ALBUM REVIEW: CHRIS BROWN - 'GRAFFITI' - Celebrity Bug

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12/12/09

ALBUM REVIEW: CHRIS BROWN - 'GRAFFITI'

The day was February 8th and it only took a matter of minutes for Chris Brown to destroy nearly everything he had spent years building, from his role model image to his place in fans hearts, who were comparing him to Michael Jackson.



With his cute boy next door looks, undeniable charisma and slick moves, Brown easily danced his way into the hearts of millions only to make a quick exit upon the shocking news that he had assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna (a feat that police reports confirmed had been a pattern with the two).

On Graffiti, his third studio album, Brown enlists a solid group of producers and seeks to push pass ‘the incident’ by relying on the exact formula that catapulted him to the forefront of the industry’s young stars.

Summary Analysis:

Kicking off the set’s 13 offerings is the up-tempo “I Can Transform Ya”, which sees Brown getting assistance from Lil’ Wayne and the track’s producer Swizz Beatz, while boasting about his ability to modify the lifestyle of the lady (or ladies) in his life as he rides a thin line between cocky and confident.

Hitting his stride early, Brown delivers the album’s best track with infectious “Sing Like Me”, where he talks about his ability to make girls sing like him as a reaction to his skills in the bed. Equipped with a killer hook over slight synths sounds and added rhythmic bass elements, the mid-tempo is best described as complete and utter fire.

As previously heard with 2008’s “Take You Down”, he also recreates this successful formula with the Tank-assisted “Take My Time”.

The relationship-oriented records exist in the love lost cut “So Cold” and the second chance embracing “Lucky Me”, which each fail to match the winning status of the Messengers-produced “Crawl”, which is very epic sounding in production and documents the gradual rebuild of a relationship.

Redemption is obviously the message that they are striving for in the previously mentioned joints and while “Crawl” undoubtedly conquers and displays growth in both his artistry and often lackluster vocals, the rest seem to be there for no other reason than simply being there and lack the profound deliverance of dividends that Brown was noticeably banking on (which also stands for the lackluster “I.Y.A.”).

Although the album does heavily stray into ballad territory, Brown comes out swinging with some of the album’s upbeat and grittier offerings, such as “Wait”, where he, Trey Songz and Game strive just as much as the stellar Polow Da Don production.

The Plies-laced “What I Do”, “Fallin Down”, “I’ll Go” and the Eva Simons-featured “Pass Out” are other cuts that reach or travel beyond the grounds of solid.

Reaching its most lyrically-engaging moment, he takes shots at none other than Rihanna on “Famous Girl” by acknowledging his mistakes (“I was wrong for cheating in the beginning”), yet also highlighting the rumors surrounding her as well.

He tackled her rumored relationship with Drake (“Drake would say that you’re the ‘Best he Ever Had’”) and even hinted that she might have chosen to be unfaithful first (“You were first to play the game though, sorry I ‘Bust The Windows’ out your car”). Truth or not, it will surely have people talking as it paints a polar opposite picture than was often presented to the eye.

Final Verdict:
The obvious questions that arise are: Does ‘Graffiti’ accomplish enough to help Chris map his way back to the top and furthermore, is it a better effort than Rihanna’s recently released ‘Rated R’?

Yes, but more importantly, No. ‘Graffiti’ is arguably equipped with more sure-fire hits than ‘Rated R’, but it also lacks a lot of the vision that was extremely well thought out by Miss Fenty from the hand over the eye album cover to the selection of songs that graced its track listing.

Ten year from now, ‘Rated R’ will still stand a clear and precise vision of work that collectively blends a period in her life, which is noticeably absent with ‘Graffiti’ and in turn makes ‘Rated R’ slightly better.

For half of the album, Brown wants you to feel sorry for him and the other half he chooses to brag about his extravagant lifestyle and mind blowing bedroom skills, which fail to work well in unison for a guy that is still trying to win back the public. ‘Graffiti’ is still a solid and at times, great effort, but it fares better within the tracks individually as opposed to a collective set.

3.5 out of 5

Celebrity Bug’s Key Tracks:
“Sing Like Me”, “Crawl”, “Take My Time”, “Famous Girl”, “Pass Out” & “Wait”.

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