Chris Brown Covers XXL & Talks Rihanna, the Media, & Personal Growth

By: Amanda Anderson-Niles

It’s been a pretty crazy week for singer Chris Brown. Just after all signs pointed to his rumored rekindled relationship with Rihanna being made official, he had a nasty showdown of profanity laced  tweets with Comedic Writer Jenny Johnson. Prior to his nasty back and forth with the writer on Twitter, Chris was continuously making headlines for his complicated love life that consisted of some sort of twisted triangle between him, Rihanna, and Karrueche Tran. Of course Rihanna and Karrueche ended up at odds with each other through all the confusion and media speculation, but despite all of that, Chris has continued to have his own struggles professionally as he still battles the controversy that follows him from his assault of Rihanna in 2009.

For almost a full year, Chris and his camp decided against doing any interviews. Chris instead relied on his Twitter account to make statements and interact with his fans, but less than stellar album sales, which were also a result of stores refusing to sell his music didn’t make things any easier for Chris. Chris held on, and with the help of his fan base, he’s still making music and doing sold out shows worldwide. And it also appears that Rihanna is back in his life romantically, although that hasn’t necessarily been met with a positive reactions. But Chris seems to think that he is totally misunderstood when it comes to who he is as a person and his very confusing love life.

Prior to his epic meltdown on Twitter the other day, the singer did an interview with XXL. Brown, as well as rapper Big Sean, cover the December/January issue of the publication. In the interview, Chris gives a closer glimpse of things in his perspective regarding his love life, career, dealing with the media, and personal growth.

Here are some notable quotes from the interview.

“In the beginning, I used to be hot. I’m normal. I’m human, so if anybody says something that’s a lie, I’m numb to it. I’ve smartened up.”

“A lot of people wanna know about the whole situation with me, Drake and Meek Mill. At the end of the day, I’m me, they’re them. They rap, I sing. Totally different caliber. I rap, I play around on mixtapes. But our words don’t collide as much as you’d think.”

“I haven’t been as mature and thought out in the past, so, me growing now, it’s showing my progression. I used to use my Twitter account to vent, but now I mostly use it for marketing and promotions. Even if the media asks me something, if it’s cool then it’s, ‘What’s up?’ But if it’s anything that’s too negative, I don’t care to respond.”

“One thing people often want me to talk about is my public love life. When it comes to my love life, the perception seems as though I am a player. But that’s not true. Love is something I am still learning. It’s just an obstacle that I haven’t yet mastered. I think that’s my biggest hurdle in life.”

“I use music or painting as my outlet to get through the confusion. I try to promote positivity and love.”

Here’s the double cover featuring Big Sean:

And here are some notable quotes from Big Sean’s interview:

“It’s deeper than just comin’ up or making money. We got the potential and opportunities to change the world—and still have fun with it. It’s a responsibility that I feel like I’m willing to take.”

“I took all my experiences from Detroit and incorporated them into who I am today. From partying to inspiration to sharing times about being broke to love to the dope boys, paper chasers. I would see all the players rocking furs and gators. I’ve seen people get killed. I’ve seen people spend crazy money. I’ve seen poor people. I give every aspect of the city in my music. They need somebody to tell that story.”

To read the full interviews of Chris Brown and Big Sean, be sure to pick up the December/January issue of XXL which hits stands nationwide on December 4.