Well well, the Mechanical Dummy is back! Chris Brown’s latest album Graffiti has fizzled on the charts and faced the inevitable backlash from his fateful night with Rihanna last year. Seriously, that’s all I can chalk it up to since I truly feel it’s a good album. Still, he’s still giving all he’s got to the fans – including free music with the release of his new mixtape In My Zone. This project features some original music and remixes of some of today’s popular jams with guest appearances from Rich Girl and Soulja Boy Tellem.

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Shouts to the homie @bshepjr for this one. If you saw the trailer for C. Breezy’s Graffitti album, you heard this track playin in the background, but it didn’t appear on the album. This is without a doubt one of  Brown’s best tracks in recent years, and it was released to fans that pre-ordered his latest album on iTunes. Super dope track with a mean guitar line… Read the rest of this entry »

Not really feelin this joint – at all. They Say is the latest bonus track from Chris Brown’s Graffiti album, in stores now (click here for the review). And maybe it’s not for me to feel, which is why it was released on one of the international versions of the album. I would, however, love to see a video for his synth-heavy pop smash I.Y.A.(In Your Arms) from the album. Listen and download after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

An International pop-styled record for the international release of Graffiti. Chris Brown delves more into the euro-pop sound with Chase Our Love, a bonus cut off one of the international releases for his latest album, which is in stores now. Not really feelin this joint… its okay to me, not really a banger. The rest of the album though, well, read the review.

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From all of us at Sound-Savvy – Mack, Shep, Swift, Marcus and Sincere – we want to wish you and your family an extra special Merry Christmas and a safe and prosperous holiday season! “And this Christmas will be, a very special Christmas…” Read the rest of this entry »

I really hate to say it but Chris Brown always seems to outshine Juelz when they collab, though this song wasn’t a total failure. Chris’ infamous bowtie makes a cameo in the video, along with Lloyd Banks, Red Cafe, Jim Jones and a few others.Born To Lose, Built To Win, 2010…

A lot of folks have seen Chris Brown’s claims that he’s being blackballed by several retail outlets who are refusing to carry his 3^rd and latest album Graffiti. To most, this seems like the latest repercussion from this year’s domestic incident involving former girlfriend and fellow pop-star Rihanna. What I’ve also noticed, however, is that critics seem to blackball Chris Brown as well, rating this album significantly lower than his previous work without professional justifications. AllMusic, for example, gave Brown a 1-star rating (out of 5) criticizing Brown for lyrical fallacies that he was “likable and harmless enough to get away with” on his last album, which they rated with 3.5 stars. In actuality, Brown’s lyrical flow sees a significantly more mature stance on much of the album, but it’s not without flaws. The Chicago Sun-Times gives the album a 1-star rating (out of 4) calling Brown “shallow and soulless”, but basing the entire review off the infamous domestic altercation instead of weighing it on the merits of the music. Of all the biased and ill-written reviews, Rolling Stone grades Graffiti with 2.5 out of 5 stars, but the entire review lacks professional journalistic integrity by comparing Brown’s latest project to Rihanna’s entire catalog. Just being honest, Graffiti isn’t a perfect album, nor is it a classic, but it’s far from the total failure it’s being labeled in the media.

I’m making NO excuses for Chris Brown’s behavior in his personal dispute with Rihanna, but what we have to remember is that it was a PERSONAL matter and does not change the quality of his music. It seems as if a lot of reviewers had made up their mind to kill this album with their critiques based on the dispute and subsequent breakup between Chris and Rihanna instead of listening to the music, the content, the vocals and making an objective rating. If a reviewer judges personality, shouldn’t it reflect how much (or how little) of the artist’s personality shines through in the actual work?

When it comes to music and albums, is it okay for a critic to judge the art based on the actions of the artist in his/her personal life? Or do you feel the music should be reviewed on its quality and merits alone? How far is too far?

Artist: Chris Brown
Album: Graffiti
Release Date: 12.8.09

Four years ago, the world met Chris Brown: a golden boy with a squeaky clean image, amazing stage presence and dance moves that few of his entertainment counterparts could match, much less rival. His growth as a man and an artist has seen significant highs and this year, it saw significant lows. This evolutionary journey is chronicled on his new album Graffiti with songs of loss, love, and the pressures of fame. The title is all too fitting – when an object is defaced with graffiti, it’s no longer clean, the innocence is lost and the world has left an indelible mark. Such is the case with Chris Brown, re-emerging from a tumultuous year with a new image, no longer bearing the child-like innocence we once knew.  But as you will note on the album, some of his graffiti is self-induced…

True to his style of making pop smashes with street-dance potential, the lead single I Can Transform Ya was a vibrant and energetic return to the forefront for Brown much like Wait, a similar track on the album featuring The Game and fellow VA prince Trey Songz.  But it was the followup single Crawl that showed the maturity in Chris’ vocals and overall sound in an epic power ballad. So Cold is the album’s most apologetic offering, a sentimental love song where he croons presumably of Rihanna (“tell her I miss her, tell her I need her, tell her I want her to come back… tell her I’m sorry, can you forgive me”). The third single Sing Like Me applies the bait-and-switch, masking Brown’s playboy intentions beneath a gentle melody while What I Do is more boisterous with a dose of Southern swag and flashy lyrics accompanied by an ill-timed and out of place verse from raunchy rapper Plies – T.I. or Bun B could have done the track more justice. Ryan Leslie’s need for variety is evident on Famous Girl, which he produced with the same sound as all Leslie’s previous work – too predictable; sounds like everything we’ve heard too many times. Besides, is now REALLY the time to point fingers? The album attempts to get steamy on Tha Bizness-produced Take My Time with a cameo from fellow R&B singer Tank and this could easily serve as a sequel to Brown’s Take You Down. Next single could definitely be Pass Out, which has international pop/dance appeal all over it. Lucky Me is a pity party of a ballad that examines the pressures of stardom and the realities of life for the young star. Exorcising his own personal demons, Chris Brown bears “the weight of the world” on Fallin’ Down, a highlight of the album characterized by strong vocals, strong lyrics and some tight harmonies. Surprisingly enough, the album might’ve fared stronger if the bonus tracks like For Ur Love, I Love You, and I Need This had been included as standard issues.

One could draw lots of parallels between Graffiti and his previous album Exclusive – they mostly follow the same formula, but the new album is better, harder, and more intense than his previous work. There isn’t much change in style, but there’s a deeper level of content here that connects with a more mature audience. I will say that there’s a bit of duality here when it comes to his image – is he the apologetic nice-guy or the derided playboy we’ve seen in the tabloids? There weren’t any tracks bad enough to skip over completely, though some don’t measure up as well as others making this project solid, but not classic. Embattled he may be, but broken he is not, despite the graffiti on the wall…

Sound-Savvy rates Graffiti with 3.5 out of 5 platinum headphones.

This is the first of a few bonus cuts on the Deluxe edition of Chris Breezy’s new album Graffiti. Pretty nice joint, not your typical Chris Brown track, some new sounds and elements thrown in the mix. Polow on the beat. Graffiti - December 8th.

Audio: Chris Brown ft. Ester Dean – I Love You

Here’s a new track which will be appearing on Timbaland’s Shock Value II album.  But from what I’ve been told, Chris Brown was removed from the final version of this song.  So, until the final track appears, hear what the track was originally supposed to sound like.  Shock Value II drops December 8th.

DOWNLOAD:  Timbaland – Maniac (The One I Love) (Feat. Keri Hilson, Chris Brown & D.O.E.)