The 50 most intriguing blacks of 2004

FOR THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS BRANDY has been on a roller-coaster ride, and the thrills are still coming in waves. No sooner had the 25-year-old single mom released a new recording, former beau and producer Robert

Smith, father of Brandy's toddler Sy'rai, announced that he and Brandy were never married. Say what? Reaction was similar to the response in early 2002 when it was announced that Brandy and Smith had secretly married the previous summer. Even if the whole marriage story was an effort to preserve the former child star's reputation, as Smith was quoted as saying, most fans didn't seem to care. It appears that Brandy has moved on as well. Seldom is she seen without NBA's Phoenix Suns guard Quentin Richardson at her side, and she is sporting his million-dollar, 10.5-karat diamond ring. The two plan to marry in summer 2005 and are customizing a spacious house in the Phoenix area. In addition, the star of the hit sitcom Moesha (now in syndication) and her mother/manager Sonja Norwood are developing a new television project (starring Brandy) that will premiere on Fox next fall. These days, Brandy is all smiles with an adorable toddler, a handsome beau and the platinum-selling Afrodisiac CD.

KANYE West

Kanye West, the 27-year-old Chicago native, scored big in 2004 with his debut CD, The College Dropout. He even won a BET Award for Best New Artist and toured with Usher this summer. But it's not necessarily the awards that are driving West now. It's Jesus. West has brought his struggle of living a secular life and still trying to walk with God to the mainstream with "Jesus Walks," a controversial single currently rocking radio and winning fans. "I'll try my hardest to always voice what I think [fans are] going through while they're listening to my music, "West told EBONY. "That's all my music is. "And that's who West is. Ever since he started making beats on Chicago's South Side, he's always been willing to try something new, to express an opinion, to sample something others thought was suspect. 2005 is supposed to be a defining year for West, who enjoys fashion in his spare time. And while he's not been publicly linked to any romance, he told EBONY earlier this year that he had a steady girlfriend. What's next? West has people lining up to work with him and he's at work on a second album. It'll be interesting to see where West's walk takes him in '05.

Dave CHAPPELLE

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN Richard Pryor and Chris Rock lies the comedic genius of Dave Chappelle, who can best be described as outrageous, insightful and incendiary. Chappelle, Comedy Central's new $50 million man, has the biggest audience on the channel and appears to contradict everything that is said about him. And his doe-eyed, laid-back, "I-can't-believe-that-I-just-said-that-either" demeanor is perhaps the polar opposite of the man who lies within. The son of William Chappelle, a retired voice teacher, and Seon Chappelle, a Unitarian minister and college professor, he says he is committed to his comedy and to creative freedom. Although some critics have questioned his choice of material and have asked is he going too far with characters, he says that he is using comedy to entertain and to raise unexplored questions.