Chris Brown Online

By Gina Ponce

Chris Brown has been facing a career crossroads for a while, catering to two different generations and trying to figure out just how far he can go with sexual innuendos and uninhibited lyrics. Now, coming to the end of what has arguably been the most transformative year of the 20-year-old’s life, Brown has openly set out to establish his manhood.

The pop/R&B hitmaker hit the scene in 2005 – fresh out of 10th grade – and when he delivered his self-titled debut, the ability to relate to his young cohorts was immediately recognized. But Brown tested the limits, as most teenagers do, on his second album Exclusive, with the intimate single “Take You Down” giving a hint of where his 18-year-old mind was headed.

“I wanted to be grown kinda, I’ll be honest,” Brown admits. “My first album was like, ‘OK cool, everybody sees me as this little kid that just dances and sings,’ and I was like that’s good, but I wanna transition. With the [first] album it was just like, ‘OK I’m gonna record some hot songs and hopefully as long as I’m talkin’ about girls and as long as the girls like me that’s all it is.’ That’s where my head was at when I was 16; now it’s on a bigger scale, but at that time I really didn’t have a clue. I was just rollin with the punches. My next album after that one I was 18, and when anybody turns 18 they think they’re grown. So the ‘Take You Down’ record kinda gave me a chance to be a little more adult, be more sexual, talk about what guys my age do. I just wanted to get a better sense of me ‘cause you can hear it on the first album, but the sophomore album is where you gotta kinda prove yourself.

“With my album, of course I would love to do songs that are totally grown and then some songs that might be kiddie, but at the end of the day I have to balance it out and just make great music. That’s one of the things I learned following Michael Jackson, [he] always had music that could reach any level of age, and people could relate to it all over the world. I feel like that’s where I need to put my music; it needs to be at a happy medium so a 65-year-old could listen [to it] or a 3-year-old could be dancing to my music”

In a recent interview with Hot 97’s Angie Martinez, Brown was pressed for more answers on what is widely known as “the incident” involving former girlfriend Rihanna. Answering the question of how people should feel towards him, Brown states, “…at the end of the day it’s not right to judge somebody when people make mistakes all the time… I regret every second of it… There’s always problems in relationships and it’s how we handle them and the choices we make that shapes them and makes them better.”

Speaking briefly to YRB on the subject, Brown maintains in a quiet voice, “Everything’s been said and done.” However, he does have advice to share for those who will listen:

“Definitely just learn from your mistakes [and] keep it movin’ – have fun with life, love life.”

Brown has definitely kept it movin’ in the face of adversity over the past few months, writing and recording his long-awaited third LP, titled Graffiti, which has been marked by many as a “comeback” album But in order to make a comeback, you must have gone somewhere first – and Brown insists that he never really left. Instead, this is where he shifts into a new role in the music industry and, above all, continues his commitment to churn out the music his supporters demand.

“Basically I just wanted to prove to everybody that I was focused on my music and I just had a story to tell as far as my writing and my feelings. Graffiti is the art of me, the art of Chris Brown. That’s why I named it Graffiti - because graffiti is art. I know it’s a form of vandalism, but not lookin’ at it on a negative aspect, it’s art and my music is my graffiti. [Graffiti’s] got all different shapes and sizes and colors, so that’s what my music brings – different feelings, different emotions. It brings different genres of music together all in one… Really this album has so many great songs and you can just play it straight through. It’s more of me growing with my audience.”

The musical range of Graffiti is made evident in the first two single releases off the album, “I Can Transform Ya” (a record alive with visuals and energy for the club) and “Crawl” (a ballad that, as Brown explains, refers to “crawling back to any good moment in your life where you can just be yourself and be happy”). Alternating from the party-all-night, Euro-pop record “Pass Out” to the braggadocio swagger of “What I Do” featuring Plies, the compilation flows into the genre-less blend of “I’ll Go” and “Take My Time” featuring Tank (the more explicit follow-up to the aforementioned “Take You Down”). But while excited about the collaborations on this project, Brown expresses his hesitation on future partnerships. “Right now, not to be disrespectful to anybody, but I’m not fond on the industry that much. I’m more kind of to myself. I love Owl City and, um, Cobra Starship and even Miley Cyrus; that’s where my head is at with music now, going more pop and kind of different with those guys.” Having a hand in all aspects of his newest effort, Brown is credited with co-writing all the tracks on the CD and even contributed to some of the production. However, he confesses that songwriting isn’t always his main focus.

