Jhené Aiko's recent "The Magic Hour" tour stop got a little more magical after B2k graced the stage to give the singer her flowers. The show was held on Wednesday at Los Angeles' Crypto.com arena and featured surprise guests like her sister Mila J, boyfriend Big Sean, H.E.R., Miguel, and Omarion, who joined her to perform their hit song "Post To Be."
After their performance, Omarion gave a special message to the "Sativa" artist, followed by a surprise appearance from his group members Fizz, J Boog, and Raz-B.
"You reminded me the other day that the first tour that you went on was with B2K, so I think it's only right that we honor that moment and we do it like we did it back then," he said. The mom of two got emotional as the rest of the B2K members came out and presented her with a bouquet of flowers.
The video was captioned, "Another full circle moment that has connected us all. Giving @jheneaiko flowers to celebrate her incredible journey 💐."
The 36-year-old was only 12 when she first got signed. If you grew up like me listening to B2K, then you may remember that Jhené frequently collaborated with the group on music, was featured in their music videos, and was even marketed as Fizz's "cousin," even though they aren't related.
Jhené recalled that moment in her life in an interview with NPR. "I was signed as a solo artist, and I really was just recording whatever they were giving to me — because at the time, I was just a kid and it was all fun to me," she said.
"I wasn't taking it so serious. I didn't really see the importance of expressing myself and what I was going through and all the things that I do now."
She left her record label at 15 to focus on school and later gave birth to her daughter Namiko Love in 2008, whom she shares with O'Ryan, Omarion's brother (she also shares two-year-old son Noah with Big Sean.) She was 23 when she released her mixtape, Sailing Soul(s), in March 2011, 11 years after signing her first deal.
Her mixtape saw a resurgence in her career, and since then, she has dropped several albums, including the Grammy-nominated and NAACP Image Award-winning Chilombo.
B2k Millennium Tour
Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images
As far as B2k, the R&B group dropped their first album in 2002 and achieved commercial success. However, after two noteworthy years of platinum albums, sold-out tours, and hit films, the group disbanded.
While there had been some drama behind the scenes, including Fizz dating Omarion's ex and children's mother, Apryl Jones, the quartet reunited a little over a decade later for the Millennium Tour in 2019.
However, in 2020, Omarion's bandmates were no longer on the tour and he co-headlined with Bow Wow instead. This is the first time we've seen the group together since then.
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Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images, Prince Williams/WireImage
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While an evolution is a natural progression that happens as businesses grow, a rebrand is a total change. Lola tells xoNecole, "A total rebrand is necessary when a business’s current reputation/what it’s known for is at odds with the business’s vision or direction.
"For example, if you’ve fundamentally changed what your product is and does, it’s likely that your brand is out of alignment with the business. Or, if you find your company is developing a reputation that doesn’t serve it, it might be time to pump the brakes and figure out what needs to change.
She continues, "Sometimes you’ll see companies (especially startups) announce a name change that comes with updated messaging, visuals, etc. That usually means their vision has changed or expanded, and their previous branding was too narrow/couldn’t encompass everything they planned to do."
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The Brand Doula was born in 2019, and its focus is on putting "the experiences, goals, and needs of women of color founders first," as well as brands with "culture-shifting missions."
According to Lola, culture-shifting is "the act of influencing dominant behavior, beliefs, or experiences in a community or group (ideally, for the better)."
"At The Brand Doula, we work with companies and leaders that set out to challenge the status quo in their industries and communities. They’re here to make an impact that sends ripples across the market," she says.
"We help the problem solvers of the world — the ones who aren't satisfied with 'this is how it's always been' and instead ask 'how could this be better?' Our clients build for impact, reimagining tools, systems, and ways of living to move cultures forward."
The Brand Doula has worked with many brands, including Too Collective, to assist with their collaboration with Selena Gomez's Rare Beauty and Balanced Black Girl for a "refresh," aka rebrand. For businesses looking to rebrand, Lola shares four essential steps.
1. Do an audit of your current brand experience — what’s still relevant and what needs to change? Reflect on why you’re doing the rebrand in the first place and what success would look like after relaunching.
2. Tackle the overall strategy first — before you start redesigning logos and websites, align on a new vision for your brand. How do you want your company to be positioned moving forward? Has your audience changed at all? Will your company have a fresh personality and voice?
3. Bring your audience along the journey — there’s no need to move in secret. Inviting your current audience into the journey can actually help them feel more connected to and invested in your story, enough to stick around as changes are being made.
4. Keep business moving — one of my biggest pet peeves is when companies take down their websites as soon as they have the idea to rebrand, then have a Coming Soon page up for months! You lose a lot of momentum and interest by doing that. If you’re still in business and generating income, continue to operate while you work on your rebrand behind the scenes. You don’t want to cut existing customers off out of the blue, and you also don’t want so much downtime that folks forget your business exists or start looking for other solutions.
While determining whether the rebrand was successful may take a few months, Lola says a clear sign that it is unsuccessful is negative feedback from your target audience. "Customers are typically more vocal about what they don’t like more than what they do like," she says.
But some good signs to look out for are improvements in engagement with your marketing, positive reviews, press and increase in retention, and overall feeling aligned with the new branding.
For more information about Lola and The Brand Doula, visit her website, thebranddoula.com.
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