Ever since FM (with the exception of 2/11), Brandy has released singles that have gone against what was on radio at the time. To me it has been a gift and a curse. A gift in a sense that people revere her for her sounds. A curse because after her singles have run their course at radio, they get very little play at radio years later.
AFRO was a mess visually - videos, photos, hair, wardrobe, performance. All of it was a hot mess. I don't know what kind of mental anguish she was going through, but it was not the business.
She coulda rode both FM and AFRO out with 4 to 5 singles and the songs would have caught on at radio. Where U Wanna Be was her urban/quiet storm hit just waiting to happen. I didn't see "I Tried" making an impact without a strong visual.