R&B and hip-hop superstar Chris Brown has released his fifth studio album, Fortune, via RCA Records, featuring singles Turn Up the Music, Don't Wake Me Up and more. ...Read the full album review
Fans can also check out Chris Brown's previous albums: Chris Brown - F.A.M.E. | Chris Brown - Graffiti | Chris Brown - Exclusive
Featured Songs From This Album
Chris Brown - Don’t Judge Me
To say that Chris Brown has been a controversial figure over the past few years would be like saying water’s wet, but the consummate hitmaker has only one simple request: Don’t Judge Me. For the latest single...Read More
Chris Brown - Don’t Wake Me Up
Ever had a dream so beautiful that hearing your alarm ring and realizing it wasn’t true ruined your whole damn day? Then you’ll understand exactly how Chris Brown feels on Don’t Wake Me Up. The latest promo...Read More
Chris Brown - Sweet Love
While Chris Brown‘s recent flirtations with rap have garnered him largely positive reviews in the Booth, readers weren’t quite so kind in mid-March, when the artist returned to his usual lane with the smooth,...Read More
Chris Brown ft. Big Sean & Wiz Khalifa - Til I Die
Is Chris Brown a rapper who sings? A singer who raps? Or perhaps a ringer who sangs? Breezy’s been on an obvious campaign to blur the lines between his R&B and hip-hop for well over a year now and new single Til I...Read More
Chris Brown - Turn Up The Music
At this point I think we can consider Chris Brown fully back in the eyes of the music buying public, and apparently in the eyes of the Grammy Committee. So with an eye on returning to platinum status on his upcoming Fortune...Read More
Chris Brown ft. Kevin McCall - Strip
The last time we heard a solo single from the comeback prince Chris Brown he was traveling deep into sexual entendre territory, promising the ladies that his moves in the sack will Wet the Bed. This time around he’s dropped...Read More
DJBooth Album Review
History has provided us with a long list of shocking moments: David the lowly shepherd manages to take down the mighty Goliath, JFK is assassinated on a calm Texas day, T-Pain starts singing without Auto-Tune. These are all moments that made us question the way the world works, made us wonder what was possible, what other unseen surprises lay life had in store for us.
Chris Brown’s new album Fortune is not one of those moments. Take a moment, close your eyes, and before you even press play, picture what you think Fortune will sound like…yep, that’s exactly what it sounds like. Brown is a R&B singer unafraid to cross the line between rap and R&B with a well-deserved reputation for loving women, money and fame (not necessarily in that order). Fortune is a R&B album unafraid to cross the line between rap and R&B that revels in a love for women, money and fame (not necessarily in that order). Those who dislike Brown for beating Rihanna, his bar brawl with Drake and his litany of headline-grabbing behavior won’t find anything on Fortune to convince them to change their minds. Those who choose to overlook the controversy and live vicariously through Brown will find plenty of their hero’s swagger and personality to revel in on Fortune. There are no surprises here.
If you’re an artist truly looking to make a dent on the charts in 2012 you’re going to have to make some music DJs can spin in clubs from L.A. to Ibiza, and sure enough Brown provides no shortage of fist pumping moments, beginning with the aptly-named Turn Up the Music. There’s no secret recipe here, combine a pulsing beat with the same universal appeal that Brown displayed on Forever and you’ve got the definition of party-ready pop music. Don’t Wake Me Up follows suit closely, opening with a more acoustic feel before exploding into a speaker-pumping chorus sure to get crowds sweating even at 2 AM. Sure, that club may be filled with flying bottles, but Fortune proves that any party with Brown will be a party to remember.
Besides party starter, Chris Brown’s two other sides are the hard-edged rapper and the bad boy with a soft heart, and it’s the latter personality that takes up the bulk of Fortune. For starters, there are the requisite bedroom burners like the slowly burning Sweet Love and Biggest Fan, tracks built for pulling a girl onstage for some serenading (and/or dry humping) during a live show. And then there are selections like Don’t Judge Me, ballads meant to reveal the “real” Chris Brown, a man who beneath all the flashing lights just wants to love and be loved. This is the man who sweetly croons “If the sky was turning red, I know we’d be safe / right here in my bed, laying face to face” on 2012 or emotionally admits that despite all the success he’s experienced, he often feels like a 4 Year Old just trying to prove that he belongs in the world. And you’d think that a man being chased by literally thousands of women every night would be cold hearted by now but no, that one special woman can still get him Stuck on Stupid. Doubters will listen to these tracks and hear shallow apologies in the name of album sales, while fans will find yet more evidence that Brown is unjustly maligned by the media and haters. The truth is in the eye of the beholder, and with easily accessible albums like Fortune, there will continue to be a lot of eyes on Chris Brown.
