BBC Review
Plodding melodies draw attention to Brown's unpleasantly macho style.
Jude Rogers 2009-12-15
Two weeks after the release of Rihanna’s Rated R – a complex, adventurous pop record that presented a superstar fighting with fire after a difficult year – Chris Brown's comeback album arrives. This is a comeback in both senses, as a response to the woman he attacked back in February, from a man who has spent the time since trying to save his career.
Nevertheless, it's important to remember that Brown began this LP in 2008. "I don't want to be typical urban," he said last summer, talking excitedly about his glossy ambitions. "I want to be like... Prince and Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder." Graffiti is full of sparky collaborators who could help make this happen, from Lupe Fiasco and Lil Wayne in big-budget supporting roles, to reggae group Rock City and Dutch electro-pop singer Eva Simons, with whom the 20-year-old RnB star tries out new sounds. But anyone expecting dazzling results will find mainly damp squibs – songs sputtering with faded 80s glitz instead of forward-looking glamour.
In Brown's brave new world, only two sorts of track exist: slinky RnB body-poppers and cheesy, breathy ballads. Most of them come swaddled in AutoTune – how very groundbreaking – and the songs that sound best (like the vaguely catchy I Can Transform Ya and Pass Out) sound like pale imitations of Justin Timberlake album tracks. Elsewhere, the prevailing mood is one of boyband pop by numbers. Crawl is a weak first attempt at an X Factor epic, while So Cold sounds like The Backstreet Boys limping quietly back to the drawing board. And then there's Take My Time, a song about sex that's so powerfully unerotic that secondary schools should use it to encourage celibacy.
It also quickly gets impossible to ignore Brown's pointed lyrics, especially in Famous Girl: "I don't wear no halo / You were first to play the game, though / Sorry I bust the windows out your car". And even if we ignore his protestations, Graffiti still lumbers, having few of the modern flourishes Brown kindly promised us (only the brief sigh of an accordion on I Luv U gives us sweet relief). Instead, plodding melodies draw attention to Brown's unpleasantly macho style and unapologetic sentiments, and the void where his talent, and his future, should be.
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Comment number 1.
At 18:01 15th Dec 2009, midnightTKSam wrote:Ok Jude it's obvious you're still bitter about being beaten by Chris Brown, oh that's right it wasn't you that he hit. I'm sorry I was a little confused with all the sarcasm you felt the need to includ in your review. Well since everybody's entitle to their opinions i'm going to state my for the record. Graffiti is a pretty good album all things considered. Both Chris Brown and Rihanna have had a very difficult year much more than alot of others their age or older could deal with so I wish them both a better 2010. Whether you can forgive Chris Brown or not you cannot deny that he is very talented and I was not disappointed at his efforts in Graffiti. The album's sprinkled with several different geners of music but still had that signature CB flavor to it. I didn't feel that any of the songs were "safe" or out of reach for him vocally. Overall I think he did pretty good and Rihanna's album was good too just a bit dark for my taste but I respect her art.
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Comment number 2.
At 12:51 18th Dec 2009, Ollie_23 wrote:I don't write much on these articles and blogs and such but I will say that Chris Brown's album is excellent. Whether you like or dislike him is irrelevant because there's no denying the voice he has - and when the production/songwriting is as good as it is here it just leaves VERY good music. This is one of the (very) few albums I'm BUYING this year because it deserves it. Better than R.Kelly's album - and I've always like Kellz' music.
Ollie, GB
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Comment number 3.
At 21:33 8th Jan 2010, juju1986 wrote:.........SO U DON'T LIKE THE ALBUM THEN? LOL
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Comment number 4.
At 02:06 1st Mar 2010, lolcakes wrote:Chris Brown is a great artist, with a great voice and an extremely talented dancer graffiti is a great album which im sure everyone will agree. He did wrong but he is making up for it dont keep a grudge against him the past is the past no one can change that. Keep it up Chris the true fans will always back you as long as you keep producing good music
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