February 9,2011 n ------------------------------------- --------- ^ ' Portland Observer B lack History Month ___________________ Page 7 zV’tsR?. ' V I Nil HAITINI Focus is back on the Music for Chris Brown Singer has new beginning two years after Rihanna (AP) - Tw o years ago, the G ram m y A w ards appeared to m ark the end o f C hris B row n's career. T his year, it is serving as a new beginning. Life for the m ultiplatinum sen sa­ tion dram atically changed on the eve o f m usic's biggest night in 2009, w hen he assaulted then-girlfriend R ihanna and both w ere forced to bow out o f the cerem ony. In the m onths that follow ed, he saw his reputation tarnished, he had to plead guilty to a felony, and his com eback CD, "Graffiti," was a com m ercial dis­ appointm ent. But w ith the success o f his brush- o ff anthem "D euces," three n o m i­ natio n s at the S u n d ay , Feb. 13 G ram m ys (including best co n tem ­ Singer Chris Brown at the BET porary R & B album ), an upcom ing Awards in Los Angeles last C D and an A ustralian tour in A pril, June. (AP Photo) the focus on C hris B row n has re ­ turned to his m usic, w ithout adding released a flurry o f m usic. A fter the R ihanna-prefix. "G raffiti," released in D ecem ber "W e fe e l g o o d n o w th a t 2009, failed to create a buzz for the everybody's talking about his m u ­ singer like his past album s. B row n sic, w hich is exactly w hat C hris' in ­ put out various m ixtapes. O ne o f tention is," said T om C arrabba, the those, "Fan o f a Fan," a co llab o ra­ executive vice president and g en ­ tion w ith rap p er T yga, featu red eral m anager o f Jive Label G roup, "D euces," a m id-tem po tune that hit Brown's hom e label since he released No. 1 on B illboard's R & B /H ip-H op his first album at age 16. songs chart for nine w eeks; the plati­ C a rra b b a say s B ro w n h a s a num -selling single peaked at No. 14 new found co n fid en ce, w hich he on the H ot 100 chart. T he m usic believes is the reason for the singer's video for the song w as No. 1 on current success. B ET's T op 100 videos o f 2010. "I think w hen he w as a little bit B row n, w ho has acted in m ovies younger he w as still trying to find such as the p o p u lar "S tom p ’the his w ay a little bit and fine-tune his Yard," also hit No. 1 at the box office craft, but I think over the last tw o last y ear as part o f the en sem b le cast years he's absolutely developed a in the heist film "Takers," w hich confidence and is very secure in his also starred rap p er T.I. and Idris d e c is io n - m a k in g p r o c e s s ," Elba. C arrabba said. "D euces" is up for best rap/sung B row n, now 21, is serving five c o lla b o ra tio n at th e u p c o m in g years o f probation after pleading G ram m ys, where it will com pete with guilty to felony assault for the at- Jay-Z . 's "E m pire State o f M ind," tack on R ihanna in the early m o rn ­ E m inem 's "Love the W ay You Lie" ing hours before the 2009 G ram m ys. The V irginianativew ascom m ended in N ovem ber for com pleting m ore than one-third o f the required 180 days o f com m unity service and for alm ost finishing his dom estic vio- lence counseling. O ver the past year, B row n has j an d B .o .B 's "N othin' on Y ou," : songs that are all up for the coveted i record o f the year aw ard and had I been No. 1 pop hits in 2010. C arrabba says the G ram m y nom i­ nations are "another step in the i right direction for C hris B row n." ' "Graffiti," Brown's third album which i has only sold 336,000 units, acco rd ­ ing to N ielsen S oundS can, is o n e C arrabba says w ill be m ore ap p reci­ ated in the future. "W e alw ay s th o u g h t one day w hen C hris is w here he belongs, people w ill go back to that record and say, 'Y ou know w hat, this is a re c o rd th a t w a s o v e r lo o k e d ," ' C arrab b a said. "W e'll see in tim e, but right now that's behind us and we re kind o f looking forw ard." O th er tracks have also helped keep the focus on B row n's m usic. The E uro-dance tune, "Y eah 3x," is a T op 15 pop hit, w hile the bedroom groove "N o Bull" is also a hit on the R&B charts. A new album, "F. A.M.E. (Forgiving All M y Enem ies)," is due out this spring. Jiv e h o p e s his n ew C D w ill pu t B ro w n b a ck o n th e p ath to p h e ­ n o m e n al su c c e ss th at he b la ze d w h en h e m ad e h is d e b u t as a teen. H is 2 0 0 5 s e lf-title d d e b u t w as a d o u b le -p la tin u m su cc e ss an d fe a ­ tu re d th re e T o p 10 p o p h its, in ­ c lu d in g the N o. 1 sm ash "R un It!" H e ra c k e d in ev en b ig g e r h its w ith the re le a se o f h is so p h o m o re a l­ bum , 2 007's d o u b le -p la tin u m "E x ­ c lu siv e ," in c lu d in g th e N o. 1 song "K iss K iss" an d the h its "W ith Y o u " a n d " F o re v e r." H e w as n a m ed B illb o a rd 's to p a rtis t fo r 2008 a m o n g o th e r a c c o la d e s. "Som e people m ight have forgot, but then once you see him perform , you understand the gift that he has," C arrab b a said. O ne perform ance that brought his talen ts to the fo refro n t w as B row n's em otional M ichael Jack- so n trib u te at la st y e a r's B E T A w ards. M irroring Jackson's sig­ nature dance m oves w hile perfo rm ­ ing "B illie Jean," he then started to sing "M an in the M irror." But he broke dow n in tears, fell to the stage, and couldn't finish. T he audience, som e people in tears them selves, cheered him on. Stephen H ill, B ET 's p resid en t o f program m ing, m usic and specials and the aw ards' ex ecu tiv e producer, says B row n s perform ance at the cerem o n y w as "the turning point" o f his rising return. "H ere's a young m an that m ade a very, very bad m istake and he w as in dan g er in being m arked by that event," he said. "I think that m o ­ m ent and that tribute, w e probably gave him another chance." 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