chrisbrown music interviews Virgin Media
16 year old Chris Brown is already a huge R&B sensation in the US, holding the top US Hot 100 spot for weeks on end with his debut single Run It. As he prepares to break into the UK, we met up for a chat...
VM: You have very modest roots, coming from a tiny town in Virginia - how did you rise to this massive stardom in the US?
Chris Brown: Well I've been singing since I was 11 and started recording when I was 13. It was a blessing that I got a chance to meet with a production team outside the Virginia area. They had connections in New York and we built a relationship where I always recorded with them and it became like a second home, so I got a chance to go to New York and I went to see lots of production teams. I was there for two years when I was 13 but I was balancing school back and forth, back to Virginia every other weekend. So I had a chance to meet with record labels - I chose Jive because they had a good reputation with young artists.
VM: Did you ever consider going on reality TV talent show?
Chris Brown: I never wanted to go on American Idol or anything like that, I always wanted to keep some mystique about me and have people saying "where did he come from?" I mean it's great that people want to go on American Idol and I know there are successful artists on the show but you get to see the process of how the fame unfolds and I wanted to keep that air of mystique about me.
VM: Were you a bit of a show off as a kid?
Chris Brown: I think that showing off gets you into trouble! I used to sing to the girls but I never went around bragging: "hey I can sing, let me sing something to you". That just gets you into trouble - guys want to fight you and girls go round saying "oh he thinks he's all that!"
VM: How do the kids at school treat you now?
Chris Brown: It's different for me. I remember just last year I was in 10th grade school trying out for basketball practice. They knew I was doing my music though. It kinda hurt when I went back and everybody was like "Yo Chris!" all of a sudden and wanting to know me. When I go into town they're like "Oh Chris Brown, Chris Brown". I'm glad they are proud of me but I just want people to be themselves and not phoney.
VM: Do people still see you as a little kid, though? I imagine that must be annoying.
Chris Brown: Yeah that does annoy me, you need a certain level of maturity in the music business. I'm cool to play around but when it's time to do business like doing the shows people are like "ahhh, he's just a little kid". It can get frustrating as they should have the same respect for me that I have for them. I'm not saying I'm grown up but look at me like an equal. I'm still a 16 year old kid playing video games and things but I do that in my own time so I'm going to be mature when it's time to be mature.
VM: You have a song on the album which is about taking young love seriously.
Chris Brown: Yeah, that song was one I wrote that I feel everybody can relate to but it was catering to the teenage market. Everybody was a teenager once, they all went through the same things like finding a high-school sweetheart. I just wanted to put that out in the song, I wanted to create a sense of nostalgia and take people back.
VM: Did you get particularly excited about working with any of the producers who contributed to your debut album?
Chris Brown: Brian Cox I was really excited about but it's not to say I wasn't excited about the other producers - I had just heard his name around a lot so I got very excited about that. I was like "wow, we're gonna make some crazy songs!" I had lots of fun recording Run It because I was in Miami at the main recording studio. There were a lot of artists around at that point - DMX, Fat Joe, Timberland, even Ricky Martin, so it was a good experience for me to meet the professionals.
