Serious about a girl, the 18-year-old singer respectfully asks her parents for permission to take her out (“Hold Up”). Romantic devotion is at the soul of “I Wanna Be” and “With You.” “Mama” thanks his mother for sacrifices and unconditional love. A man regrets a costly one-night stand on “Damage,” but …
He goes on to provide lusty details of how he fell. Such indiscretions usually stem from character flaws, which Brown demonstrates throughout. He ogles and propositions women on “Throwed” and “Gimme Whatcha Got” (“backseat action” in a car with tinted windows). Intoxicated by his own sex appeal, the artist has a pocketful of phone numbers and “200 dames that’s ready to go” (“Wall to Wall”). He prescribes his own music as an aphrodisiac (“Kiss Kiss”). Things get more explicit behind closed doors. On “Let Me Take You Down” this lothario offers to feign virginity as he and his partner “bump and grind” the night away. Guest rappers Will.I.Am (“Picture Perfect”) and Kanye West (“Nice”) add s-words to the disc’s profanities. The former mentions large breasts and erections, the latter “a retarded kid that spits.”
Critics are calling Chris Brown one of R&B’s innocents, which only proves how salacious the genre is. Despite making a few positive statements, he’s all about lust and seduction that reduces sex to a hobby.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
