This week, singer Ray J sat down with Shannon Sharpe for an episode of his Club Shay Shay podcast. The pair covered plenty of ground – from Ray J’s relationship with Kim Kardashian to his complicated love triangle with Floyd Mayweather – in their nearly three-hour convo. But Sharpe made sure he took the opportunity to slide in a few questions about Ray J’s big sister Brandy and her not-so-friendly past with her R&B rival, Monica.
Although the singers are on good terms today, Brandy’s bro says the bad blood between the teen singing sensations from the late 1990s was bigger than their hit song, “The Boy is Mine.” When asked by Sharpe if the feud was fake, Ray J responded, “That was 100% real.” He went on to say that he thinks competition between the two singers at the time provided major fuel for their beef.
“I don’t know anything other than that — but just the competitiveness of it and then you got your squad and her squad both supporting each side. But then you have the one record that can’t pretty much be touched,” Ray J said.
Ray J was referring to Brandy and Monica’s 1998 hit “The Boy is Mine,” a musical feud over a guy, played by Mekhi Phifer in the music video. People around the pair say the two were never crazy about each other. But the feud came to a head when the two stars had a physical altercation backstage right before a performance of “The Boy is Mine” at the 1998 VMAs, something Dallas Austin, the song’s coproducer confirmed in a 2020 interview with Vlad TV.
“Before they could even get to the stage, Monica decked her in the face, popped her in the face backstage and this was even before the performance,” Dallas said. “Monica never liked Brandy.”
The ladies put their disagreements behind them for a Verzuz battle in 2020 that attracted over 1.2 million viewers. The two, who shared that they hadn’t talked in eight years, took the opportunity to clear the air and share their mutual respect for one another.
“I wanted to speak to you face to face,” Monica said. “The more we’re talked about, the more it came to be difficult, unnecessarily. And I really am a straight shooter and I really do admire what you’ve done musically and what you’ve had to endure personally.”
Now that the pair are cool, Ray J told Sharpe he would love to see his sis and Monica going on tour together.
“I got that dream,” he said. “That tour needs to happen.”