Chris Brown talking about Frank Ocean, Rihanna and more

Chris Brown talking about being like 2pac & being an artist painter

Part 2

“X is about life, it’s about me,” he says. “It’s the Roman numeral for 10. 5/5/89 is my birthday: 5 plus 5 is 10, and this is my tenth years since I got into music. X is the 24th letter of the alphabet, and I’ll be 24 when it comes out. When you see X on a vial, it’s like forbidden fruit. For me, it means being able to express myself without a filter, without boundaries.”

During a studio visit, the typically press-shy Brown is all smiles as he plays five new X tracks, including potent first single Fine China and its video, a lavish cinematic treatment with a dazzling mashup of martial arts choreography and dance moves. Both are out April 1, and the album is expected by late summer. The rollout will entail not only a tour and promotional appearances, but also interviews.

“I’m going back to groundwork,” he says. “I’ll show people who I am and not be a recluse. I wasn’t ready to talk before. It was timing. I’m more comfortable in my own body.”

Widely reported eruptions — a fracas with Drake at a New York club last year and a fight with Frank Ocean over a parking space in West Hollywood in January — were setbacks on Brown’s path to redemption.

The public hasn’t seen his progress, because “people see the circus on the blogs,” he says. “I’m cool. I’m happy. I’m focused. I’m a lot calmer. Everyone has anger issues and days they don’t feel like being bothered.

“I’m passionate about everything I do, whether I’m driving my car or hanging out. I wear my heart on my sleeve. That’s a good thing and a bad thing. Sometimes it comes off the wrong way. I’m learning how to deal with it and how to channel that into my music.”

Cobbled from a pool of 50 songs, X evolved from a process looser than the rigid strategy taken on 2011′s Grammy-winning F.A.M.E. and last year’s Fortune.

“I wanted a Quincy Jones approach, where you bring in various writers and producers and they vibe off each other,” he says. “I wanted to keep it comfortable and natural and draw creativity off the energy in the room. I wasn’t focusing on what could make a No. 1 single. I was honing in on the craft and different emotions from my life. I was more open to defining who I am: Chris Brown, a young man, not a full-grown man.”

5 songs Preview of X

• Fine China. Roccstar and PK produced the soulful track written by Brown, Sevyn, Roccstar and Eric Bellinger. “I’m keeping it fresh but it pays homage to the old greats, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke and Michael Jackson,” Brown says. “I don’t like to go with what the crowd is doing or what I hear on the radio. I go with a gut instinct and what I feel in my heart.”

• Add Me In. Brown, Roccstar and Bellinger wrote the Danja-produced retro-R&B tune with a mathematical twist on romance. “I like to use metaphor,” Brown says. “There’s not a lot of synthesized sounds and Auto-Tune. It’s just real singing.”

• Autumn Leaves. Produced by BAM and written by Brown and Roccstar, the unfinished tune’s melancholy tone will lighten with the addition of an upbeat rap from Kendrick Lamar. “It’s one of those songs that you put on in the car and just ride,” Brown says. “It makes me think about a rainy day.”

• Lady in Glass Dress. Camper produced the inspirational track that Brown wrote with Sam Hook. “It’s saying that I know there may be girls out there who have had their hearts broken and don’t have faith in relationships anymore,” Brown says. “They have dreams of being loved. Everything will be all right.”

• X. Producer Diplo brings an electronic wallop to hip-hop grooves on an autobiographical tune Brown penned with Roccstar, Sevyn and Dewaine Whitmore Jr. One lyric, in which the singer declines taunts to fight so he can rejoin a party, contradicts the rap on Brown.

“That’s my mentality,” he says. “I’m focused on my path, on being more positive and on the up and up.”

That means shrugging off Internet gossip, including persistent reports that he’ll wed a bikini-clad Rihanna in July in Barbados. “That would be a rumor,” he says.

Likewise regarding speculation about infidelity. “We’re good,” he says. “We’re taking it one day at a time. She’s a wonderful girl. She’s beautiful. She’s on tour and our schedules don’t allow us to be as close as we want to be. But everything is good. She will be on my album.”

Jennifer Lopez may be another Madame X. Last week, she tweeted a photo of herself in the studio with Brown, starting a brush-fire of speculation. Brown will only say the collaboration is “phenomenal” and could appear on his album, hers or both.

