Derek Blanks(LOS ANGELES) — Brandy says the past eight years haven’t been easy, which is why fans had to wait so long for new music.  In an interview with People, the “I Wanna Be Down” singer opened up about her mental health struggles and how her daughter Sy’rai saved her.

“I was a little bit lost eight years ago musically, creatively, spiritually,” Brandy admitted when speaking about the long wait for the B7 album. “I had to pull myself together, I had to pull it all together and make it all make sense.”

Brandy, 41, says she first fell into a dark place following her 2006 crash, which resulted in the death of a 38-year-old woman. 

“I remember laying in bed super depressed,” she recounted, adding that her depressive thoughts turned into suicide ideation.  Thankfully, she had someone to pull her out of that dark spiral: Sy’rai.

“I [told] myself, ‘So, you’re just going to go out like this? That’s wack. You have a daughter. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for her because this is not the way to leave a mark in her life,'” said Brandy.  

“If Sy’rai wasn’t here, I wouldn’t be either,” the Moesha star attested.  “The place that I was in, it just felt like I wasn’t going to make it through.”

Sy’rai, whom she shares with ex Robert Smith, graduated from high school this year.  Before the 18-year-old headed off to college, she stepped into the recording studio with her mom to cut “High Heels,” which is the eleventh track off the B7 album.

“I’m in a place now where I can be proud of moving in the right direction,” Brandy concluded, adding that she works on her mental health through therapy.

If you are struggling with thoughts of suicide, or worried about a friend or loved one, help is available. Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 [TALK] for free confidential emotional support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even if it feels like it, you are not alone.

By Megan Stone
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