Friday, January 22, 2010
A Listen To Some Graffiti
A few weeks ago, I mentioned Chris Brown's latest album "Graffiti" that was coming up for release. Well, released it has been and I've managed to snag a copy for myself to finally check out what all the hype was about!
The album cover for Graffiti. Got me a little confused there. Is that a moon? A gong to announce his new album? Or the pending Gold status his album might achieve?
With an impressive list of 13 songs (the deluxe edition has an additional 5 or 6 tracks if I'm not mistaken), Chris Brown's 3rd album effort comes right in the wake of his not-so-little incident with (now ex-girlfriend) Rihanna. Aimed as an announcement to the world and those who have judgement power over his future career (aka "his fans") that he is doing his best to put it all behind him and show us what he's learnt from it, will Graffiti do him justice?
As I've mentioned before, the album is a wide mix of musical genres and influences. It's been put together and contributed to by several producers and featured artists (Lil Wayne, anyone?) so expect abit of an audio rollercoaster ride as the CD goes from fast, to slow, to even some synth-y rock beats too.
Personally, I like the more up tempo and fast "clubb-y" tracks best because I'm not too big a fan of R&B ballads (only a rare few). So some gems on this album for me would be "I Can Transform Ya" which is kinda robotic and futuristic sounding, "I.Y.A." which has synth effects banging on your eardrums, "What I Do" (feat. Plies) which sounds like a typical hip-hop song about all the things a superstar needs and "Pass Out" (feat. Eva Simmons) which will have you head-bopping without any shame.
These songs were made with awesome music videos of Chris Brown's dancing in mind.
One of the songs, "Take My Time", has an African drum beat going on and sounds like a rather retro R&B song. Or as I like to call it "baby-making songs" =P
Lest we forget, this album is also Chris Brown's soapbox to inform us all of his regret and moving on from what he's done.
Or maybe not.
Take the song "Famous Girl" for example.
I was wrong for writing 'Disturbia'
But I meant it in 'Forever'
We were supposed to be together
And I can't let you go"
Err.. Yea. We know the certain "Famous Girl" he's talking about. It gives off the vibe of watching a couple have a very public argument (via the radio haha) and you can't believe he's saying it. Definitely had me going "Whoa.." for a minute there. It starts out like a sorry, and ends up being a little different. What is going on with these kids?? But if gossip and stories flying around will sell an album, this one definitely makes it.
If the self-pity card he's trying to play is his grand plan, it really comes full circle in "Lucky Me", which could be the weak link in the album that might turn people off. With lyrics like..
Even when my world's falling down I still wear a smile
Lucky me, even though I'm so damaged
Gotta pick myself up and perform for the crowd"
Kinda makes people feel a little hard to feel sorry for Chris Brown who sounds like he's telling us we will never understand what it feels like to be a celebrity. Not the most mature thing to do for an album that's supposed to highlight his growth as an artist.
But I suppose the epic ballad "Crawl" that's been playing on the radio will probably help keep the album afloat because it really is a pretty inspirational song that serves to remind us that Chris Brown is human afterall.
I'd say "Graffiti" would be a must-buy album for Chris Brown fans and fans of hip-hop in general. It's a great album with a few songs that it could have done without, but dont let that ruin the overall vibe for you. It's got enough songs for all moods and occassions to make up for it.
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