Singer, songwriter, actor. Born on May 5, 1989, in Tappahannock, Virginia. Although he is still in his teens, Chris Brown is already on his way to music superstardom with his smooth voice, amazing dance moves, and boy-next-door charm. Growing up in a small town of roughly 2,000 people, he was a born entertainer. Brown enjoyed singing in his church choir and was inspired by such musical artists as Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, and Michael Jackson. He also showed off his dance prowess by imitating the dance moves of another one of his idols, Usher.
Brown was discovered by Tina Davis, who was working for Def Jam Recordings at the time. "The first thing that hit me was his unique voice," Davis told Billboard magazine. "I thought 'This kid is a star.'" Davis eventually became his manager and helped him land a deal with Jive Records, which had developed other young acts such as Britney Spears and 'N Sync and is home to other hip-hop and R & B stars such as R. Kelly, Usher, and Kanye West. At the time of deal, Brown was only 15 years old.
Brown's self-titled album was released in November 2005 and quickly found its way into the charts. Working with established producers and songwriters, he had a number one hit with "Run It!," which was co-written by Scott Storch and Sean Garrett. The track also featured a guest appearance by rapper Juelz Santana. More hits followed, including "Yo (Excuse Me Miss)" and "Gimme That," which was written by Garrett and Storch. While many of the songs have a hip-hop influence, Brown's voice has a classic R&B sound. And just like many other teenagers, dating and girls figure prominently in his songs. He has sometimes been compared to Michael Jackson because of his dual talents as a singer and dancer.
The album brought Brown two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best R&B Contemporary Album. While he did not win, he showed the audience at the Grammy Awards just how talented he was by holding his own while performing with two R&B legends, Lionel Richie and Smokey Robinson. Brown went on to receive a number of other awards, including an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding New Artist. With a large following of young fans, it was no surprise when he won a Teen Choice Award for Choice Music Breakout Artist Male.
In 2006, Brown went out on the road for his Up Close & Personal tour. He played more than 30 concerts in cities across the country. While he enjoyed playing live, it was not without its hazards. "Once during a show, I reached out to touch these girls' hands, and they pulled me off the stage," Brown told
CosmoGirl magazine.
Expanding his career as an entertainer, Brown has branched out into acting. He had a small role in the box office hit
Stomp in the Yard (2007), which centered around a step dance competition. The film also featured another popular R&B performer, Ne-Yo. On the small screen, Brown played against type as a high school band geek on
The O.C. for several episodes. The final months of 2007 brought a wave of new projects for Brown. He released his second album,
Exclusive, in November. On this latest project, Brown became more hands on behind the scenes. He helped write several tracks, including the hit single "Kiss Kiss" with T-Pain. In addition to T-Pain, Brown worked with Sean Garrett on "Wall to Wall" and will.i.am and Tank on "Picture Perfect" among others. He also came up the concepts for his music videos and served as co-director on them.
Around the same time, Brown returned to the big screen with a more substantial role in the holiday-themed dramatic comedy,
This Christmas (2007). As Michael "Baby" Whitfield, he played a young man wanting to pursue a musical career despite opposition from his family. The film also featured Delroy Lindo, Loretta Devine, Regina King, and Mekhi Phifer. Next up for the budding actor is reportedly the lead role in the sports drama
Phenom.
In February 2009, the young performer made headlines after being arrested for allegedly assaulting then-girlfriend, singer Rihanna during an argument. "Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired," Brown said in a statement shortly after the incident. He was charged with two felony counts related to the incident.
In June, Brown pled guilty to the charges and was sentenced to 180 days of community labor and five years of probation. He was also ordered to stay away from Rihanna. The following month, Brown fully acknowledged and apologized for his actions, saying in a video statement that "I have told Rihanna countless times, and I am telling you today, that I am truly sorry and that I wasn't able to handle the situation both differently and better.
What happened after was not easy is but Chris made it "BREEZY" Brown debuted his lead Graffiti single "
I Can Transform Ya" on September 29 as a digital download and the music video debuted on MTV on October 27, 2009 and then May 2010, Brown released a collaborative mixtape with
Tyga, titled
Fan of a Fan. "
Deuces" which features
Tyga and
Kevin McCall, was released from the mixtape in the United States on June 29, 2010.
[52] The song peaked at number one on U.S.
R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for seven non-consecutive weeks, giving Brown his first number one on the chart since his 2006 hit single, "
Say Goodbye".
[53] It also peaked at number fourteen on the
Billboard Hot 100 His story did not stop the, in August 2010, Brown starred alongside an
ensemble cast including
Matt Dillon,
Paul Walker,
Idris Elba,
Hayden Christensen and
T.I. in the crime thriller
Takers,
[54] and also serves as executive producer of the film. While hosting radio station
KPEZ in September 2010, Brown announced that his fourth studio album would be called,
F.A.M.E. (Forgiving All My Enemies).
[55][56] Drake,
Justin Bieber,
Bruno Mars,
Pitbull and
Asher Roth, were at the time reported to have been working on the album with Brown.
[57][58][59]"
Yeah 3x" was released as the album's lead single on October 25, 2010.
[60] The song peaked at number 15 in the United States and Canada. It also charted in the top five in Australia
[61] and New Zealand,
[62] receiving platinum certifications in both countries.
[63][64] "
Look at Me Now" featuring
Lil Wayne and
Busta Rhymes, was released as the second single in January 2011.
[65] "
Beautiful People", featuring
Benny Benassi was released as the album's third single in March 2011. Brown held an exclusive F.A.M.E. album listening party in Atlanta (March 15) where he revealed that another album would be hitting stores before the year is up saying that “
This is the first part of the ‘F.A.M.E.’ album. I’m coming out with another album six months later,” as he played new songs from the first project to be released March 22. “
She Ain't You”, a song that samples
Michael Jackson’s "
Human Nature", was released as the fourth single from the album on March 28, 2011. "
Next to You", featuring
Justin Bieber, was released as the album's fifth single.
In an interview with
2Day FM, Brown recently announced that "
F.A.M.E." would stand for something more "close to heart, 'fans are my everything'."
[66]
Looking at his schedule you would swear a big international Hip-Hop superstar was in town well this tour is larger than life it’s so ambitious it’s MB taking it to the world, he has been granted what most musicians dream about yes this Hip-Hop star is going on an international tour I am talking London, Manchester, Amsterdam, Paris, Mauritius, Sydney Australia ,Angola and New York but before all that Sun City, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town it don’t stop the homeboy will be teaming up with Bow Bow making a track for the American conglomerate Footlocker, I did say this is “larger than life” Footlocker is a sports retail giant and they are coming to South Africa, the official launch date for the Footlocker store is 19 November 2011, this has to be the biggest tour by any South African Hip-Hop act he will not only be repping MB he will representing SA Hip-Hop to the fullest putting SA Hip-Hop on the map, from his 1st single he made it clear he was in it to win like they say “actions speaks louder than word” his actions scream WINNER.
