(All songs produced by The Underdogs & Rob Knox, unless noted)
Throwed | 3:02 | 4 (Produced by State Of Emergency & Bryan-Michael Cox)
This song is so innocent, some people should just listen to Chris Brown sometimes.
Kiss Kiss (Featuring T-Pain) | 4:11 | 3 - 3.25 (Produced by T-Pain)
Never understood why this song was popular, maybe it was the T-Pain craze.
Take You Down | 4:06 | 3
Some bass would add the much needed warmth.
With You | 4:12 | 3.25 - 3.5 (Produced by Stargate)
Picture Perfect (Featuring Will.I.Am) | 4:13 | 3.25 - 3.5 (Produced by Will.I.Am)
Unlike Damn Girl, a similar subject-sounding song, this Will.I.Am feature wasn’t necessary.
Hold Up (Featuring Big Boi) | 4 - 4.25 (Produced by Andre Harris & Vidal Davis)
This song would’ve really helped on if it was put on Graffiti. Nice genuine moment here.
You | 3:22 | 4 (Produced by L.O.S. Da Mystro)
Besides the original name, Dream pens a successful song once again, successfully sung.
Damage | 4:17 | 3 (Produced by The Runners)
Just sounds standard, not necessarily bad.
Wall To Wall | 3:43 | 2.75 - 3 (Produced by Sean Garrett)
I can completely understand why this song wasn’t a hit.
Help Me | 3:17 | 3
I Wanna Be | 3:46 | 3 (Produced By Antonio Dixon & Eric Dawkins)
Gimme Whatcha Got | 3:48 | 2.5 - 2.75 (Produced by Jazze Pha)
I used to like this song, but then I realized the production really needed work.
I’ll Call Ya | 3:54 | 3 (Produced by Swizz Beatz)
Lottery | 3:41 | 3
Nice (Featuring The Game) | 4:32 | 3 - 3.25 (Produced by Scott Storch)
Hey, a Game rap that makes actual sense! Also, we get the change of pace here.
Down (Featuring Kanye West) | 4:17 | 3 - 3.25 (Produced by Bigg D)
Phoned in Kanye West verse, and overpowering production, on an otherwise nice song.
Forever | 4:38 | 4 (Produced by Polow Da Don)
This song is a straight hit.
Superhuman (Featuring Keri Hilson) | 3 - 3.25 (Produced by Harvey Mason Jr. & Oak)
Heart Ain’t A Brain | 3:41 | 3 - 3.25
Picture Perfect (Remix) (Featuring Bow Wow & Hurricane Chris) | 4:12 | 3.5 - 3.75 (Produced by Chris Brown)
Cuts off that really annoying Will.I.Am part I hate, and the pedestrian appearances don’t matter.
Fallen Angel | 5:32 | 3 - 3.25 (Produced by Bryan Michael Cox)
The vocal distortion is a little distracting, it gets a little irksome.
Overall Rating: 67.25 - 70.25 | 3.1 / 5 | 64 - 67% | Good; detracting problems; TRY IT
Let’s just forget all of the bias, controversey, and all the general situation just for a little bit.
It’s the year 2007, where Chris Brown was merely starting to become a force in the R&B-sex / booze fuckery inspired of a world, and compared to his many other contemporaries, which were generally Usher, R. Kelly & The - Dream (Who funny enough, wrote one of the best songs here), many people considered him to an emerging fresh breath of air, with his babyface looks and soulful singing about the more, innocent things in life.
Of course, this is generally a double-edged sword. While most general listeners appreciate the nature of Chris Brown’s lyrics, that doesn’t necessarily mean it provides an outlet for the most creative or inspired songs. Most of this album’s rating was hampered mostly because of the incessantly dull middle section, from the songs Damage to Lottery (Or the song, Nice, if you don’t feel it that much) Now, don’t get me wrong, these aren’t by any means terribly produced or sung songs, it’s the way their presented seems to be formulated to fit the mainstream needs, and not the artistic talent of Chris Brown himself. Soulful singing doesn’t get you away from singing the most dull of subjects, or the most uncreative of lyrics. There’s not much more I can explain about the middle section, morely because it just slowed down my receptors, and just caused me to speed up a little bit through it.
Again, a double-edge sword indeed, because there are also sparks of moments where Chris Brown truly shines. Admist all of the drab decorum that’s littered throughout the album, a few songs of interest defintely captivate the listener. Throwed, my personal favorite song on the album is a nice switch up of the production that we were used from Chris Browns go-to producers, with State Of Emergency giving an innocent vibe of the claps, bongos, congas and all of the bass drum kicks. It helps that Chris Brown talks about something else besides pleasing the ladies. Hold Up is also another interesting moment, where Chris Brown talks about the wait where he’s going to “meet the parents,” and see if he can date that “Miss Smith.” Big Boi’s preformance adds a little flair to the otherwise unchanging pace of the song. You, is also another song of note, because The-Dream pens a cute song for Chris Brown to sing the same subjects, but with a more mainstream twist. Nice, Down and the whole bonus deluxe edition songs do provide a little more variety than the norm, which is pretty nice, particularly Picture Perfect, because it shows some skill from Chris Brown as a producer, and his C-list contemporaries.
I felt like I should personally dedicate a section to the singles that Chris Brown had. Kiss Kiss & With You, two wildly popular songs (Especially Kiss Kiss) on the radio. While certainly above the average standard, it’s more of an example of how a little innocence really can bring success. With You, talking about the obvious or Kiss Kiss, a deceptive song about trying to appeal to a girl, are just little milestones to hop over for the young singer. Forever, the main reason why the Deluxe Edition was actually reviewed is definitely one of the main highlights. Mainly the start of Polow Da Don’s string of R&B hits soon to come over the years, and one of Chris Browns best vocal preformances, it’s quite a single that really appeals to the demographics it wants too.
Chris Brown is certainly not a weak artist, though the mainstream currently thinks so (They are starting to let go of that fifteen minutes of hate now, however) Sure, his lyrics aren’t necessarily the most revolutionary, but they show a consistency that most R&B artists fail to follow (Trey Songz on instances, Lloyd, Omarion, or even T-Pain), which is most definitely needed in this commonly sex filled, booze guzzling, one night lust loving landscapes. Sure it’s flawed, but it’s definitely worth a listen.
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