Production From: Bryan Michael Cox, Dre & Vidal, Jazze Pha, Kanye West, Scott Storch, Stargate, Swizz Beatz, T-Pain, The-Dream, The Runners, The Underdogs, Tank, Will.I.Am
As I watched Chris Brown swagger and glide his way to glory on the 2007 MTV Awards I could barely hold back the comparisons. He had the showmanship of Prince, the dance moves of Michael Jackson and the energy of Bobby Brown (pre-crackhead Bobby). Finally, I thought, here’s a man ready to take the king of R&B title Usher has so woefully neglected. Omarion, Trey Songz, Mario; they’re all good, but they’re just not music royalty. After watching Chris deliver a performance so dope Diddy’s head almost exploded I decided, in the immortal words of former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green, “he was who I thought he was. I was ready to crown his ***.”
The only thing missing was the music. I mean the poor kid was so tired by the end of the show he could barely stand, let alone sing. I figured that little problem would be solved with the release of his sophomore album Exclusive. Turns out I got a little overanxious. Exclusive is many things; the most danceable album in recent memory, the record of a boy becoming a full grown man, but it ultimately falls short of monumental status. Just to be sure I went back and listened to Usher’s landmark album Confessions - I encourage you to do the same - and there’s no doubt who’s still the king. Just don’t sleep, Chris Brown’s definitely got next.
Brown’s real strength is making the kind of dance music even the gangsters want to get down to, even if they’ll never admit it. The first single off the album is Wall to Wall, a bouncing track with some absolutely knocking Swizz Beatz production. There’s no secret formula to the song’s success; Brown’s personality makes up for the minimal vocal power outage and the subject matter is women, women and more women. Wall to Wall’s a perfectly enjoyable R&B/pop track, but it’s no Kiss Kiss. This is the song that had me believing, if only for three minutes, that Brown might just take the title after all. That bass line does something to your spine from the first note and T-Pain crafts the kind of addictive hook that’s put him on top. Even more surprisingly the vocoder effect on the track isn’t on Mr. Pain’s vocals but on Brown’s, giving his normally squeaky-clean voice some much-needed grit. Don’t front tough guy, you’re feelin Kiss Kiss too. Now if I could only figure out if he’s saying “she wants that lovey-dovey” or “laffy taffy.”
Where Chris Brown stumbles, and noticeably so, is on the slow jams. It’s just hard to believe someone whose posse consists of two nine-year-old kids that can really get freaky. Take You Down is exactly the point where the gap between him and Usher becomes apparent. The track starts off with a sultry saxophone solo and minimally grinding beats before Brown smoothly glides onto the scene with his best imitation of some 112-styled lyrics. It shouldn’t be a surprise he comes off as the teenager he is, after all the chorus is, “It ain’t my first time, but baby girl we can pretend.” Similarly Damage is an almost blatant attempt at another Confessions, complete with slowly burning production from The Runners and a monologue from Brown apologizing to his girl for cheating. But instead of some desperately soulful vocals we get Brown’s almost embarrassed attempt to get his girl back. I honestly don’t think he could have done anything more. In three years Brown should be able to deliver some truly sheet-twisting jams, but for now he’s still a rookie.
The majority of Exclusive finds Chris at a crossroads; he’s trying to hang onto his teenage fans while simultaneously striving to win some adult respect. With You’s acoustic guitars and live drums sound so much like Stargate’s other smash hit Irreplaceable they should sue themselves. If I was a teenage girl I’d probably be tearing up listening to Chris sing “there’s hearts all over the world,” that not being the case I was searching for the skip button. On the flip side Scott Storch does his best to give Chris some over-21 club appeal on Nice, a cameo from The Game never hurts, and the effect is a scorching hot song with plenty of dance breaks that’s sure to become a single. All this makes Chris Brown R&B’s Lebron James, a future champion that still needs a few more years to mature. Hear that Usher? Chris Brown’s coming for you, what are you gonna do?
Chris Breezy has a huge future ahead of him and it's just going to take a matter of time before his talent exceeds all expectations. He has only been in the industry for two years and look how far he has become. He's here to stay...too bad Usher is getting older by the minute.
This album is solid. Like Nathan said, it isn't on Usher's level yet. But in all honesty, Usher wasn't at that level by his second album either. As they say, third time is a charm... wait for it....
8701 was an amazing album, what are you talking about Z? Sooo many hits on it to say what you said about it. But anyways, I have followed Chris Breezy since Run It and I had his first album the minute it dropped, shit was banging too! This album is the nuts, I suggest anyone to go out and cop this piece of pure art work. Can't even pick a favourite song, 'Down' is near the top.
On the cover art note that London raised: as someone who's pretty heavily tattooed I can't help but wonder if that ink on his hand is real. It can't be, right? If so that's pretty crazy tattoo location for a teenager, even a successful entertainer. These are the things I think about but don't have enough space in the review to mention.
p.s. - people need to relax with the five star ratings. it's a great album, but are you seriously telling me it's an all-time classic? Illmatic is a 5, Ready to Die is a 5, Exclusive is not a 5. What does that make Usher's Confessions, a 7?
i got ur cd with da dvd an it is off da chain u be actin a fool but dats in a good way. ur song waitin 4 u is so sweet an is da perfect luv song 4 any reason. an i learned sum things about u dat i neva knew b 4 so jus keep comin wit dem knew songs an cds.
sweet pooh bear.....news flash- chris brown does NOT read these reviews ha ha ha....anyways yeah this cd is aight best song by far is Hold Up with big boi if anyone thinks differntly than say somthin
i love this album and i loved his first 1..my fav. songs are with you and take you down. I LOVE CHRIS BROWN he is so talented and love his music..this album is amazing!!!!!
i like ill call ya, picture perfect, damage, gimme whatcha got, kiss kiss of course, and wall to wall, nice, almost the whole album, ilke about 7 or 8 songz on it but he doin his thang tho
Exclusive is the best album i ever listened to. Chris brown has great hits on that album like Wall to wall and kiss kiss. his album is better than the first. thanks for the great album and do more hits
im giving this album a 5... for the simple fact that there is not one track on it that i dont like... chris brown has def. stepped up since his debut album (which i consider really good) chris has got to be my favorite r&b artist hands down he brings fire
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