Throw in a handful of tracks that thoroughly cross over into the aforementioned hip-hop territory, most notably the infectious Till I Die and Mirage, which serves as the album’s only real surprise by bringing in the legendary Nas for a guest verse, and you’ve got an album that doesn’t defy expectations, it makes sweet R&B love to them. After listening to Fortune I’m convinced that tomorrow the sun will continue to rise in the East, more seriously minded music heads will remain unimpressed by Chris Brown’s tunes and his legion of fans will turn Fortune into a number one album. Shockingly, the least shocking thing Breezy has done in months is his brand new album.
Listen to More: Chris Brown Written by Nathan S.
More From Chris Brown
Submit a Review and/or Rating
Member Reviews and Ratings
Average Member Rating: ![]()
![]()
![]()
![]()
Total Ratings: 7
|
Tastemaker Total Ratings: 1338 |
I felt like this was a fair review, it's not Chris's best album but it contains way more R&B than F.A.M.E. and I was pleased with over 3/4 of Fortune. Standouts were Mirage, Sweet Love, 2012, and Biggest Fan. Worst track has to be Trumpet Lights. Solid album, already bought my copy.
|
| Posted on Jul 05, 2012 |
|
Tastemaker Total Ratings: 1217 |
I'm a Chris Brown fan and with that said and done, I believe that Chris really put together a solid album. As with some of his previous albums there are certain tracks that I could do without, but with strong tracks like "Mirage" and "Stuck On Stupid," to name a few, the album really does find the time to shine. Overall solid effort and I look forward to more upcoming music by CB.
|
| Posted on Jul 05, 2012 |
|
DJ Booth Member Total Ratings: 8 |
Stand out tracks: "Turn Up The Music;" "Till I Die;" "Strip;" "Trumpet Lights."
What I wanted from Fortune is a sign of growth from Brown something which would silence all of his doubters and haters - an eargasmic, genre blended, carefully crafted track list. Unfortunately – it failed to deliver this. I felt his precedent album F.A.M.E was a much stronger production overall. Fortune is filled with too many mediocre R&B tracks (although that music style is by far his strongest) with few coming anywhere close to the memorable brilliance of “Deuces,” and “She Ain’t You” along with many of his other chart topping R&B tracks earlier in his career. Although they didn't hit home, kudos to Brown for attempting a predominantly R&B album unlike his counterparts *side eyes Usher* Fortune really lacks in depth – lyrically. I know that Chris Brown is still young at 23 years old, however he’s grown up in the world of celebrity which generally forces you to grow up quicker than most. I've spent most of my adult life listening to Breezy and seen him twice in concert- and I've come to expect more from him at this point in his career. This LP is shallow and is a shameless exercise in flaunting his sexuality. I think considering the recent incidents in his private life this album should have showcased a lot more than what it did - I wanted more pain, real love, hell even touching on some social issues - just something that makes us believe that he is more dimensions to him than this bad boy of R&B. Length wise - Fortune went for entirely too long spanning over an hour in total. I was ready for it to finish. I don't believe it was a disastrous piece of work from him, he's an amazing singer, dancer and performer and he always will be - however Fortune was just tainted with a little too much mis-Fortune and ego - it couldn't quite deliver on the chart busting success he has so rightfully earned in previous albums. For the full track-by-track review check out "I'm Just Saying." |
| Posted on Jul 05, 2012 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Great album. Haters gon hate.
|
| Posted on Jul 06, 2012 |
|
DJ Booth Member |
Youtube Lil Neek/Spend the Night. If u are a true hiphop head u gon feel this song.
|
| Posted on Jul 08, 2012 |
|
DJ Booth Member Total Ratings: 60 |
I LIKE IT
|
| Posted on Jul 08, 2012 |
|
DJ Booth Member Total Ratings: 200 |
So on F.A.M.E. my biggest complaint was that although most of the songs were cool, they were really scattered and the album as a whole lacked cohesiveness. Now here we are at Fortune, and it's a little more cohesive and together, but now the song quality has gone down. Brown just can't get it together for one really great album it seems. This one isn't bad though. Turn Up The Music, Bassline, and Don't Wake Me Up are favorites of mine for sure. I think it was wrong to put Strip on the cd though. Its a great song definitely, but it's been out since late last year. Other than that, I enjoyed a couple of the slower r&b cuts like 2012 and Biggest Fan, but besides that I think he slowed it down too much as a whole. CB seems to do best on the uptempo r&b/pop/dance cuts so he should stick to those. Overall not w bad cd at all, but with the way he came back from that awful Graffiti cd by releasing F.A.M.E., I was hoping he would continue upward with Fortune. Instead he kinda stayed in the same level, if anything went down half a step.
|
| Posted on Jul 25, 2012 |
|
Tastemaker Total Ratings: 553 |
You guys seriously gave this 4 stars? THIS IS CRAP BY A CRAPPY ARTIST WHO BEATS WOMEN
|
| Posted on Aug 01, 2012 |