By JURNEE LOUDER – Staff Writer
Chris Brown finally released his sixth album “X” on Sept. 16 after pushing the album back after days and then weeks and soon after, a year. Never before has an album been so long in the making and been so underwhelming.
Due to his brief stint in jail and rehab, the album was pushed back from it’s original release date. After a year and a half of production, the album’s contents should have been near perfect. Instead, “X” gives the exact opposite. The album feels rushed, the songs are mediocre and the album is just exhausting to listen to.
Brown’s second track off the album is named “Add Me In”. The song, in essence, is filled with corny lyrics like “substitution/ add me in/ multiply my love” over an amazing beat that deserved a lot more.
The next seven songs cover the same theme: girls, girls, girls. Brown is excellent at completely boring the listener with repetition to the point where the songs start to blend together. It is extremely painful to listen to, let alone critique.
Not only does he manage to make the listener want to press pause and never listen to the album again, he simultaneously manages to degrade his female audience with more misogynistic lyrics than one could count.
In the hook of his fourth single “Loyal”, he sings “these hoes ain’t loyal” over and over. Although it may be catchy, it alienates his female listeners.
On his tenth track, Brown decides to finally show the his personal side by singing throaty R&B ballads about heartbreak. It becomes pretty clear that “X” only covers two topics: partying with women and breaking up with women.
For six songs straight, he takes a break from the “club music”part of his album and moves on to slow songs, showcasing his more personal side- except the songs don’t feel personal at all. His voice sounds unemotive and lyrics like “I’d really hate to label you as a stereotype/ stereotype/ stereo- stereotype” lack creativity.
In fact, these songs highlight the double standard that Brown enforces in his album. It’s ok for him to mess up in a relationship, but as soon as the woman does, she’s just a “stereotype” of all other women.
The album isn’t completely flawed, though. It features artists like Nicki Minaj, Usher and Kendrick Lamar who throw in a verse or two. While they better the songs overall, they often highlight Brown’s mediocrity. Kendrick Lamar’s Verse on “Autumn Leaves” overshadow Brown’s and almost make the listener forget that it is Brown’s song.
