There’s a lot of live instruments, and a lot less Auto-Tune. The record pays homage to the Stevie Wonders, the Michael Jacksons, the Sam Cookes: I wanted to put that classic essence of R&B and soul with the new age of music now. “Instead, I wanted to take the Quincy Jones approach. “I tried to stay away from the Euro beats, and not go totally pop,” Brown notes. Working with hitmakers Timbaland – fresh off his triumph with Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience – and Danja ( Madonna, Usher, Britney Spears) along with up-and-coming talent like DJ RoccStar, he strived to create a more mature sound. It’s here where Brown largely assembled X, which is expected for release in late summer or early fall of this year. There’s Pharrell Williams moving through the studio’s lush, feng-shui’d gardens dotted with Buddha sculptures he’s quickly followed by Wiz Khalifa.

suburb of Burbank, Glenwood is an appropriately exclusive haven for someone of Brown’s ubiquitous pop-cultural stature, evoking a luxury hotel as much as a musician’s hangout. Located on a nondescript street in the L.A. Rihanna Accompanies Chris Brown to Court HearingĬurrently, Brown remains busy in Studio A at Glenwood Place Recording, whittling X‘s final track list down to 14 songs from a selection of 50 candidates. Then again, I always like mixing reality with art.” It’s really derived from personal experiences.

“This album has a lot of substance, from the subject matter and the situations to how it deals with love. “Making X, I found out who I am,” Brown says. That bumping atmosphere belied the singer’s newfound introspection: As well known on gossip blogs for his controversial behavior as he is for chart hits like “Don’t Wake Me Up” and “Forever,” Brown, 23, claims he’s facing down all his demons for the world to see on X – his sixth album, which he began recording in February.

It was a good way to gauge people’s reactions.” “We’d have people come in, turn the lights off and play all the music. “We made it like the club in the studio!” Chris Brown tells Rolling Stone of the party-hearty process behind recording his upcoming album, X.

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