“We met briefly at the Grammys and she said she wanted me to write for her album,” he says. “Working with her was amazing.”

Outside of music, Brown has been busy, starring in Battle of the Year: The Dream Team, a break-dancing film due in September, and showing his graffiti-inspired paintings in galleries.

“There’s still a lot for me to prove,” he says. “I have a lot of goals and ambition. I’m going to be better in the future.”

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“We are really happy,” Brown told the gossip rag about Rih Rih. “We are back together. She is the most beautiful girl in the world. But I’m sad she couldn’t be here tonight (Elton John AIDS Foundation); she is rehearsing for her tour.”

“Sometimes you row, you fight, with the one you love and things get said, stuff spirals,” he said. “That night was the deepest regret of my life, the biggest mistake. But she loves me – what can I say? I’m forgiven … but, yes, I worked hard for it.”

Standing by her man, Rihanna recently told Rolling Stone magazine that her relationship with Brown is “different now. We don’t have those types of arguments anymore.”

Speaking at Elton John’s Aids Foundation Oscars after-party Sunday night, Brown told the Mirror that he has “grown up” and has since learned how to deal with the unrelenting criticism and backlash he has received.

“I was very young and I took a lot of stuff, fame, for granted,” he said. “I didn’t understand it. The support from those who do know me and the fans, who are incredible, got me through.”

CB also spoke on possibly collaborating with Elton in the future. “I met Elton about a year ago, and he’s been a good friend to me. So it is great to be here tonight to support him,” said Brown. “Music is music. It transcends everything, so I would love it if we could work together.”

“People attack me and criticize me,” he said. “It happens all the time. But they don’t know me, and they don’t know us. It doesn’t bother me anymore.”

“He’s not the monster everyone thinks.” Rihanna said to Rolling Stone. “He’s a good person. He’s giving and loving. He’s fun to be around and he has a fantastic heart.”

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For his sixth studio album, Brown will work with producers Timbaland and Danja, who worked with him on the Grammy-nominated, chart-topping Fortune. He’s also enlisted the help of Diplo, who previously worked with Brown on his Grammy-winning F.A.M.E. in 2011.

Further information about the release — including a title and release date — has yet to be released. Last week, Breezy dropped a music video for the new song “Home,” which features behind-the-scenes tour footage of the singer as he croons about fame and fortune over the midtempo jam. On the chorus, he sings, “Wish I could go back to when I was young/ Wish I could go back from where I came from.” The track serves as a teaser for this album release.

With so much unknown about Brown’s project, MTV News did get some scoop from Da Internz, who have been working with the singer on this new album.

“It’s really crazy with Chris, because Chris can really do whatever the hell he wanna do,” Da Internz’s Marcos “Kosine” Palacios told MTV News about hitting the studio with Breezy for this album.

“I’ve never seen anyone work as fast as him in the studio. His voice is incredible. He knows what he wants, you know what I mean? Like you’ll play him a track and he’ll be like, he’ll just start talking about you know ‘Oh, I know what this is; video, visual. I know who I would put on it.’ “

Whatever Brown does end up creating for this album release, he was spotted in the studio with Rihanna earlier this year. At the time, his rep confirmed that the singers were working on new music together, but didn’t provide further details about it.

#TeamBreezy, who do you want Chris to collaborate with on his upcoming album?!

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On even her best friend not being allowed to talk to her about Chris Brown:
“I just felt like, why bother? Nobody else is going through it. Nobody would understand.”

On being mad at Chris Brown for a really long time:
“I wanted him to know what it felt like to lose me. To feel the consequences of that. So when that (stuff) came back it hit me like a ton of bricks. Like, God, you’ve got to be kidding right now. But I got real with myself, and I just couldn’t bury the way I felt.”

On knowing she would be opening herself up to criticism for reuniting with Chris Brown:
“But I decided it was more important for me to be happy, and I wasn’t going to let anybody’s opinion get in the way of that. Even if it’s a mistake, it’s my mistake. After being tormented for so many years, being angry and dark, I’d rather just live my truth and take the backlash. I can handle it.”

