I really don't give a care, but critics are giving Chris Brown's 'Graffiti' a bad name. I'm just laughing and I can't breathe. The most harsh and (funniest) review I've seen by far is the one Allmusic.com posted. They gave the album one out of five stars stating:

Most of Graffiti -- that is, the songs that do not detail what ex-girlfriend Rihanna and the rest of the world have done to him -- is a natural progression for Chris Brown. Like many young cred-seeking male singers who have just exited their teenage years, Brown clumsily emphasizes womanizing and hedonism and balances it out with a couple clean and empty ballads. Out of this portion of the album, only a couple songs leave a lasting impression, and when they do, the silly things that come out of Brown’s mouth tend to be the reason; take “As stingy as you are, I think you ready,” part of “Take My Time”’s chorus and hopefully no woman’s idea of an effective bedroom line. A two-track patch of gloopy and gawky Europop, where he’s on slightly better behavior, is at least more tolerable than the inane chest-puffing, but nothing comes close to the big singles from Brown’s first two releases. The rest of this album could not have been voiced by anyone but a delusional brat who pleaded guilty to the felonious assault of his pop star girlfriend, one who attempts to justify an unjustifiable action and considers himself the real victim. On “Famous Girl,” sonically sprightly but otherwise acidic and full of contradictions, Brown cries foul at being cheated upon by his “heartless” ex but taunts “I might have cheated in the beginning.” He accuses her of being a heartbreaker and then boasts “I’ve broken my share of hearts.” Another jab, “I was wrong for writing ‘Disturbia,'” makes it plain that the song is about Rihanna. Both “Falling Down” and the sarcastically titled “Lucky Me” could lead a onetime sympathizer to fantasize about pulling a Chris Brown on Chris Brown. In these songs, Brown is exceptionally insufferable, conveying that his unimaginable wealth and social privileges are no consolation for being put through the ringer. “Even though I’m so damaged, I gotta pick myself up and perform for the crowd” is capped with “You don’t even know how hard it is, do you?” He also lets his listeners know that he has had to do photo shoots when he has not felt like smiling, and that he has “given up everything in exchange for being alone.” Maybe his supporters should be considerate and assist in putting the young man out of his misery. If they stop purchasing his recordings, concert tickets, and merchandise, the evil entertainment industry, all media outlets, and potential heartbreakers will lose interest and loosen their grip on him.
[Edited 12/5/09 22:43pm]

The fact that he's on the cover holding a guitar. Which he's never played, should be enough of a tip to anyone that the album is gonna be shit!

Posing for an album cover while holding a guitar is cliche, anyway. But the fact that he doesn't play brings the Lame Factor WAY up!!!

silverchild said:

poor guy

feel sorry for him

now he gonna have to sell a few pairs of sneakers from his large collection to make ends meet

best thing he could do now would be to create a VH1 reality show based around some kind of therapy group for recovering abusers or something

but you know if he would have beaten up some unknown woman, he would still be famous

aha! Critics are giving his album one star. Is it really that bad?

i like Transform Ya

midiscover said:

It ain't like he was an amazing artist, anyway. Dude could dance and all, but I won't be shedding a tear for him.

I never thought much of him before he smashed Rhianna's face in.

To me, he was always gonna fall off. He just made sure that process was sped up.

Paris9748430 said:

Took the words right outta my mouth.

He falls under the "flavor of the month" category,,,if anything, the abuse incident gave hime coverage that he didn't deserve and chances are he wouldn't get it otherwise.

Paris9748430 said:

Basically.

Paris9748430 said:

Timmy84 said:

I second that. Kid's career is ruined and image in the music industry is tarnished forever.

I'm kind of shocked at his backlash. Anyone else? I remember people were saying he was going to be fine but he's really getting shit left and right LOL! He should just stay home.

Goodbye, Ike Brown!

midiscover said:

I'm really not because I think alot of people were just tired of worrying and hearing about the allegations and figuring out what was going to happen to their careers after the madness. Rihanna didn't come out on top and it seems Chris is going to tank badly.

hey say what you want but his disc is wayyyy better than rihanna's...

His album isn't great but none of his albums have been really anything to cause a commotion over. They're only really doing this because of you know what...

midiscover said:

Rihanna got her devil people on the job!

TheBoyfromtheBand said:

That may be true, but his album is still garbage.