“Being realistic, it’s not as important to me as you would think. But I think as far as this album, me being able to get feelings out, gettin’ my ideas and creative stuff that I wanted to get out is definitely important. A lot of people like to write just to say they wrote so they can get credit and look bigger than what they are. I’m not saying any names; I’m just saying that’s just how the industry is. I give credit where it’s due, but me being able to experience things and go through things – it’s easier for me to write.”

“Lucky Me” (a song slightly reminiscent of Britney’s “Piece of Me”) talks in detail about the difficulties of being a celebrity and meeting everybody’s standards and expectations. Brown is forthright about the title’s sarcastic tone, but describes it as “kind of my version of ‘Man in the Mirror,’ so it’s one of those more heartfelt, deep songs.” This seems to be a new take on things for the notorious Chris Breezy, who previously only went reported in the media when receiving another Teen Choice Award or putting his stamp all over the Billboard charts. Undeniably seen as a role model to different age brackets, Brown says, “I think I didn’t understand what it was when I was younger; I didn’t understand what a role model was and how to become one. I think when I was younger it was just about, OK, I’m gonna do music and hopefully the kids my age will understand. They’ll get a better sense because this is what they’re going through and I’m just having fun with it and making people think it’s cool to just be yourself and do what you wanna do. It wasn’t me trying to take on the role; it was more like it was almost given to me. But it was something I take great pride in.”

Whether or not he knew exactly what he was getting himself in his early teens, Brown always knew a music career was in the cards for his future. Being that the bulk of his dancing is purely based on freestyle, it’s easy to deduce his talents were more innate than learned. But watching the legends (often referring to Michael Jackson and Prince as his foundation) has vastly influenced Brown’s career and taught him a thing or two about staying power. Making the choice to pursue music was the easy part; the next step came when it was time to pick a label to call home. Instead of taking what seemed like the star-studded route with a Def Jam offer, Brown made one of his first mature decisions as a new musician, signing with Jive Records based on their history with younger acts.

“I always wanted to do music, like watching Michael Jackson, watching Prince, the greats, the entertainers and the people that kind of mind-boggled the world and made people kind of lose their mind over just a person. So I wanted to have a little bit of that, I always wanted to be able to dance and sing and entertain.

“When I actually looked at where I wanted to go in my career I thought Jive was a better fit because they had good experience with all the teen artists from N’Sync to Backstreet Boys to Britney Spears and Aaron Carter. So I kind of had in my mind that I wanted to contribute to their legacy.”

And his desire to entertain doesn’t just stop in the studio, but extends to the big screen. Early 2010 will mark Brown’s third film credit, Takers, co-starring alongside a cast of established actors that include Paul Walker, Hayden Christiansen, Matt Dillon, Idris Alba and T.I. After a brief movie debut in Stomp the Yard and then a bigger role in This Christmas, Brown decided that regardless of his nonexistent background with acting classes the Hollywood scene was just another way to showcase his many talents.

“I think my music is always going to be prominent in the world, but acting is something that I love, so I’d continue to do it… Acting, you kind of do it in a sheltered environment and then you get to show your talent to the world on a screen, but when you perform it’s more natural, more raw – you can amaze people by making a movie, but when you’re on stage it’s a different level of being able to shock and show people what they’ve never seen before.”

And with that, Graffiti – whether you deem it a comeback album or not – is here to show the evolution from teenage boy wonder to man on fire.

“Basically everything that anybody needs to know point blank, as far as whatever it is, is in the album. Just anything anybody wants to know about me, my situation, how I am, it’s in the album – that’s my expression.”