On his sixth LP, Chris Brown constructs a soundscape that spans quite a bit of stylistic terrain despite being too long (clocks in at 60 minutes) and redundant at times. It ranges from satisfyingly bouncy club bangers via summer smash “Loyal” and the Akon–assisted (yes, Akon) “Came To Do” to a seductive R. Kelly tribute “Songs On 12 Play” featuring the maestro’s raunchy descendant, Trey Songz. His duet with Kellz himself “Drown In It” is a dull, oversexed afterthought in comparison to the former. Brown invites us to his place of exile on the tense, semi–electronic opener “X”, and the moody “Autumn Leaves” has a passionate verse from Kendrick Lamar. The rapper captures Breezy’s troubles in one lyric: “and they won’t let me live even when remorse that I give”.
