Just Arrived: Chris Brown's 'She Ain't You'

Chris Brown. I don’t want to sound like a complete asshole, but Brown’s music post hitting/bitch slapping/head locking-Rihanna gate has been better than ever. What happened? Did the infamy turn him into a pop urban mastermind with his latest F.A.M.E album? Whatever it is please continue your violent rage anger, but maybe on a blow-up doll this time or on Ke$ha. Sorry. Anyways, I selected this song for obvious reasons because Brown sampled Human Nature by my music god Michael Jackson. What I applaud Brown for this song is that he sampled the song in a very modern respectable manner where the spirit and DNA of Human Nature was still alive. He didn’t twisted Human Nature’s melody so it fitted into a new dance anthem or rap song, which this trend has been on repeat for the past few years such as BEP’s The Time (Dirty Bits) which sampled Dirty Dancing’s Time of My Life in a whole new direction. Plus, it’s also perfect to see Human Nature’s melody be the central beat and not just a supportive part of the song. The song itself has a great R&B electronic groove which Brown is known for. It has this summer breeze side to it that I think will do well on the charts in the next few months.

The MJ tribute element of this video also collected major points from me. Brown was brave enough to show his direct homage and not try to create a whole different concept with the song. It’s rare to see an artist sample another’s melody, but also sample their artistry visuals. And I must say Brown’s MJ dance moves were pretty good. Of course he didn’t have Jackson’s grimy soul in it, but the execution was pretty flawless. However, what I hated was the boring pop art LED stage. I’ve seen this rainbow fantasy LED soundstage for literally over a hundred times on pop music video. It’s like a second rated Justin Timberlakes’ Rock Your Body. What also made it even cornier were these amateur laser light flare effects with the girl singing with lighten butterflies. Really? I just wished Brown had gone further with the tribute and maybe take it to the streets like what MJ projected with the Bad album concept even though the costume gave me a Smooth Criminal vibe.

All and all, I’m really impressed with this song and album. I feel Brown has found the right formula in finding his recognition from both the top 40 market and urban market. There’s still a lot of more years for him to regain that trust back from fans, but if he continues to walk this musical road then I’m sure he’ll be closer to gaining his ‘MJ successor’ badge even though no one can replace my musical hero.