What Did He Do Now?

Chris Brown

You are sitting at home watching the evening news with your family as a preview comes on about an upcoming story about an entertainer who has a history of legal troubles. “Oh no, what did he (or she) do now?” Those are the words that immediately come from one of your family members. You also may have the same thought although not speaking out. It seems that some musicians and actors are like a magnet to trouble. Why?


Years back I remember an acquaintance with drug problems mentioned to me that “trouble seems to find him”, as if he was innocent and could not avoid adverse situations. His account was not accurate because he could avoid troublesome situations, but possibly remained in surroundings that lead to brushes with the law. Meaning he had the same friends, frequented the same establishments, and most of his habits remained ensuring the drugs would always be easily accessible. Is this the reason so many entertainers are continuously exhibiting problematic behavior? Or are there other explanations? Let’s think about it as we feature Chris Brown this week.



If you don’t know anything about Chris Brown, he is a young, very talented musician who also is an excellent dancer. He has been very busy in the music industry as he will release his sixth studio album later this year. The Grammy and American Music Award winning artist has also found his way into acting roles in films and television. All of his accomplishments have occurred as Chris Brown just celebrated his twenty-fourth birthday two months ago. Along with all his achievements in the entertainment industry has came much publicized adversity. When you hear the name Chris Brown, you most likely associate his name with Rihanna, and then domestic violence.

Chris Brown and singer Rihanna, dating during the year 2009, got into an argument that turned physical and Brown was charged with assault and sentenced to probation and community service. That would have been enough to overcome but then there were other incidents involving rapper Drake and singer Frank Ocean that further scarred his name. All of these incidents compounded to create a bad boy image for Chris Brown in the media. Many people feel that the bad boy image is a positive thing, and that entertainers can parlay it into more fame. However, the incidents are real, and Chris Brown must live with them every day. They also have had an adverse affect on his career. How?

Many may not know that in 2007, Chris Brown cashed in on his early success and founded his own record label CBE (Chris Brown Entertainment) on Interscope Records.  Now the label is doing fine as Brown has signed a good group of artists to start their own music careers. Although in 2009 according to Brown, negative press kept him from working with some of his earlier signed artists, which forced them to move to other labels. Therefore the negative image not only cost Chris Brown but also others associated with him. Has Chris Brown learned anything from all of this? What are his next steps? Is the mainstream media correct about his image of a bad boy?

First of all Chris Brown, like anyone else, will grow as a person and will develop changes in his life outlook. I listened to him on a recent radio interview and although still young, he understands how the media works and has accepted what happened in the past and how this affected others perception of him. In the radio interview Chris Brown said that the media tends to only look for the negative stories and ignore any positive activities. True or not, Chris Brown’s ability to own the incidents, and speak about them freely in interviews will help others not forgive or forget what he has done, but understand him. This might be the best public opinion Chris Brown will ever enjoy.

Like many of his contemporaries Brown has taken more control over his music and the business end of his career. A long time fan of Michael Jackson, Chris Brown does not shy away from paying homage to his inspiration in his video for current single Fine China. Overall, I would love to see Brown put all of his troubles behind him and concentrate on his career. Hopefully his next accomplishments will all surround his music and not negative events in his personal life.