Chris Brown knows his strengths, and on his seventh studio album, Royalty, the singer plays to them with solid success. It’s a feat worth applauding, considering how disparate the multidimensional singer’s specialities seem to be.
There’s the electro-dance stuff: the contagiously upbeat Fine By Me the mid-tempo and cool Zero and the Tayla Parx-assisted Anyway, with its arena-filling waves of synth sounds.
It’s good, radio friendly pop music that seems as natural to Brown as traditional R&B fare, which he delivers with expertise on the old school-leaning Make Love, the sweet but slightly explicit Back to Sleep and the steamy, Keith Sweat-inspired Who’s Gonna (Nobody).
Brown pushes the R&B envelope, too, linking with Dutch DJ-producer Afrojack — who worked on Brown’s Look at Me Now — for the very sexy Discover, with its trap-inspired production and slinky lyrics. And Brown gives typical R&B grovelling a fresh spin on Proof, thanks, in large part, to help from Trap Soul singer Bryson Tiller, who co-wrote the track.
Last, but not least, there is “Brown, the singer-with-rapper-sensibilities,” who shows up on Little Bit, singing, “Baby, you been on that pole too long.” The singer’s edgier side appears again on the very likeable Wrist, featuring Solo Lucci.
All-in-all, Royalty is a worthwhile collection, proving that in a world where “stay in your lane” is common wisdom, it doesn’t exactly apply to people like Brown, who have a few lanes to choose from.
