Bobby Brown has
never been afraid to push the envelope – musically, artistically or
socially. His sheer bravery and brash honesty are the very
characteristics that make him “Bobby Brown” – a pioneering entertainer
with over three decades of experience. From his successful debut in New
Edition, the boy bad prototype for groups like New Kids on the Block,
Boyz II Men and the Backstreet Boys, to his multi-platinum career as a
solo artist, Brown has left a mark on the music industry that can never
be erased.
On May 10, 2011, Bobby Brown’s fifth solo studio album – The Masterpiece –
will be released via Brownhouse Entertainment and Fontana Distribution,
a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. In the midst of a promotional
campaign for the album, Bobby Brown managed to squeeze some time out of his busy schedule and settle down for an interview with Clayton Perry – reflecting on fatherhood, the rise of music scene, and the profound influence of Louis Silas, Jr.
AllHipHop.com: Having
been in the entertainment industry for more than two decades, what do
you consider to be your biggest contribution to the music landscape?
Bobby Brown: I
look at myself as an ultimate and all-around artist, whether it be
acting, performing, or writing music. And there are a lot of artists out
there right now that have taken that step of broadening what
entertainers do, especially when it comes to R&B singers. I'm not
one to bite my tongue, and everybody knows that, so I appreciate
everything that's out there right now. They're following the same
blueprint that I was following: giving the people what they want. You
can't skimp on the people. Once the people are happy, trust me, you'll
be happy.
AllHipHop.com: One
major transition in your life, which is rarely discussed, is your move
to Atlanta, Georgia – long before it became a major player in the music
arena.
Bobby Brown: Yeah, I was there first!
AllHipHop.com: Literally…
Bobby Brown: Yeah,
literally. I'm proud of what Atlanta has become. They might not be
proud of me, the officials there. I guess they didn't like how I was
doing my thing. I made sure the music was alive and free in Atlanta.
Once I opened my studio, I opened my studio to everyone. I opened my
studio for everyone to be able to like music. I'm not one to hold
anything back as far as allowing people to get ahead. They took it the
wrong way, but I'm glad that the music scene has become what it has
become in Atlanta; from Tray Deee to Jeezy; it all started when I got
there. When Cameo was first there. The reason I moved there was because
Larry Blackmon told me: "This is a hot music scene, man. This is going
to be the future." When I did the song "Cameo," that was from my first
album. In 1989, I was just like, "You know where I'm moving? I'm moving
to Atlanta." And once I moved there, everything started blooming. I
mean, everything – from restaurants to the Super Bowl. I'm thankful that
I played a big part in that development.
AllHipHop.com: One
little known fact is that Outkast’s current music studio was formerly
Bosstown. What life events led to its development and eventual sale?
Bobby Brown: Well,
with Bosstown, I really needed a space, and I really needed a space for
other acts to be able to create and express themselves. And that studio
is my home, still. I'm glad I was able to give Outkast a chance to buy
it, and once they got it, they did great things with it, and that's a
good thing. I was leaving Atlanta anyways, so I needed an out. I really
needed an out. L.A. came to me and said he wanted to buy it, and it was
just a good thing to let it go. I wanted to start anew somewhere else.
I'm in L.A., now, and it's beautiful. Everything is going well and I'm
glad somebody talented has that studio, because talent went all through
that studio, and that's all that was brought out of that studio.
AllHipHop.com: As a young, up-and-coming artist, how important was it for you to have a space of your own?
Bobby Brown: It
was great, because at the time, not many people of my age, or my
caliber, were thinking about studios. But having a studiomade the
recording experience easier for me and better for the people that wanted
to become artists. Outkast, for example, worked out that studio many
times. I guess once they realized that space had so much energy, they
picked it up.
AllHipHop.com: Over
the course of your career, one name had a consistent presence in your
liner notes: Louis Silas, Jr. What lasting impact did he have upon your
musical career?
