YRB Magazine

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.”