If you think about it, Rhianna taking a beating has done us all a favour. At least she's good for that much.

I just wish Justina Timberlake would beat up his girlfriend as well, so he could put us all out of our misery.

silverchild said:

Now i'm sure the album is bad but, this is just attacking him mostly. Why mention his ordeals? This is supposed to be about the album.

I hate journalism today, it's lazy, full of propaganda, manipulative, and extremely unintelligent.

I agree with Wetdream. They probably didn't even listen to the album, they just have a problem with Chris Brown himself.

Yeah I was rushing out to buy that...

Actually from the songs I've heard, it's not that awful....

WetDream said:

Maybe so, but he's so offensively shit I can't help but enjoy the backlash.

silverchild said:

I'm no Chris Brown booster...But how does one review count for what "critics" are saying...A bit hyperbole, huh?

Also do we consider AllMusic.com anything relevant, Reviews now are written by bloggers who cant get journalism gigs. I mean have you read reviews in EW magazine before?? AllMusic in one post gave Vanessa Hudgens four stars and then right after that gave John Mellencamp 2 stars?? Theres only one place Vanessa should get four stars.

Yeah, he got horrible reviews all-around. This CD is pretty lackluster, though. I never cared for Chris Brown at all, but could understand his appeal in that he could dance and had a sort of sweet/sexy appeal. But, that image no longer exists. His voice is nasally and this CD tries to continue on where he left off, but without the charm he used to have (by that I mean a sense of innocence). So, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to find appealing??

It kinda seems like he and Rihanna should have switched projects from a PR stand point. Chris should have dug deeper and gotten more introspective, while Rihanna should have made a Good Girl Gone Bad Part 2. From a PR perspective, I think that is what the mainstream public would have been more receptive to. They wanted Rihanna to make a positive, fun or inspirational CD (or at least more upbeat) about moving on in life etc (or be more sympathetic and do a "Total Eclipse of the Heart" type of song). And many seem to want a more contrite and reflective Chris Brown. I really love Rihanna's CD, so I am not unhappy that she made it, even if it doesn't garner the sales of her previous efforts.

Having said all that, I do NOT feel badly for Chris Brown because his sales will probably be great the first week. His young female fans are on a mission to make sure he beats Rihanna's first week tally...not to mention all the Rihanna haters. So Chris will be fine in the short term.....down the stretch, who knows.
[Edited 12/7/09 23:07pm]

anyone surprised? i like some of his older songs, but the few i've heard from the new album don't tickle my fancy at all. i can transform ya is O-KAY, but the ballad he has with half baldhead (use to be fine as fuck ) cassie in the video is just meh... even with all his issues, i still say the guy's semi talented, but this was worst timing ever for a whack album. especially since everyone's raving for rihanna's new joint. haven't heard that either, but her tracks seem more solid. not that there should be some kinda rivalry between them anyway, as far as record sales go. coincidence, corporate greed or whatever, that's just whack, imo, but...

lastdecember said:

And you know what a popular response would be to that arugment from many critics? They'd say, "This stuff is only rated relative to the artist".

Personally I think it's lazy bullshit. But I've heard this arugument dozens of times over the years.

I mean is a 4-star Britney Spears album equivalent to a 1 and half star Bob Dylan. I mean I don't have a nifty chart to tell me how each person values this shit.

I see Chris Brown ain't hearing no sale shit on Amzon. And there is a bonus CD...

I may be in the minority here but if I was both Chris or Rihanna's management or label I wouldn't have released a new record so soon anyway. In both of their cases their drama has outshined their music. When your celebrity is what's getting you your attention and not your new music, that's a problem. It takes time for that story to simmer down. It doesn't help that Chris keep doing interviews referencing it. Let the story die or at least become "old news" before releasing anything new. As far as the reviews are concerned, Chris was going to catch hell either way I believe. He's a recent villian in a domestic abuse case that everyone knows about. Journalist integrity is rare these days.

I'm sure Def Jam and Jive looked at all the media coverage and equated that interest into sales. But it didn't translate to sales, at least in the case of Rihanna. We'll have to wait and see with Mr. Chris Breezy.

Granted, Russian Roulette was a poor choice of a lead single if you ask me. But here again, Def Jam wanted to capitalize on the sensation of their story with the dark, suicidal theme crap of a video. So far it hadn't worked.

Musicslave said:

my dog took a shit today and that outshined both of their music....