There's Something About Chris

There's something about that Chris Brown guy. I really like him. Trade mags and industry insiders alike are calling this guy the new Michael Jackson. The Golden Child. The Saviour of Pop R&B. He's on the cover of Vibe after only two radio singles. Even Urrsher himself is endorsing the brother. You know Chris Brown has got to be a bad mutha...shut cho mouf! if Mr. MJ Wannabe himself is prepared to relinquish the title he has so publically condemned the likes of Justin Timberlake and Omarion for trying to take away from him.

Yes, I heard his first single, "Run It" and I thought it was just another well- produced, radio ready mega club jam that people like L.A. Reid and Lyor Cohen ensure are the first songs out to introduce a new artist to the world. Yes, I participated in doing the "Run It" dance along with every 21+ year old who secretly did it in private. Ok, I admit...I liked the song. Still do. But then came, "Yo".

Chris' second single, "Yo", reminds me of something that has been missing for a long time. It's hard to describe. When I hear the brige of the song where he's rapping and his vocals are harmonizing in the background, I feel something I haven't felt in a long time. Not since hearing Earth, Wind, and Fire's "September", have I felt that warm and fuzzy feeling that I get when I hear a song that has, for lack of a better phrase, just been done right. You can't describe it. It's that "thing" you hear about when teenagers of the 70s tell us, "Music nowadays doesn't give you the same feeling that it did back in my day." Well...guess what? That feeling is back...at least in Chris Brown's "Yo".

Now don't misunderstand...in no way do I mean to say that Mr. Brown is on the level of EWF, or even that he's a phenomenal singer/entertainer. He's not. Personally, I think that Usher could still kill him in both the singing and dancing departments. Chris' dancing isn't as smooth as Usher's. His voice isn't as clear and I don't find him sexy. Perhaps that's becuase I'm grown and I really don't dig men under 23. Whatever it is, there is something about that Chris Brown gives me a chill whenever I hear "Yo". Whatever he's got going for him is working for the crump dancing, 16-year-old from Cali. Don't know if he can keep it up and those premonitions of what is to come for him seem slightly premature. But judging off of his star power thus far, even I, entertainment cynic that I am, am just about ready to put my stamp of approval on the Chris Brown brand.