Bobby Brown: Well,
the world is going to miss Louis Silas. Louis was a special individual –
and he believed in art. He believed in the form of master mix. He
believed in the form of making a good record and punishing it; not
pushing it but punishing it. And that's what he did with "Don't Be
Cruel." That's what he did with any record that I made with him. I named
him executive producer because he was that. He went out and got the
records. He went out and got the producers that I wrote with. And he was
just a lot of fun to work with like Teddy Riley and L.A. and Babyface.
Louis Silas did that. I didn't do that. Louis Silas did that. He was
just a gentleman that really believed in music, and really trusted in
the sounds that he heard from different individuals. And the sounds that
you're going to hear from the people that I'm working with right now is
a Louis Silas type of style. I know he's gone, but I know he's right
there with me, working on this album, The Masterpiece. I'm just grateful, man, for Lou Silas.
AllHipHop.com: I
appreciate that insight. Although you are known as the “King of the
Stage,” there is no denying that you are also the “King of New Jack
Swing”! Since this genre is often cited as a fusion between hip hop and
R&B, why do you think the two genres blended together so well?
Bobby Brown: Well,
I came up in an era that was fascinated and dominated by hip-hop. But
at my core, I was an R&B singer. So in my mind, there was no better
way to bridge the gap. I loved hip-hop. I loved Grandmaster Flash.
Grandmaster Flash is one of my idols, along with Rick James, Michael
Jackson and James .
So, I tried to mix all of them up. How do you do that? You build a
sound, and the sound was new jack swing. Teddy Riley and I got into a
studio in Harlem, in an apartment. We actually recorded "[My]
Prerogative" in an apartment. I did the vocals out of a bathroom. So
that was the texture, that was the style.
AllHipHop.com: Oh,
wow! I can't count how many times that song been sampled or covered by
artists. Britney Spears even titled her greatest hits set after the
track! [laughing]
Bobby Brown: Yeah,
that song has had a life of its own, but I'm just grateful that people
want to cover any work that I've written or performed. It can't be
anything else but a compliment for somebody to want to do your music.
Bobby Valentino just did a terrific cover of "Rock Wit'Cha" on his new
album, [Fly on the Wall]. I think it's an honor. This is how I feel: “If you can do it, do it. Have fun doing it, and sell it right. Don't mess it up!” [laughing] As
far as Britney Spears’ take on "My Prerogative" - that was a great
check, but a terrible version of my song. Great video though! I loved
the video. But I take it in stride, man, because it's one thing to love
what you do, but it's another thing to love being who you are, and I
love being who I am, for people to follow that and try to reduplicate
it.
AllHipHop.com: Some
may find it hard to believe that you are only 42 years old. When you
turned 40, in what ways did your perception about life, love and work
change?
Bobby Brown: Let me say this: “I can still dance anybody into the ground!” [laughing]
AllHipHop.com: I bet! [laughing]
Bobby Brown: Even though I'm a grandfather, I can still dance you into the ground! [laughing continues]
AllHipHop.com: No challenges here! [laughing continues] In your experience, what do you think makes the perfect live show performance?
Bobby Brown: An
artist has to know how to communicate with the audience. They also need
to be able to establish a relationship with the audience while they are
on the stage. That's the one thing I have always loved – performing.
I'm just glad I can still move my legs. I'm glad I can still hit a note.
I'm glad I can be able to bring people quality entertainment. That's
one thing I value in stage performance: quality. You get your first
reaction once you do something right, and fortunately, I do it right.
That's why they call me the King of Stage.
AllHipHop.com: This might come across a bit funny to you, but my very first memory of you as an actor was from a Disney Channel special, Mother Goose Rock 'n' Rhyme.
Bobby Brown: Oh, yeah! [laughing] I played all three blind mice…
AllHipHop.com: As you dabbled in the acting world, what similarities and differences did you find, when compared against the music world?
