In between beating folks up on the street, doing short stints in rehab and attending mandatory court dates, Chris Brown was able to find the time to record and release a six-song mixtape. Titled X Files, it is a prelude to his in-the-works studio album, X. Some of the instrumentals and beats are fresh, but Brown’s predictably Auto-Tuned singing is tolerable at best.
Chris Brown continues to bolster his bad boy, zero-fucks-given attitude through his lyrical content, which seriously lacks diversity. It’s the same stuff he’s been singing about since day one: personifying himself as the ultimate womanizer — irresistible and charming as ever. But rather than smooth talking, Brown comes off as aggressive and possessive, with a questionable no-means-yes attitude. Look no further than “Main Chick,” with a hook that concludes with “Girl I know you wanna be my main chick, my main chick / I said fuck whoever you came with, who you came with / I told her ‘Fuck that nigga.’” Breezy don’t care! He’s gonna insult your man and then steal you away from him! Dang! But really, it’s hard to believe that many chicks would actually fall for this tactic, Chris.
Two of the best songs feature A-list rappers; Busta Rhymes spits fire on “Sweet Caroline” while Ludacris shows up on “Fantasy 2,” a homage to Ludacris’ old-school hit (“I wanna li-li-li-lick you from your head to your toes”— anyone?). Slow, spacey synths resonate over a snare drum and hi-hat beat in “Fantasy 2,” while Brown croons about breaking all sorts of sexual records. He boldly proclaims, “Girl, it’s a dream, but you’re not asleep / Tonight we’re making history.” It’s overly descriptive, sexed up and, for the most part, rather stale.
Admittedly, “Sweet Caroline” has some of the best beats and production on the mixtape. It’s echoey bass and odd electronic blips mirror some elements of today’s popular trap music, but the majority of the song features Brown’s falsetto melodies and distinctive range, which are at times too much. This track would have been much better off had Brown rapped over it, no matter his level of rapping talent. Thankfully Busta Rhymes swoops in and saves the day with his signature mind-melting flow, busting rhymes faster than you can say, “Oooh, kill ‘em!” Busta never seems to disappoint, simply because of damn impressive his flow is.
I truthfully think you could cut the lyrics out of any song on this mixtape, add them to a different track and they would fit right in. Is that disappointing? Of course. Is it unexpected? Not really. Brown loves love way too much to not make it the basis of every song he makes, and it really demonstrates his lack of creativity. He seems to lack any desire to stray beyond wooing girls. Or maybe he just doesn’t care enough to bother.
2 out of 5 stars
