REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)
Chris Brown is no stranger to a little media scandal. Bar fights, abuse charges, and alleged homophobic slurs are all among the first results of a quick Chris Brown Google search. Yet, he somehow continues to find his way back into the limelight. His latest bust-up with Drake even found many on his side.
Not so fast though, Breezy: what’s gone from the front pages is clearly not forgotten. Last month, Brown released his fifth studio album, Fortune, and at least some of the reviews let Chris Brown know that to many, his sins are far from absolved.
(MORE: What Outburst?: GMA Would ‘Love’ To Have Chris Brown Back on the Show)
Some reviews aren’t so bad. Billboard called the album “a victory lap” that focuses mostly on “partying and rough sex” — but the music publication ultimately seems to think fans will like it. The Guardian Observer invokes his 2009 assault on Rihanna but later gets to the music, noting the CD could be mistaken for a parody of The Lonely Island, so that might be a little worse.
But the most scathing review comes from Chloe Papas, a writer for X-Press Magazine. And express herself she did. At first, Papas bypasses the glaring issues with Brown’s personal life and itself lays into his music – and lays into it hard.
“Chris Brown has released his fifth studio album – a 19-track repugnant record we can only hope will be his last,” the review begins. Papas then focuses on a few songs that are either generic, ridiculous, or “a catastrophic misogynistic s–t of a song.”
(TIME’S REVIEW: Chris Brown’s Fortune: A Mix of Beats and Ballads, But No Regrets)
She goes on to say that the album should only appeal to those sans ears — and morals.
Let’s just get down to it. Regardless of whether Chris Brown has any musical talent (he doesn’t) or whether this album is any good (it isn’t), the man recently brutally assaulted a woman, and is still regularly invited back to award shows and worshipped by ‘Breezy’ fans worldwide. Which is, frankly, disgusting. And for those of you out there saying you need to separate the music and the man: [Don’t] encourage his actions.
Final words: don’t buy this album.
The albums overall rating? NO STARS EVER.
If that doesn’t do it for you in terms of conciseness, look no further thanCityview’s Chad Taylor. The entire text of his review is as follows:
Chris Brown beats women. Enough said.
Ouch, that’ll leave a bruise.