Bobby Brown: I
think it's all just entertainment, dude. It's all entertainment. And if
you're going to be an entertainer, you've got to be all-around. You've
got to be able to give people laughter or whatever. Make them cry or
whatever. That's what I'm here for, man. I'm here to entertain people,
man. I'm not here to bulls**t. Music is one thing, but entertainment is
the whole spectrum of what life is about. People need entertainment, and
I'm just grateful that I'm able to do it.
AllHipHop.com: Your forthcoming album is entitled The Masterpiece.
At this point of your career, you have the rare opportunity to
introduce yourself to new fans, as well as allow older ones to
rediscover your music. How does it feel to be in this position?
Bobby Brown: The Masterpiece is
made up of ten years of my life that I've lived through, from being
married to divorced to drug problems that I'm rid of six years and
seventy-eight days sober. So, I'm just hoping that they get the message
that I'm an entertainer, I'm here to stay, and it's something that was
put in me. It wasn't something that I went to school for. The Masterpiece is
exactly what I am. I am an entertainer. I am Bobby Brown. I am. And
that's it. I don't want nobody to take it no different than it is,
because if you try to analyze it, and try to pick through it, then
you're going to lose out on the entertainment part.
AllHipHop.com: You
can speak with so much confidence now, because your have lived an
extraordinary life. But at what point did this confidence crystallize
and lead you to pursue entertainment on a professional level?
Bobby Brown: I have to thank my mother, who I just lost a couple weeks ago.
AllHipHop.com: Yes, I heard. My condolences.
Bobby Brown: Thank
you. At the age of three, my mother put me on the stage with James
Brown. He was performing. She just picked me up and put me on the stage.
Why I was at a James Brown concert at the age of three, I do not know;
but I was there and she put me on stage. I started dancing and I heard
the crowd scream. I heard the crowd cheering me on. And from that
moment, it was just like: “This is me. This is what I'm going to do.
This is what I'm going to do. I'm going to look at a crowd every day of
my life, if I possibly can.” It's only by God's wishes that I perfected
my craft, and I'm still perfecting my craft. And that's what
entertainers have to do. You have to perfect your craft. And I'm still
working on me, and I'm trying to be better and better and better every
day, but I know this is everything for me. It's me. I mean you look up
"entertainer" in the book, in the dictionary, and you'll see my picture.
AllHipHop.com: Unfortunately,
in this day and age, it will be very hard for newer artists to follow
in your footsteps, because a large number of them are manufactured. They
are literally here one day and gone the next. What’s your take on the
past and present shifts within the music industry?
Bobby Brown: Well,
nobody grooms artists. These days, it's about a record. It's not about
the artist. It's about a record, and we have to really grab hold of
that, because these kids are going to end up rich and stupid, basically.
If they think it's about just making money and getting out there and
traveling and being on Lear jets, they're not thinking about the show.
They're not thinking about performing for people. People in this country
are very fickle. They like you one day and then they dislike you the
next, so your craft is everything that you are. I work on myself every
day. Every day. And I don't know. I'm thankful that I'm able to do what I
do and I hope they're thankful for what they're doing. But I would tell
them to just perfect your craft and trust in entertainment. Trust in
yourself, because yourself can get you in trouble. Trust in what your
craft is, and that's entertainment.
AllHipHop.com: Outside
the world of entertainment, you also have the important task of being a
father. In what ways has fatherhood guided your life decisions?
Bobby Brown: Me
being a father is so many things. Me being a father is me taking care
of myself at forty years old. Me going to the doctor regularly to make
sure that I'm healthy. I have a twenty-month-old son, so he keeps me so
f**king energized, so alert and so ready to do anything in life. So that
keeps me going, man. My oldest son, who is twenty-five just gave me my
first grandchild!
AllHipHop.com: Congratulations!
Bobby Brown: …so I’m a grandfather, too! [laughing] Now,
I've really got to stay up on my pimpin'. I've really got to stay up on
my game. He's a musician as well – and he keeps me motivated. All of my
kids are into music. So they keep me focused. And when they have new
things that they want to say and new things they want to sing about, it
reminds me about everything that I love.
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