On people being upset about her reunion with Chris Brown:
“When you add up the pieces from the outside, it’s not the cutest puzzle in the world. You see us walking somewhere, driving somewhere, in the studio, in the club, and you think you know. But it’s different now. We don’t have those types of arguments anymore. We talk about (stuff). We value each other. We know exactly what we have now, and we don’t want to lose that.”

On the opinion that Chris Brown still hasn’t changed, based on his behavior:
“I know it comes off like that. And it doesn’t help. For a long time he was really angry, and he felt like he couldn’t get away from it, no matter what he did. But there’s so many reasons why I ever reconsidered having him in my life. He’s not the monster everybody thinks. He’s a good person. He has a fantastic heart. He’s giving and loving. And he’s fun to be around. That’s what I love about him – he always makes me laugh. All I want to do is laugh, really – and I do that with him.”

On believing that Chris Brown has changed:
“Of course everybody has their opinion about him, because of what he’s done. That will always be there. But he made a mistake, and he’s paid his dues. He’s paid so much. And I know that’s not a place he would ever want to go back to. And sometimes people need support and encouragement, instead of ridicule and criticism and bashing.”

On being the one to support Chris Brown:
“Wait. You think I’m here to rehabilitate Chris? No, no, no. That is not my purpose. Trust me. I could have done that from the jump if I thought that was my job. My job was to take care of myself – and I did. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think Chris was ready.”

On people being worried about her with Chris Brown:
“I know. And trust me – it makes me feel great to know that people care. I guess it’s just something that will show with time. There’s nothing I could say that would convince you right now. But we’re in a great place. And I can’t ever see us going back.”

On how much she will put up with from Chris Brown going forward:
“Listen, I’ll tell you right now: I don’t have to take it. If he gives me that again, here’s what I give him: nothing. I just walk away. He doesn’t have that luxury of (expletive) up again. That’s just not an option. I can’t say that nothing else will go wrong. But I’m pretty solid in knowing that he’s disgusted by that. And I wouldn’t have gone this far if I ever thought that was a possibility.”

On not mistaking her love for weakness:
“I could never identify with that word, ‘weak.’ I couldn’t have come out of this if I was weak. No way.”

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Watch from 02:13

Watching this documentary made me understand how much Chris Brown values Michael Jackson. It’s amazing.

-Rita

“Love is something I am still learning. It’s just an obstacle that I haven’t yet mastered. I think that’s my biggest hurdle in life.”

– Chris Brown

Check out this sneak peak of Chris’ photoshoot in the December issue of XXL magazine! A little snippet of the interview has also been published in an earlier post right here on CBW (scroll down the page).

For full interview and photoshoot wait until the December issue drops! Don’t forget to pre-order/buy your copy of the magazine too!

-Rita

XXL Magazine:
Silence is no longer golden. The extremely successful and often controversial Chris Brown graces one cover of the December/January issue of XXL for his first major interview in almost two years.

Breezy has made his share of non-music related headlines, but he also keeps winning from his work in the booth—hit after hit, hook after hook, he’s hip-hop’s most reliable R&B ally. In the story, written by Chris himself, the multi-platinum selling artist reflects on his growth as an artist, moving past hardships in his life, recent altercations, his love life and plenty more.

Some quotes from Chris Brown:

“In the beginning, I used to be hot. I’m normal. I’m human, so if anybody says something that’s a lie, I’m numb to it. I’ve smartened up.”

“A lot of people wanna know about the whole situation with me, Drake and Meek Mill. At the end of the day, I’m me, they’re them. They rap, I sing. Totally different caliber. I rap, I play around on mixtapes. But our words don’t collide as much as you’d think.”

Read more after the jump!

“I haven’t been as mature and thought out in the past, so, me growing now, it’s showing my progression. I used to use my Twitter account to vent, but now I mostly use it for marketing and promotions. Even if the media asks me something, if it’s cool then it’s, ‘What’s up?’ But if it’s anything that’s too negative, I don’t care to respond.”

“One thing people often want me to talk about is my public love life. When it comes to my love life, the perception seems as though I am a player. But that’s not true. Love is something I am still learning. It’s just an obstacle that I haven’t yet mastered. I think that’s my biggest hurdle in life.”

“I use music or painting as my outlet to get through the confusion. I try to promote positivity and love.”

Source – XXlmag.com

-Rita

-Rita