“I ain’t never really did this but right now I need all of my fans help. A lot of radio stations aren’t playing my records. They are not being that supportive and I wouldn’t expect them to. It’s on the fans and what you guys do in your power to bring me back. That’s all I need is you guys and nothing else will do that except for the fans.”-Chris Brown via SayNow.com

Not that I follow the careers of too many young men, but I never knew how popular Chris Brown was until a road trip to Louisiana last year. My nieces put on one of his albums, sang all the words & danced all the way through Arizona. Between that, & Omarion being on repeat, I felt like the toughest man in the world. If those girls were old enough, I don’t doubt that they would’ve thrown their panties at the CD player. Perhaps I’m just out of touch with the young folks these days. Or, I just have good taste in music. Go figure. This was months after he opened a bottle of ass kick, & sprayed it all over Rihanna’s face, so it just goes to show how women start tolerating domestic violence at such an early age. No shots.

Some months back, Chris went on Twitter, & accused the record industry of “blackballing” him, claiming some stores weren’t even attempting to sell his latest CD, ‘Graffiti’. Maybe he thought because the judge patted him on the back for not Gucci Mane-ing his community service, that the rest of society would give him a pass as well. No dice. America builds up their stars with the intention of one day tearing them down. All they need is a reason. Ask Lindsay Lohen. Brown is no exception, regardless how “special” his family told him he was as a kid.

Now, roughly a year after the rumble in the lambo, Chris is begging fans to give him his career back. He might want to give John Austin a call & see what he did right.

Plenty of musicians struggle. That’s par for the course, per se. Nobody said it would be easy. & if they did, sue them for false representation or something. I’ll give rappers credit for the “never say die” attitude that usually, in essence, is what their careers thrive on. While Chris is busy whining into a camera about how he needs support, & can’t be an “underground artist,” dudes are gearing up to hit YouTube, Twitter, Myspace, etc., taking the proverbial bull by the horns. I’ve never become a fan of anyone, entertainer or otherwise, without them earning my respect first, or continued to be a fan without them providing product for my admiration. My time is valuable. To give it away all willy-nilly is counterproductive. It has to be earned, continually. That’s all I, or any fan, truly asks. & to think, he already had fans, some of which even switched chewing gums just because he said so. It’s one thing to feel obligated to be a big name act, but it’s something entirely different when you say you can’t be successful without being successful, so to speak. Apparently, those glasses he wears aren’t prescription, otherwise he’d see that struggle builds character, & absence makes the heart grow fonder. Mix that with some Michael Jackson-esque dance moves & odd love songs, & he’ll be back on top in no time. Kids these days have no patience.

What he should’ve done is lay low, & continue to make music. Instead, he told the industry to “kiss” his ass on Twitter, a/k/a the snitch machine, like the upper management wouldn’t get wind of such arrogance. At this point, the underground may be the only way to go. He didn’t lose fans, he lost momentum, but hanging around with Bow Wow may have clouded his judgment a tad bit. I feel sorry for him these days, & don’t feel weird about it in the slightest. It’s too bad I’m not a fan of his music, but I will, however, let my nieces know that he needs their help. Thats the least I can do.