for the series. Vaughn eventually left the show for her own spinoff, The Parkers.
Brandy simultaneously held down a platinum selling music career and a hit show. The year Moesha made its debut on television, Brandy had two hit songs from two different hit films high on the charts. “Sitting Up In My Room” from Waiting To Exhale and “Missing You” from Set It Off. “Missing You” featured not only Brandy but Tamia, Chaka Khan and Gladys Knight. It peaked at #25 on the Pop Charts. “Sitting Up In My Room” did much better, just missing the top slot peaking at #2. Moesha ended in 2002 after six seasons with a cliffhanger, we never found out what happened to Myles!
Moesha (excuse me …) Brandy has continued to act and release music to this day.
Article by: Kerry Lewis
The post Moesha Hits 30 Year Mark Since Its Debut on UPN Network first appeared on The Fleet Mag.