Pros & Cons profiles the best and worst qualities of today’s musicians. Pros & Cons is simultaneously objective and subjective.

Chris Brown.  Just the name itself is polarizing.  The R&B, hip-hop, and pop artist has certainly put his stamp on the music industry.  Additionally, he’s also had his fair share of controversy, which can’t merely be written off.  Brown, hence, is a perfect candidate for the revival of Pros & Cons, a series that appeared during the youngest months of The Musical Hype, but fell by the wayside.  Face it – there’s just too much judgement – objective and subjective, to ignore.  Without further ado, the pros and the cons of Chris Brown.

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Pros

1. Few – man or woman – will deny that Chris Brown is good looking. He has always had the look of a pop star. There is an abundance of shirtless photos.  Not only do folks label him a heartthrob, more recently a bad boy, but he’s confident about himself.

2. Brown has a distinctive singing voice. This is part of what set him apart from the competition when he first arrived on the scene in 2005. There was a reason he was about to “Run It!” and had things “Poppin’.”

3. Not only can Brown sing, he can also rap. He has bars. The best example of his bars occurs on hit single, “Look at Me Now,” which features a star-studded cast (Busta Rhymes and Lil Wayne).

4. Brown is a Grammy recipient, winning the Grammy for Best R&B Album in 2012 for F.A.M.E, released in 2011. He beat out El DeBarge, R. Kelly, Ledisi, and Kelly Price.

5. In addition to winning a Grammy, he’s been nominated for various awards, including Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (“Deuces” with Tyga & Kevin McCall and “Kiss Kiss” featuring T-Pain), Best R&B Vocal Performance – Male (“Take You Down” from Exclusive), Best Contemporary R&B Album (Chris Brown), and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals (featured on Jordin Sparks hit, “No Air”).

6. Brown has been incredibly successful commercially. He has numerous multiplatinum singles, including “Look at Me Now,” “Deuces,” “Kiss Kiss,” and “With You.”

7. In addition to multiplatinum singles, Brown also has a number of platinum and multiplatinum albums, including Chris Brown, Exclusive, F.A.M.E., Fortune, and X.

8. Brown has earned two no. 1 hit singles to date: “Run It!” and “Kiss Kiss.”

9. Brown has earned two no. 1 albums on the Billboard 200: F.A.M.E. and Fortune.

10. Chris Brown is one of the hottest collaborative names. He’s appeared on a number of other rap and R&B artists’ songs.

Cons

 1. Yes, Chris Brown is good looking. Yes, he has a great physique. BUT, he comes off extremely cocky and conceited. That’s a problem.

2. No need to sugarcoat it. Chris Brown assaulted Rihanna, a turning point in both artists careers. Rihanna would develop into an edgier artist in the aftermath (Rated R, 2009).  As for Brown, the album that arrived in the aftermath was the tepid Graffiti – not a good look.

3. Beyond the Rihanna assault, Brown hasn’t been able to stay out of trouble. Complex has an article compiling his 20 Douchiest Moments, which includes the infamous “Oops” chain. Natalie Finn of E! News asserts it’s time to stop forgiving and forgetting his behavior. Ranker even has a list called The Worst Things Chris Brown Has Ever Done, composed by Jordan Bates. That list includes “allegedly threatened a woman with a gun,” an infamous Grammy tweet (after winning), and homophobic tweets.

4. Brown has trouble getting along with other celebrities, notably Drake and Frank Ocean. It’s safe to say he wasn’t too happy when Ocean won the Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album (Channel Orange) over Fortune.

5. For all of his success, Brown has had his share of disappointing albums in regards to commercial performance, including Graffiti and Fan of a Fan the Album. As of publication, Royalty (2015) had failed to receive RIAA certification.

6. Despite some ill commercial fortunes, Chris Brown remains a collaborative go-to. Even so, he’s become incredibly oversaturated.

7. Beginning with his album F.A.M.E., bad boy Chris Brown was born. Sometimes, like on F.A.M.E., it’s played out well. At other times, it’s been a bad look and pronouncedly reduced the quality of his music.  In essence, ‘new’ Chris Brown has become predictable.

8. Fortune, which followed F.A.M.E., is among the worst albums Brown has released. The electro-, pop-infused R&B is overdone, as is the auto tune and sex.

9. His new album, Heartbreak on a Full Moon (October 31, 2017), is 45 tracks long. TOO LONG and WAY TOO MUCH.

10. In October 2017, he released a documentary via Netflix, Chris Brown: Welcome to my Life. Rachel Leah of Salon describes it as follows:

“Overall, the documentary feels distant. There’s too much footage of celebrities such as Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Lopez, DJ Khaled and Usher offering glowing praise for the superstar — talking-head advertorials with no real depth.”

Final Thoughts

After examing Chris Brown, the question is, do the pros outweigh the cons? Depends on where you stand personally with the musician.  He has lots of accomplishment, but also, he has his fair share of issues.  One thing’s for sure – dude’s polarizing AF!

Photo Credit: RCA, Jive