So BET pulled all the videos of Chris Brown from YouTube--WTF, y'all, you don't want free advertisement?--but there's still this BET/news clip that shows Chris Brown crying. What do you guys think about this? Some of the questions that have been floated around: was the breakdown real? (I was utterly convinced. He couldn't have faked that.) What was it about? (My thoughts: IT'S MAN IN THE MIRROR. CB's had to do some hard thinking about his life and choices. I think that was a huge lifetime moment for him.) What about the real interesting questions: does it matter, does it change your opinion of him, what do we do with this in terms of "asserting machism" and also the African Diaspora?
Although I actually didn't get a chance to watch the BET awards, I have been following Chris Brown's incident with ex-girlfriend Rihanna that created his notoriety. From watching that clip and what I know about Chris Brown, I personally think that it's a publicity stunt to get back to the top of the charts. Before this incident, Chris Brown had many singles and collaborations with other artists that consistently reached the 1st or 2nd spot but after the incident, his songs were only in the 50 to 100s. Don't get me wrong, that is still quite the accomplishment but domestic violence doesn't sit well with the public. Chris Brown is actually quite fortunate that he wasn't shunned out of the music business altogether because what he did was so detrimental to his career. He made a smart move by continuing to release songs and it seems the public is starting to come around again. If the public and the record labels didn't forgive him, he wouldn't even be on the BET awards in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThe incident itself and how it "blew" up is an interesting topic by itself. I'm sure there were many scandals of domestic violence in the hip hop community and were all reported to the media but this one particularly sparked the attention of not only the hip hop community but the world. Chris Brown was seen as this innocent guy that melted the hearts of many females through his word and dance and Rihanna was seen as this innocent girl that was a talented, up-and-coming R&B star. They seemed like the perfect couple until this domestic violence incident occurred. There is somewhat a double standard put upon by the public when this happened. When "pimps" "assert machismo" by devaluing their "hoes", it seems accepted in a way that no one says anything about it and sometimes even deemed cool but when an innocent, beautiful woman is involved, riots occur. Although "pimps" and "hoes" aren't technically partners per se, the devaluing can still be characterized as domestic violence. I'm not saying the hip hop audience is wrong but maybe encouraging the devaluing of "hoes" is wrong and aspiring to be "pimps" is not such a good idea. If we do, we will just end up as the notorious side of Chris Brown.
Here is the full performance:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8UUtRhr914
Although you cant really deny that Chris Brown is talented and the tribute is good entertainment, I have to agree with Edmond and acknowledge that Chris Brown has a lot of work ahead of him if he wants to bring back his reputation to anything near what is was before the whole Rihanna issue. The press coverage the assault received tarnished his image pretty strongly and because it was so contradictory to his perceived person before (innocent, romantic, etc), its going to be something that is that much harder for the public to forget. Furthermore, he was recently denied a visa to the UK, and subsequently had to postpone his tour, all because of his criminal history. This shows the extent of the negative influence the assault had and (is still having) on his life as an artist. His tears in the performance may or may not have been genuine and reflective of his real-life problems, but either way he needed that performance and "genuine" connection with the BET award audience to take a step in the right direction in terms of reviving his career.
When it comes to the asserting machismo aspect of todays mainstream hip-hop, it seems like it might be a lot more acceptable to "say" instead of "do." Violence towards women doesn't always involve pimps and hoes, it can also come out of circumstance like anger. Specifically I'm thinking of Eminem and the popularity of all his music that references beating/torturing/murdering his cheating ex-wife. She is not a "hoe" per se (maybe you consider her one in a different sense, I dont know), and was at some point cared about by Eminem as a person. The difference here is that she made him angry, and the violent music ensued. However, I think that the public would find it not so popular had Eminem actually gone and murdered his ex wife. When the idea of asserting machismo leaves the music is when it becomes publicly disapproved of, and thats where Chris Brown crossed the line. His tears might serve here to go back on that machismo a little bit and show a more sensitive side, but he still has a long way to go.
Wow. So, this is Chris Brown. Sorry, I have never actually seen him in person. I have always heard about him but never saw a photo of him. Yeah, probably you can tell that I am not familiar with this stuff at all. Please fill me in.
ReplyDeleteafter watching his performance a couple days ago, i feel that he really brought his emotions out and it was not staged. he has been going through a lot ever since the incident with rihanna, and i think that singing this song caused him to remember his idol, as well as rethink his life. portraying the 'tough' person that he is, he couldn't cry in public and didn't really have an outlet for his sadness. with this performance it seems that this was the one way to just 'let everything go', to cry for michael and what he's done to have the world turn their back, without having the public judge him.
ReplyDeleteeven though the incident with rihanna almost totaled his career, i think he can still work his way and continue to make it big, agreeing with the other comments that he needs to build up his reputation to get where he was before.
You guys are awesome.
ReplyDeleteIf you're not convinced the emotion is real (as with edmond and others), what does it mean if he did or did not "really" feel sorry, or grateful, or humbled by his experience? For that matter, what's the difference between whether he felt remorse or humility or was just overcome? Was there some kind of emotional display on his part that could ever have convinced us he's "truly" repentant, or is domestic abuse beyond the limit of acceptability?
I also like Gaby's point: apparently asserting machismo stops being a "power move", a move to gain or assert power when that assertion moves beyond public acceptability--which, as Edmond noted, is different depending on where that machismo is directed. Other gangbangers? Sure, sing about it. Pretty pop stars we love? Absolutely not.
Elizabeth, glad you were with me in seeing it as genuinely felt. :)