We all dream, but few have the power to make their dreams come true. Chris Brown has always succeeded, on a grand scale and in everything he does. Music, dance, art, fashion…
“I think everything we do, and I’m talking about ourselves, us human beings, is Art. The Art of creating, of giving shape to everything we have in mind, everything we can imagine. Just look around you to understand that everything is art. Breathing is art, existing is art. You can find art in music, in frequencies, in rhythms. My whole life is Art.” Chris Brown is a dreamer. Someone who dreams big and, above all, has the power to make his dreams come true.
You could say Chris Brown is a musician, but that would be limiting. Yes, because Chris Brown is a singer who has sold more than 140 million records and won over 200 awards over the course of his now long career.
But there’s much more. So much more. He also dreamed of being a dancer, a model, an actor, an icon, a fashion designer, a street artist. All things that have duly come true.
“I’m currently busy with my new tour, Breezy Bowl X , which will take me to 49 stadiums across the UK, Europe, and the Northern United States. In the meantime, I’m writing a new album, painting, and creating. I think there’s nothing we can’t do, and what I want to do, as a man and as an artist, is to continue growing and achieve everything I can imagine.”
King of R&B , spiritual heir to Michael Jackson, Chris seems to find great inspiration in his relationship with Africa . “How can you not be inspired by Africa? It’s all there, it’s the motherland! I’ve been lucky enough to go there many times for work and I realized that it’s truly the cradle of our culture. If you listen carefully to the music—whether it’s rock ‘n’ roll or R&B—if you look at the way they dance, the way they feel the rhythm, you realize that it all comes from Africa! I consider it a second home : I have many friends who live there and the incredible thing is that no matter what part of Africa they come from, they all have something in common, in the way they relate to others and to music.”
Chris Brown is an artist capable of finding the roots of his art, but at the same time of marking new starting points, of opening new, unexplored paths. And fashion is one of these.
My walk-in closet is simultaneously a battlefield, an art gallery, and my kingdom. A battlefield because I have so many styles that sometimes I find myself immersed in my clothes, trying to choose the right ones, and I assure you, it’s truly a war. It’s a gallery because, without boasting, over the years I’ve collected some truly unique pieces. And then, of course, it’s my kingdom, my sanctuary, where I can see all my personalities. If I feel like a ninja, a cyborg, or a samurai, I know exactly where to find what I need. My clothes are part of me , they’re an extension of my personality. Fashion is evolution.
I told you: Chris Brown’s horizons are very broad. But he also has his sources of inspiration, artists he admires, not only for their artistic contribution, but also for their image, their style. “Sometimes I like to play a game: I think of a person I’d like to swap clothes with for a whole week. And in the end I always come to the same conclusion. I know exactly everything I have in my closet, but I don’t know what I’d give to be able to browse the collections of these three greats: Prince , Rick James, and Michael Jackson .”
Chris Brown’s career officially began 20 years ago, in 2005, when Juve Records released his self-titled album. He was just 16 at the time, a kid just beginning to hone his power to make his dreams come true. It wasn’t bad even then: the album debuted at number two on the Billboard charts and earned two Grammy nominations , an incredible feat for a newcomer.
Yes, but at the time I hadn’t fully developed my style. I was still very young. I think the next level came later, around 22 or 23. I struggled to find my individuality , my uniqueness. Not just musically, but also in terms of my style. But it’s a journey that hasn’t stopped yet. There are a lot of people out there who have a unique style, who really manage to express something of themselves through their style.
I have my own, which, as I was telling you, is constantly evolving. Maybe not everyone likes it, but it’s mine, I’ve gotten there. And the thing I like most is that style is something you can express even without opening your mouth . When you meet someone for the first time, something clicks immediately before either of you is even able to say a word, it’s a question of imprinting.”
It’s easy to say for someone like Chris Brown, someone who has become a legend thanks to his style. But that’s the life of big dreamers.
