Picked as the album's leading single and Norwood's first release with Epic Records following her departure from the Atlantic label in 2005, the song premiered on her official webpage on August 13, 2008.

Loosely inspired by the art direction of Francis Lawrence's 2007 science fiction film I Am Legend, it depicts Norwood as an angel, who is crossing over to the intermediate state and coming back into her family and friend's lives, comforting them just with her singing.

Thereupon, she reportedly started shopping for a new record deal under Knockout Entertainment, her brother's vanity label, and began work on her fifth studio album independently with a wider range of songwriters and producers.

[4] Penned by Evan "Kidd" Bogart and his fellow Writing Camp members Victoria Horn, Erika Nuri and David Quiñones, "Right Here (Departed)" was not recorded until late into the production of the Human album.

It was the first out of several Rodney Jerkins-crafted demo tracks Human A&R Brandon Creed presented to Norwood and the first song Jerkins and Brandy recorded together at the 2nd Floor Studios in Los Angeles following the pair's musical reunification in early June 2008.

[5] It would eventually version as the result convinced Norwood and her team to replace actual main producer Brian Kennedy in favor of Jerkins.

[6] While "Right Here (Departed)" was not specifically created for Brandy or the Human album, Bogart called it an "honor" to have the singer record one of their songs.

"[7] Her first record as a member of The Writing Team, Erika Nuri, added: "It is truly an honor and a blessing to have her first single, especially knowing that so many other great songwriters and producers were gunning for it and are on the album.

[9] "To know that you have somebody by your side who is gonna always be there for you, that comforts you in a way and that kinda gives you an extra confidence about yourself," she said, "And that's what I love about it: It's first the message and then you get into the beat and the whole musical part of it.

"[13] Shanel Odum from Vibe called the track "a graceful return to her melodic origins" and praised Norwood's "husky but hopeful, but still pain-infused" vocal performance.

[14] Newsday reviewer Glenn Gamboa wrote: "With the help of producer Rodney Jerkins, Brandy radiates warmth and hopefulness throughout Human – not in the naive way of someone who doesn't know any better, but in the determined way of someone who does.

[20] In addition, "Right Here" scored top forty entries in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, and Sweden, where it outsold any single release taken from previous album Afrodisiac (2004).

"[8][22] Shot on-street and in front of a greenscreen, it features cameo appearances by Jerkins and Norwood's younger brother Ray J, also starring actor Cory Hardrict as a central character.

Although the shooting of a scene with Norwood interacting with a young girl was captured by Access Granted, the sequence was not included into the final cut of the video.