Early life

Chris Brown was born and raised in the small town of Tappahannock,Virginia by Clinton Brown and Joyce Hawkins, as one of two children. Brown was influenced by the artists which his parents played on the home radio, such as Michael Jackson and Sam Cooke. A dancer since the age of 2, Brown was not aware of his vocal talents until the age of 11. Before becoming a vocalist, he was interested in becoming a rapper. By 13, Brown was discovered by a local production team who visted his father's petrol station searching for new talent. Since then, he began his recording career and moved to New York, staying there for two years.


Music career

Brown left school in late 2004 to begin working on his self-titled debut album, Chris Brown, which was released on November 29, 2005. His debut single “Run It!”, was #1 in the United States, Japan, and Australia. Following “Run It!”, “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” became Brown’s second top 10 hit in the US, peaking at #7, and #13 in the UK. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA. His third single “Gimme That” was released in March 2006 which featured Lil’ Wayne for a remix, originally not featured on the Chris Brown album, but was later included. The single debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at #80 and climbed the charts quickly. Chris also co-directed his music videos for “Yo (Excuse Me Miss)” and “Gimme That”. His fourth single is the ballad “Say Goodbye”, which is also a part of the Step Up Soundtrack. On June 13, 2006, Brown released a DVD entitled, Chris Brown’s Journey, which shows footage of him traveling in London and Japan, getting ready for his first visit to the Grammys, behind the scenes of his music videos and bloopers.

On August 17, 2006, Brown and Ne-Yo co-headlined the 28-city Up Close and Personal Tour.

Exclusive

Shortly after ending his summer tour with Ne-Yo, Brown quickly began production for his second studio album, Exclusive, which is set to release on August 28, 2007.

According to MTV News, Brown stated: "I am still going to keep it so my younger fans can continue to listen to my music, but I got a couple of joints on there that's for some of the older people." On May 2, 2007, Brown leaked the first single himself, Wall To Wall, against his record label's wishes. The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #96, and has since risen to #22.He is going on tour in October and November with Bow Wow, T-Pain, and Rihanna. He says it is not going to be like the scream tour. It is his own tour.


Film Career

Brown has made appearances on UPN's One on One and The-N's The Brandon T. Jackson Show on its pilot episode. In addition, Brown landed a small role as a band geek in the fourth season of FOX's The O.C. in January 2007. Originally scheduled to appear in eight episodes, it was cut to only three, so that Brown could work on his second studio album. Brown then made his film debut in the dance movie Stomp The Yard, alongside Ne-Yo, Meagan Good and Columbus Short in January 2007. According to Total Request Live, Brown began filming for his second film entitled This Christmas, a holiday family drama starring Regina KingSet for release November 21, 2007. He is set to star in his first leading role in a basketball film flick called Phenom where he will play a high-school baller who takes on his father's basketball team in the NBA playoffs.

On 9 July 2007, Brown was featured in an episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16 celebrating his 18th birthday in New York. Brown hosted two events in a single night: one for fans at a teen night club with Li'l Mama as a featured performer and another for friends, family, and celebs at New Yorks acclaimed 40/40 Nightclub which featured a step team and drum corp as his grand entrance.