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For one long stretch during her formative grade school years, the family belonged to what she describes as the "very strict" Apostolic Church. As a member, says Braxton, she had to wear long dresses, hats and other modest garb, something that made her stand out, uncomfortably, among her schoolmates. Also setting her apart was the fact that she wasn't allowed to listen to the type of secular music that she now specializes in. But as she neared the end of high school, her father loosened up the rules--and Braxton bought her first pair of pants. "They were Levi's," she says. "I'll never forget. Straight-legged Levi's. From there I got to wear nail polish--like a very pale pink." She even threw a pool party senior year--although the only music she was permitted to play was gospel.
Today Braxton, with her frankly sexual (though never explicit) songs, seems to be making up for lost time. The first single released from Secrets, You're Makin Me High, deals with masturbation. Another song bears the blunt title Find Me a Man. Her parents, she says, are proud of her music, and her father, in church, prays for her albums to climb the charts. Three of her sisters, Towanda, Trina and Tamar, have their own vocal group, the Braxtons (Toni was once a member but went solo). Braxton, however, isn't completely fulfilled. Although she is "dating," she says she is still looking for "that special someone." She says, "What good is having all this success if you don't have someone to share it with?" It's a plaintive query, but one gets the feeling that Braxton will be O.K. She's wearing the pants now.