Chris Brown has reacted online after a Pitchfork review calling his new album a “piece of s***” went viral online.
The 37-year-old singer released his latest album Brown on May 8. In a review for the online music publication, critic Alphonse Pierre awarded the record a score of 1.3 (out of 10).
“This album is a real piece of s***,” wrote Pierre. “Why even write about it? For years, traditional media has been tiptoeing around the popularity of Chris Brown, and in reality, that benefits nobody but him.”
Brown has been at the center of numerous controversies throughout his career. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to violently assaulting his then-girlfriend Rihanna. Earlier this year, he appeared in court in London over allegations involving a bottle attack at a London nightclub in 2023. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
In response to the now-viral Pitchfork review, Brown posted a selfie-style video to his Instagram stories and said: “F*** that! We kickin’ they ass, goddamnit. We ain’t lettin’ up. I’mma keep my foot on they neck, and we ain’t stoppin’. You heard me?”
Brown went on to claim the he doesn’t “give a f***” what critics say about his new album, adding: “I know exactly who my fans is, and I know exactly who hearing this album.”
He ended the video saying: “If you not my fan, I don’t want you to listen to my s***. Go listen to motherf***in’ Zara Larsson or somebody.”
The 28-year-old Swedish pop star Larsson has been a vocal critic of Brown, and has previously stated that she has his music blocked on streaming services.
The last Brown album to be reviewed by The Independent was 2011’s F.A.M.E..
At the time, critic Andy Gill wrote: “The acronym apparently stands for ‘Forgiving All My Enemies’, a typically self-pitying claim on the moral high ground from someone who, lest we forget, was convicted of assaulting a woman.
“Isn't forgiveness something Brown should be requesting, rather than bestowing? But that's the topsy-turvy mindset of US R&B for you, a world characterised, on this showing, by paranoia, reproach and bogus regret, along with the standard ‘aspirational’ bragging about money and sex.
“F.A.M.E. is equal parts bubblebath boudoir soul and more bullish beat-driven floor-fillers, tricked out with familiar guests like Timbaland and Justin Bieber, the most lively of which is Busta Rhymes's babble-rap over the Clangers-style bleeps of ‘Look at Me Now’. As regards originality, the use of a Michael Jackson sample on ‘She Ain't You’ shows how hard Brown's trying.”
