Christopher Maurice Brown (born: May 5, 1989)[1] is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and rapper.
Early life[]
Brown was born in Tappahannock, Virginia on May 5, 1989. During the time of his birth, Brown's mother, Joyce Hawkins, was a day care center director, while his father, Clinton Brown, was a corrections officer at a county prison. Brown has an older half-sister named Lytrell Bundy, who worked at a local bank. Brown seemed to garner an interest in music during his childhood as he would frequently listen to the soul genre by albums owned by his parents, especially with their permission. Brown eventually expressed interest in the hip-hop genre.
Brown taught himself how to sing and dance, with Michael Jackson being his biggest influence. During his youth, he performed at local school concerts and church choirs. Later in his youth, Brown's parents divorced, and his mother's new boyfriend became the subject of turmoil. When Brown was six years of age, his mother's new boyfriend shot himself in the head, but survived. Though the gunshot blinded him, the new boyfriend escaped with only a traumatic brain injury, which amplified his aggressive traits, sometimes beating up Brown's mother Hawkins.
Controversy[]
Assault on Rihanna[]
On February 8, 2009, about 30 minutes after midnight, Brown and Rihanna got into an argument, which escalated into violence. Rihanna suffered facial injuries and was admitted to the hospital. Brown turned himself in to authorities later in the same day at around 6:30 P.M. PST. Brown was then arrested for assault and criminal threats. In response to his recent actions, commercials and TV shows featuring Brown were suspended. In addition, his music was suspended on multiple radio stations. He also had to withdraw from the 2009 Grammy Awards.
On June 22, 2009, after a three-month trial, Brown was found guilty of felony assault and criminal threats. On August 25, 2009, he received five years of probation. He was ordered to undergo six months of community service and one year of domestic violence counseling. A judge issued a restraining order, meaning that Brown could not be around Rihanna within a 50-yard radius, which applied for five years.[2]
Others[]
On June 14, 2012, Drake and his entourage were involved in a quarrel with Brown at a nightclub in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City. About eight people were injured during the chaos, including former San Antonio Spurs player Tony Parker, who underwent surgery to remove a piece of glass from his eye. Drake was not arrested, though Brown's attorney alleged that Drake was the instigator. Brown himself tweeted about the incident and publicly criticized Drake weeks later.
In January 2013, Brown was involved in an altercation with Frank Ocean over a parking space outside a recording studio in West Hollywood. Police officers in Los Angeles stated that Brown was under investigation, describing the incident as "battery" due to Brown allegedly punching Ocean. Ocean said that he would not press charges. According to Jamaican singer Sean Kingston, who was present during the altercation, Ocean and his cousin instigated the quarrel and were the ones at fault.
In July 2013, Brown's probation was rescinded after he was involved in an alleged hit and run in Los Angeles. He was released from court and scheduled to reappear a month later to learn whether he would serve time in prison. The charges would later be dropped, but Brown would have a thousand additional hours of community service added to his probation terms. In October 2013, Brown was arrested for felony assault in Washington, D.C., after refusing to take a picture with a man, and throwing a punch that broke the man's nose. The charge was reduced to a misdemeanor. Brown spent 36 hours in jail and was taken to court in restraints. He was released and ordered to report to his California probation officer within 48 hours.
On October 30, 2013, Brown voluntarily entered rehab. After Brown completed his 90 days, the judge ordered him to remain a resident at the Malibu treatment facility until a hearing on April 23, 2014. The deal was if Brown left rehab, he would go directly to jail. On March 14, 2014, Brown was asked to leave the rehab facility and sent to Northern Neck Regional Jail for violating internal rules. He was expected to be released on April 23, 2014, but a judge denied his release request from custody either on bail or his own recognizance. At his May 9, 2014, court date, Brown was ordered to serve 131 days in jail for his probation violation. He was sentenced to serve a year in custody; however, the judge gave him credit for 234 days he had already spent in rehab and jail, as well as credits for good behavior while behind bars. Brown was released from jail on June 2, 2014. At the time of these incidents, Brown formally tested positive for having post-traumatic stress disorder and bipolar II disorder, which may have been the contributions for his violent actions within the past years.
In June 2016, Chris Brown was sued for assault, false imprisonment, and battery by Mike G, the singer's former manager, hired in 2012 to help him repair his public image. Mike G claimed that on May 10 of that year, Brown allegedly assaulted him, locked him in a room, and punched him four times in the face and neck. Subsequently, Brown accused Mike G on his social media accounts of stealing money while working for him, being fired for it, an accusation that the manager later denied. In 2019, the lawsuit was settled out of court, with Brown and the manager informing courts that both parties have reconciled their differences and reached a confidential deal.
In 2017, Brown's ex-girlfriend Karrueche Tran was granted a 5-year restraining order against him by a judge in Santa Monica, California, after she shared text messages and voicemails in court where Brown threatened her and demanded she return diamond rings and other gifts given during their relationship.
Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2009[]
He was nominated for Favorite Song and Male Singer but was removed from the voting, largely due to his assault on Rihanna within the past February.[3]
Trivia[]
- The Suite Life of Zack & Cody from Season 3 episode 20: Doing Time in Suite 2330. After Chris Brown assaulted his then-girlfriend Rihanna in February 2009, this episode was banned taken out of reruns, and has not been seen on Disney Channel, Disney XD, Netflix, Hulu, or Disney Plus since then.[4]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2093097/
- ↑ https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/chris-brown-sentenced-to-five-years-probation-and-community-labor-267595/
- ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/mar/12/chris-brown-nickelodeon-kids-choice-awards
- ↑ https://www.thethings.com/chris-browns-suite-life-of-zack-and-cody-episode-pulled-from-disney/#:~:text=Chris%20Brown's%20appearance%20on%20%22The,be%20viewed%20on%20other%20platforms.