Ummmmm... Chris, you've truly lost it with this one. You are not Trey Songz or R. Kelly, in that you can't make the transition from singing to rapping and back; nor will you ever be. You haven't even mastered the art of singing enough to say 'Okay, let me try my hand at this.' No offense, but that sounded like the most generic of generic verses I've ever heard. Are you sure that Diddy didn't buy this verse for you? In fact, Tyga killed your verse and didn't even say anything worthwhile. Now, I'm not hating on your grind, because lord knows you have to bank on something these days. Your last album was a snorefest, even with all the features, and your credibility is at a low point. At the same time, though, shouldn't you be in the studio working on YOUR craft, not trying to come back out with a gimmick and a wack sidekick?? (Tyga can rap, but he's not a good rapper) I mean, for God's sake, you and Tyga looked (and sounded) like Kriss Kross in this video. And with a gimmick this lame, you guys might have just as short a run as Kriss Kross (even Jermaine Dupri can cosign that). Let's just hope your next move isn't wearing backwards clothes, because I will quit listening to hip-hop at that moment...
A lot of people read my Rihanna letter and got the idea that I'm somehow a proponent of domestic violence (even though I stated my disdain for it numerous times). This time, it's Chris' turn to hear somethings about himself...
Larry King was not a fluke, Chris' vocabulary is elementary at best...
Chris, Chris, Chris. It was really really hard trying to show the world the other side of your story once Rihanna started singing like the bird she is (there's my one and only shot). That said, I think you took the high road by trying to keep the situation between the two of you. You've taken steps to remedy your affinity for violence, tried to clear your name as best you could, and have started making music again. Now begins the hard part. When you took to Twitter to start airing out your grievances about the ills of pushing an album as a felon, you pretty much showed everyone that this had REALLY gotten to you. I can't help but think what you're going through sucks, but therein lies the problem.
Chris, you laid your hands on a woman. And hurt her, badly. Truth be told, you could probably be in jail right now. Thanks to the celebrity card, you got of with a slap on the wrists. After that, you will not have ANYTHING handed to you. The music stores are well within their rights to bar your album from selling, and there is really nothing you can do about it. Being painted with a domestic violence charge as a musician is like wearing a scarlett letter in the colonial U.S. NOBODY IS ON YOUR SIDE, CHRIS. Or at least no one that wasn't there before. The industry doesn't owe you anything (especially not right now), and you know this. Ranting on Twitter never helped anyone, and sure as hell isn't going to help you either, so I suppose it's good you deleted it.
What you need to do is keep grinding (I'm starting to hate that term; everyone uses it when they really aren't doing anything). Get on the road and tour your Michael Jackson-impersonating behind off. Stop referencing Rihanna, stop answering questions about it and get to work. This whole situation is old, Chris. 'Do it like Kobe' should be your motto for 2010. Hell, you could Twitter that...
To anyone reading this, this is clearly a touchy subject. So take this letter with a grain of salt, rather than take my rhetoric as me being a proponent of domestic violence. Here goes.
Rihanna, you were never really that much of a pop icon to me. I saw you go from a Bajan dancehall-pop artist (somewhere in the realm of Sean Kingston), to a regular R&B-pop star, to a 'pop icon' (as Mediatakeout and MTV like to call you). I never really minded your career, but I always seemed to have a disdain for your music. Now, when the story and the pictures detailing your domestic run-in with Chris Brown, I was somewhat skeptical. Not only does Chris Brown seem like a soft dude, there were rumors on top of rumors that you were jealous, controlling, and had hit Chris on numerous occasions. No one but you and Chris were in that car when he allegedly (well, now, reportedly) beat you up. However, I'm willing to put money on the fact that Chris' meltdown was not completely of his own volition.
When you think about domestic violence, what do you think of? Exactly. A man beating a woman. However, who's to say that this tenet couldn't be reversed? So many times in society, we place the onus of being the bigger person on the man in the relationship, when the woman is just as responsible for the turmoil. So many times, as a society, we allow sensationalism to cast an improper shadow on people. So many times, we allow double standards to cloud our vision into thinking that the man is always the bad guy. Not to say that Chris Brown was not in the wrong, but where is any investigation on your part in the incident, Rihanna? Who's to say that you didn't provoke Chris at all? I'm sure that ANYONE would get pissed if you were hitting them up while they were driving. Women, and the matriarchal black society that we live in, are so quick to point the finger, that even before anything was proven, Chris was already guilty. In this day and age, if you get mentioned as a domestic abuser (guilty or not), you will never be able to scratch that off your record. Chris Brown may have laid not a finger on you, but will be guilty by association 99% of the time. What's worse is how you've gone about your 'road to recovery', Rihanna.
First of all, if you were so 'ashamed' of what happened, why were you back in the man's arms weeks later? Second off, why were you photographed with Drake only weeks after that? That's an awful lot of switching beds and paparazzi action for someone who's 'scared and shaken'. I'm not saying that you should have been shacked up for 5 months, but I didn't know getting back on the pony was so easy. Another thing, Rihanna. Why were you so quiet and pensive about everything until now? Your album Rated R is set to be released on November 23rd. I suppose your timing couldn't be more correct. Rihanna, so much of this incident seems skewed in your favor. You more or less traded bruises and Chris Brown's career for publicity. Something about that doesn't seem too 'ashamed' to me. Like I said in the beginning of this letter, I'm not a proponent of domestic violence. Violence has no place in a relationship and shouldn't be condoned. My mother told me never, ever to hit a woman. But if the woman is hitting me, when do I say enough is enough? Rihanna, adding to a destructive double standard shouldn't be the price you pay for platinum plaques, and you know it. It's just sad that a performer much more talented than you had to be a victim of that standard...
