Chris Brown – Graffiti (Deluxe Edition)

Rating:

Anyone who didn’t know the name Chris Brown knows it now, thanks to a bevy of negative publicity around his domestic assault on former girlfriend Rihanna. They say in Hollywood, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, and Brown’s Graffiti rode the wave of mea culpas right into the record stores. In what can only be a bid to buy his way back into America’s affections, the deluxe edition of Graffiti is filled with an effusive and confusing collection of song snippets and bonus tracks, perhaps to distract from the fact that the core tracks are so lightweight.

There’s no doubt that Brown is talented. Anyone who’s seen This Christmas, which featured Brown as the youngest member of a complicated family, secretly pursuing a singing career, knows that the guy is as good a vocalist as any male artist in the industry today. And his personal problems aside, this release should have been a showcase for that star quality. With an album cover looking for all the world like something Michael Jackson would have done in the late ‘80s, Graffiti is almost remarkably lacking real hooks. Graffiti feels rushed to market as a ploy to ride the unexpected free publicity derived from his bad behavior.

First, the good. “I Can Transform You” is quasi-rap, almost spoken word, with a heavy electronic influence. Hooky and interesting, this is one of the few tracks that highlight Brown’s ability to do more than just belt out powerful high notes. It’s more of a crowd pleaser; something you’d want to hear in the club. “Captive” (in the bonus features) has a catchy beat and a nice, electro-synth background. By far the best track on the album is the rap track, “I’m Illy,” featuring his BFF, Teyana Taylor. This is the only track on which Brown sounds like he’s having a good time.

Then the bad – pretty much everything else. Given his situation with Rihanna, it’s no surprise that “Crawl,” the second single from Graffiti was all over the media as his remorseful take on that failed relationship. Really, though: barf. Filled with apologies and crying over spilled milk, “Crawl” and it’s companion “So Cold” are uninspired and sticky sweet. Filled with ballads, odes to sex, and posturing, Graffiti wallows in clichés. The “snippets” in the Deluxe Edition we received are 30-second to minute-long clips of songs, completely throwaway. What can you do with 30 seconds of a song? Really, why bother? The bonus material is so dense that it just seems like a disastrous mess – “let’s toss all this crap into a pot and see what happens!”

All things considered, Brown probably should have waited a year and put together an album worthy of his actual talent, rather than allow this pile of garbage to go to market. I’m sure it’s made him lots of money – it climbed the European charts with some speed. Still, I can’t in good conscience recommend that you waste a moment of your time on this album.

Chris Brown – Graffiti (Deluxe Edition)