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| (Photo: Frank Micelotta/Picture Group) |
During a special listening session of X, Chris allowed several media outlets to come and see him in action. MTV, FUSE, USA Today, Huffington Post, etc were all allowed in the studio for the private session.
In his recent interview with Edna Gundersen of USA Today, he explained his new album. He divulges the direction of X and how he transitioned during the process:
"X is about life, it's about me," he says. "X is the 24th letter of the alphabet, and I'll be 24 when it comes out. When you see X on a vial, it's like forbidden fruit. For me, it means being able to express myself without a filter, without boundaries."
"I wanted a Quincy Jones approach, where you bring in various writers and producers and they vibe off each other," he says. "I wanted to keep it comfortable and natural and draw creativity off the energy in the room. I wasn't focusing on what could make a No. 1 single. I was honing in on the craft and different emotions from my life. I was more open to defining who I am: Chris Brown, a young man, not a full-grown man."
"That's my mentality," he says. "I'm focused on my path, on being more positive and on the up and up."
"There's still a lot for me to prove," he says. "I have a lot of goals and ambition. I'm going to be better in the future."
Here are a few of the tracks and an in-depth description of their musical DNA (via USAToday.com):
- Fine China. Roccstar and PK produced the soulful track written by Brown, Sevyn, Roccstar and Eric Bellinger. "I'm keeping it fresh but it pays homage to the old greats, Stevie Wonder, Sam Cooke and Michael Jackson," Brown says. "I don't like to go with what the crowd is doing or what I hear on the radio. I go with a gut instinct and what I feel in my heart."
- Add Me In. Brown, Roccstar and Bellinger wrote the Danja-produced retro-R&B tune with a mathematical twist on romance. "I like to use metaphor," Brown says. "There's not a lot of synthesized sounds and Auto-Tune. It's just real singing."
- Autumn Leaves. Produced by BAM and written by Brown and Roccstar, the unfinished tune's melancholy tone will lighten with the addition of an upbeat rap from Kendrick Lamar. "It's one of those songs that you put on in the car and just ride," Brown says. "It makes me think about a rainy day."
- Lady in Glass Dress. Camper produced the inspirational track that Brown wrote with Sam Hook. "It's saying that I know there may be girls out there who have had their hearts broken and don't have faith in relationships anymore," Brown says. "They have dreams of being loved. Everything will be all right."
- X. Producer Diplo brings an electronic wallop to hip-hop grooves on an autobiographical tune Brown penned with Roccstar, Sevyn and Dewaine Whitmore Jr. One lyric, in which the singer declines taunts to fight so he can rejoin a party, contradicts the rap on Brown.
