Regular

Chris Brown has been through a lot. We all have, just dealing with his whole ordeal between him and Rihanna. Many were forced determine our stance on domestic violence and the entertainment industry's influence on our lives. For a while I wondered why do these "stars" matter so much? And it occurred to me that they mean such a great deal because their artistic creations fill all of the otherwise silent moments of life. We listen to them on our walk to work, on the subway, in our homes, and everywhere in between. It's no wonder they mean so much to us. That's why it is such a huge deal with him hitting her. He violated the trust of so many fans.

Anyway--not the point of this blog. Chris Brown has grown, at least from a musical standpoint. While his earlier work kept him a polite, pop R&B partystarter, his more recent work seems a bit more motivated. He now takes the role of music's "bad boy;" because there always has to be a bad boy. Dropping mixtapes every couple months, Chris's label has considered dropping him completely a couple times. Forced into an awkward position he doesn't worry too much about the backlash, since he's already on the public's shitlist. His work is more sexualized and hard-hitting. Without the pressures of the label trying pigeonhole you into something marketable, C Breezy is free to make the music that he wants.

While I'm not a huge fan of his "rapping." I have become a legit fan. Without all the glitz and glam following him, I find it easier to embrace stuff without the guilt of going with a trend. This newfound sense of self gave the Mechanical Dummy a particularly poignant song. It's called "Regular Girl." The song could be easily skated over Brown's mostly uptempo mixtape "Fan of a Fan," where he chose to rap more times than sing. The song was 'delicate' in a word. There wasn't production on it to feature crazy dj voiceovers, Diddybopping their extravagant callouts or an ambitious rapper. The song is what I'll call Easy Breezy.

He described that intangible yearn that many entertainers and commoners deal with. That simple desire to have someone "normal" to cradle your dreams, council your fears, and nurture your desire to be a better human being. "Regular Girl" seems an introspective moment for Christopher Maurice Brown to describe his hope to meet someone who's special not because they have a record deal, but because he is validated through their love. Maybe I'm reading into it too much. Whatever. The song means something special to me. it's sorta poetic when we as black men can admit we are flawed and ask you to love us anyway. Call it 'a mature stance.' Well done Breezy. I see you on your Grown Man.
Here's the song. Check it out. Leave a comment