Opinion: Rihanna and Chris Brown reunite, but at what cost?
By ANGIE ROMERO
Channel: Entertainment
Who wants some “Cake?” Obviously, #RihannaNavy and #TeamBreezy do. Personally, I can’t think of anything less palatable.
On Monday, Rihanna and Chris Brown unveiled their latest collaborations (musical collaborations, to be specific, though something tells me they’ve shared more than just studio time lately). His: the remix to his latest single, “Turn Up The Music.” Hers: “Birthday Cake,” a new take on the already awful song of the same name off her most recent Talk That Talk album.
It all started with a tweet (doesn’t everything these days?). Brown wished Rihanna a happy birthday on February 20: “HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBYN!” (Rihanna’s birth name is Robyn Rihanna Fenty). She replied with a simple “Thanks!”
Since then, there have been several exchanges on Twitter between the two volatile lovebirds that have only helped to promote the songs — particularly the Internz-produced “Cake,” in which the words “fuck,” “blow,” “bitch” and “lick” get thrown around like confetti.
Reactions to the songs, released in time for Rihanna’s 24th birthday, have been mixed. Not surprising, as these two often inspire love and loathing — rarely anything in between.
Perez Hilton praised the song, tweeting: “GENIUS!!!!! @Rihanna and @ChrisBrown just mind-fucked the world!!!!!” — which Rihanna happily re-tweeted. It’s a surprising reaction from the Cuban American blogger, who just days ago posted the full police report from Brown’s assault on Rihanna in 2009 on the eve of the Grammys and called it “deplorable” and “truly horrendous.”
As for Brown, who is a fan of using ALL CAPS to express varying degrees of emotion, he’s responded directly to many of his foes.
“You are not GODS to judge us. U have no say! Positivity & LOVE! My fans make a difference!” he tweeted on Tuesday night.
Jon Caramanica wrote in a piece that ran in The New York Times on Tuesday: “So maybe these collaborations were an inevitable outcome, though they suggest two kids playing around without adult supervision more than they suggest a calculated grab for public redemption or approval. It displays an advanced understanding of marketing and an understanding of moral obligations and ethics that’s not much more than rudimentary. It is a woman publicly accepting her abuser — nothing more, nothing less.”
As for me, I’d like to say that the prospect of hearing these songs on the radio constantly doesn’t make me uncomfortable, but I’d be lying. To be clear, of the two, “Birthday Cake” is the one I can’t stomach, and it’s not just Rihanna’s vocals. All controversy aside, “Turn Up The Music” is actually a fun little dance track, one that I’d blast in my car, happily.
A week ago, I had a discussion with my colleague Miguel Tamayo around the controversy surrounding Brown’s Grammy performance and wins. I argued that we needed to separate the human being from the artist, just as I’ve always done with my favorite rappers, many of whom have been known to beat their wives. I argued that we should be able to enjoy Brown’s music for what it is, without having to always think of that night in 2009 when he beat Rihanna to a pulp.
“They’re both adults,” I wrote in one of the many e-mails we exchanged on the topic, “and they’re going to do what they want.” In other words, if they want to be together, let them be together. If they want to sing together, by all means.
But, even though there had been rumors of a collaboration, nothing could have prepared me for “Birthday Cake.” It’s not that Rihanna, who, for the record, has earned her pop princess crown, hasn’t been sexually explicit before; it’s just that when I hear Brown sing, “girl, I wanna fuck you right now,” I can’t help but hear, “I’m gonna beat the shit out of you” — words he allegedly spoke to Rihanna that night in 2009, per the recently released police report.
Today, I’m finding it really hard to separate the human beings from the artists. The lyrics are just too raw, the message too explicit that it’s ok to not love yourself enough; that it’s ok to be on top of the world and then abuse that power.
I still believe artists rarely sign up to be role models, but when you have a “navy” and a “team” — many of them kids — whom you speak to regularly and directly, we’re not talking your traditional artist/fan relationship anymore. There’s some level of responsibility that comes with that, which you invite.
Maybe it’s an age/maturity thing: this notion that your “reign just won’t let up,” to quote one of Rihanna’s own songs (“Hard,” off Rated R). But it will. Surely. And when it does, only one question/answer will matter: What’s your legacy?
It’s actually someone’s job to worry about the not-so-little things like that while these two are busy being young, wild, and free, so it wouldn’t be fair to put all of that weight on “Chrianna,” as they’re commonly referred to. (Ugh. The nickname itself is cringe-worthy.) But treating them like kids who don’t know any better would also be a mistake. They may be many things, but naive isn’t one of them.
Something Kevin Costner said during his eulogy at Whitney Houston’s funeral this past Saturday stayed with me, and seems extremely relevant right about now.
“Now the only ones who sing your songs are young girls like you, who are dreaming of being you someday,” he said, before addressing Houston’s 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina, directly. “And to all those young girls who are dreaming that dream, but maybe thinking, they aren’t good enough: I think Whitney would tell you, ‘Guard your bodies, and guard the precious miracle of your own life. And then sing your hearts out…”
Somehow, I think the message has been lost on Rihanna, who, as I noted during a recent conversation with music journalist Mimi Valdes about the loss and legacy of Whitney, was at one point rumored to star in a Bodyguard remake.
I just pray there’s still hope for Bobbi Kristina, whom the tabloids can’t seem to stop writing about since Whitney’s death, especially in the context of her demons.
That’s the thing about demons: we all have them. Brown himself said it: We’re not “gods.” But we don’t need to be. We’re just ordinary people with a conscience and a little common sense. You’d be surprised how far those two things can get you.
YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!! from Mechanical Dummy on Vimeo.
