Brown vs. Rihanna
Two wildly successful, young pop artists recently collaborated to make remixes of two of their songs. Normally, this wouldn’t be an issue in the music industry because musical collaborations and remixes aren’t anything new. But when one of the artists happens to be Chris Brown and the other his ex-girlfriend and victim of his physical abuse, Rihanna, the would-be casual collaboration quickly becomes one of intense scrutiny and shock.
After rumors of the collaborations began to surface, both singers dropped in on each other’s tracks, with Rihanna in Brown’s “Turn Up the Music” remix and Brown in her “Birthday Cake” remix. Naturally, public sentiment has hovered around the lines of raw shock: Rihanna, what were you thinking?
Nearly three years ago, reports detailed Brown’s shocking abuse of then-girlfriend Rihanna as photos leaked of the singer’s bruised and swollen face the night before the Grammys. Brown lost a host of fans and suffered, justifiably, from public backlash and criticism. His ruthless abuse of Rihanna proved to be enough to overshadow, at least temporarily, his booming musical career.
That was 2009. Now, the public eye—or should I say mouth—has attacked Rihanna for her decision to collaborate with Brown. Social media are ablaze with opinions, ranging from defense of Rihanna’s actions to overly harsh criticism of the collaboration, along with a dose of too-soon humor about the new songs being “a hit.” One popular tweet that has surfaced twists the lyrics to a popular Rihanna song, changing it to: “We found love in a swollen face.”
Despite some fans’ loyal stance behind Rihanna, the majority of individuals are lashing out at her, saying she’s still a victim of abuse who has unfortunately ended up back with her abuser for the umpteenth time. A quick search on what’s trending on Twitter shows that many individuals think Rihanna is just plain stupid for collaborating with Brown in the wake of the violence. Added to the controversy over their collaboration is, of course, the inevitable speculation and rumors surrounding their relationship status.
Sure, it’s easy to get caught up in the controversy and take a side, as many are doing, for “Team Breezy” or “Rhi-Rhi.” But, excuse me, take a side? For what? There are no “sides” to take. Ironically, Brown and Rihanna collaborated, meaning they worked together to produce this music. They don’t even have to be in the same studio to collaborate on a song in this day and age. Any sides that existed should be gone by now.
Let’s not forget a collaboration is only a collaboration. Not holy matrimony. Just because the two chimed in on each other’s remixes does not mean they are dating, in a relationship, getting married or having children together. The public does not need to psychoanalyze their songs, automatically assuming the two are back together. It might end up that way, but who knows? That’s not the point.
Furthermore, if the public must meddle in the lives of these two young artists, why not take the heat off of Rihanna? Is this how America works—do we blame the victim of the abuse, rather than the perpetrator? Rihanna is not at fault now, and neither has she ever been. I understand many of her fans do not want to watch her “fall” again with Chris Brown, but remember, she’s a big girl now. There comes a point in our lives when Mommy lets us go and stops telling us what to do. We need to let Rihanna go.
I’m not saying we should boycott Chris Brown or attack him; we should do neither. In fact, as far as I’m concerned, his personal life is entirely separate from his musical life. When I turn on the radio to one of his songs, I’m not thinking about his ex-girlfriend and physical abuse victim Rihanna. And when Rihanna’s voice fills the room, I’m not thinking about Chris Brown. I’m thinking about the music, the words, the tune, the beat in the background.
If Chris Brown and Rihanna can produce better music together, albeit controversial, then more power to them. Sometimes, two is better than one—that’s just part of the business. In the music industry, artists do what it takes to get their songs heard. If that was Brown and Rihanna’s strategy, then it worked. America’s listening, so we might as well “Turn Up the Music.”
