B.W.D With: Brooke Valentine + Meelah (702) + The 8thGraders

In 2005, fans and critics alike were enthralled by music sensation Brooke Valentine. It was her dynamic single, “Girlfight,” featuring Lil Jon and Big Boi, taken from her debut full-length project, Chain Letter (Virgin Records), that helped propel album sales to 300,000 copies worldwide. Now, she is back —with a new focus, a higher sense of purpose, and most of all, exciting new music!

Brooke Valentine is ecstatic about the release of her long-awaited album Forever (Subliminal Ent/Universal) and its upbeat title track single, called "Forever"—her first collection of all-new material in four years. The album is a celebration of life, family, and Valentine’s new-found freedom. She does not completely shed her sexy and fun-girl image, but the tragic loss of a family member, a complicated pregnancy, raising a special needs son, and a long battle to be released from Virgin Records certainly have affected her perspective.

“A lot of fans have been asking where I have been,” she says, referring to her extended hiatus from the music business. “You know, I’ve been singing since I was 12 years-old; so by the time songs like ‘Girlfight’ and the Chain Letter album hit, I’d been doing this for quite a while. In this world, you just can’t have all career and no balance.  I gave birth to my son London, who I love and adore. He requires a bit more attention than what the average parent has to give to a child. I’d been fighting to be released from the deal with Virgin Records. I was no longer in love with the industry and with the politics that go with it. I needed a break. I needed to live life. But I want my fans to know, though, that I never fell out of love with mus