Just because you didn't grow up on Bran (which is quite bizarre must I say, I mean I live in a village in Europe and I knew who she was in 1998), doesn't mean you won't use her style of singing on albums like welcome to the dollhouse. Or solo albums released after that.. She's defending herself too much. First she praised bran and then she just started to get weird about it.
What do black people have to do with it? Is dawn trying to say they like to keep bitching abou it? maybe because they're more familiar with the R&B artists they can put your style in context? I mean.. It's so obvious to me. The Brandyisms are there. It doesn't really matter if a black or white ear listens to it.