People always get them confused. Seriously. You’ve probably scrolled through Instagram, seen a photo of a guy with sharp features and a signature beard, and paused for a second. Is that the "Ice Box" singer or is it the guy from those mid-2000s R&B soundtracks? Usually, it's Omarion. Sometimes, it's O'Ryan.
They’re brothers. Same DNA, same strikingly similar faces, and honestly, almost the same career path—at least at the start. But the story of Omarion and his brother isn't just about looking alike. It’s a weird, fascinating look at how two siblings navigated the music industry's meat grinder during the peak of the boy band era. While Omarion Grandberry was fronting B2K and becoming a household name, O'Ryan Browner was carving out his own space, often in the shadow of a massive legacy.
The Grandberry Roots and the Early Days of B2K
Omarion wasn't born a superstar. He was just Omari Ishmael Grandberry from Inglewood. By the time he was a teenager, he was the face of B2K. You remember B2K. The baggy jeans, the choreographed dance breaks, the screaming fans. They were the "Boys of the New Millennium." They dominated the early 2000s with hits like "Bump, Bump, Bump."
Behind the scenes, the family was always involved. Leslie Burrell, their mother, was a constant presence. But while Omarion was touring the world, his younger brother O'Ryan was watching. O’Ryan, born O'Ryan Omir Browner, is technically a half-brother, but the world has always just called them brothers because of how close they are. If you look at them side-by-side, the resemblance is actually kind of jarring.
O'Ryan didn't wait long to jump into the game. In 2004, he released his self-titled debut album. He was only 17. He had a minor hit with "Take It Slow." It was good. It was smooth. But it came out right around the same time B2K was imploding. The timing was... messy.
When the Solo Careers Collided
Think about the pressure. Your brother is literally the biggest R&B star in the country. He’s starring in You Got Served. Every girl has his poster on her wall. Then you release an album.
The industry tried to market O'Ryan as "Omarion's brother" rather than letting him be O'Ryan. It’s a classic trap. Label executives love a "built-in" fanbase, but fans are fickle. They wanted Omarion. Or they wanted someone completely different. O'Ryan’s music was more laid-back than Omarion’s high-energy pop-R&B, but it got lost in the shuffle.
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Omarion went on to release O in 2005. It went platinum. It solidified him as a solo powerhouse. He wasn't just "the guy from the group" anymore. He was a Grammy-nominated artist. Meanwhile, O'Ryan drifted away from the mainstream music charts. He didn't quit, though. He stayed in the industry, often working behind the scenes or appearing in music videos—ironically including some of Omarion’s projects.
The Jhene Aiko Connection
If you really want to talk about Omarion and his brother without the PR fluff, you have to talk about the family ties that extend into the rest of the R&B world. Specifically, Jhene Aiko.
Most people know Jhene Aiko as the ethereal queen of modern R&B. What fewer people remember is that she was originally marketed as the "cousin" of Lil' Fizz (another B2K member), though that was a marketing lie. But the real connection? O'Ryan and Jhene Aiko were in a long-term relationship. They have a daughter together, Namiko Love Browner, born in 2008.
This created a very tight-knit, albeit complicated, circle. You had Omarion at the top of the charts, O'Ryan co-parenting with a rising star, and the whole B2K camp swirling around them. When you see photos of Namiko today, you see the Grandberry genes are strong. She looks exactly like her dad and her uncle.
Public Perception vs. Private Reality
There’s this weird thing people do where they try to pit brothers against each other. The media tried it with the Jacksons. They tried it with the Carters. They definitely tried it with Omarion and O'Ryan.
Was there jealousy? Honestly, probably. It's human. But if you watch their interactions on shows like Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood, there’s a clear sense of loyalty. O'Ryan appeared on the show alongside Omarion and Apryl Jones. He wasn't there to start drama; he was there as the support system.
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Omarion has always been the "unbothered" one. That’s his brand now. The sage-burning, meditating, peaceful king of R&B. O'Ryan seems to share that vibe. They aren't chasing the same spotlight anymore. While Omarion is headlining the Millennium Tour and dealing with the fallout of his group members dating his exes (yes, the Fizz and Apryl situation was wild), O'Ryan has mostly stayed out of the tabloid fire.
The Millennium Tour and the B2K Drama
We can't ignore the elephant in the room. The Millennium Tour was a massive success, but it was also a mess behind the scenes. When Lil' Fizz started dating Apryl Jones—Omarion's ex and the mother of his two children—the internet exploded.
Everyone looked to see how Omarion would react. He did... nothing. He stayed "unbothered."
But where was O'Ryan in all this? He stayed in his brother’s corner. In an industry where people sell each other out for a few minutes of screen time on a reality show, the bond between these two has remained surprisingly intact. They’ve managed to keep their brotherhood separate from the chaos of the B2K legacy.
Why the Comparison Still Happens in 2026
Even now, people search for "Omarion's brother" because the resemblance is so striking it feels like a glitch in the matrix. But they’ve taken different paths.
- Omarion: Still the performer. Still dancing. Still focused on the "Maybach Music" era legacy and his solo catalog.
- O'Ryan: More focused on fatherhood, fitness, and niche creative projects. He’s become something of a low-key social media heartthrob in his own right, independent of his brother's hits.
It’s a lesson in identity. One brother became the sun, and the other had to find a way to grow in the shade. O'Ryan didn't become a "failed" version of Omarion; he became a different version of a Grandberry man.
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What You Can Learn from the Grandberry Brothers
If you're looking at their journey, there are some actual takeaways here about family and business. Navigating a career in the same field as a sibling is a minefield.
- Define your own lane early. O'Ryan's biggest hurdle was being marketed as a "mini-Omarion." If you're following in a sibling's footsteps, you have to pivot hard and fast to find your own voice.
- Loyalty over clout. Despite the many opportunities to trash-talk or leverage his brother's fame for a quick reality TV check, O'Ryan has generally kept it classy.
- The "Unbothered" mindset works. Omarion’s ability to tune out the noise—whether it’s group drama or family comparisons—is why he’s still relevant two decades later.
The story of Omarion and his brother isn't a tragic one. It’s not a "What ever happened to...?" mystery. It’s just a story of two guys who look a lot alike, lived through the craziest era of R&B, and managed to come out the other side without hating each other.
To really understand their dynamic, you should go back and watch the music video for O'Ryan's "Take It Slow" and then flip to Omarion's "Touch." The difference in energy tells you everything you need to know about why they both exist in the industry but occupy completely different spaces.
If you're interested in the Grandberry legacy, keep an eye on the next generation. With Jhene Aiko’s daughter and Omarion’s kids, the talent pool in that family is getting deep. The "unbothered" brand is becoming a family crest.
Next Steps for Fans and Researchers:
- Check out the credits on Omarion's The Kinection project to see the collaborative efforts within his inner circle.
- Follow O'Ryan's recent fitness and wellness content to see how he has rebranded himself away from the "teen idol" image of the 2000s.
- Watch the early seasons of Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood to see the brothers' dynamic in a "raw" (though edited) setting.