There has been much talk online, on whether Chris Brown is a better performer than Beyoncé. First of all, he’s not and there are many reasons why which aren’t related to his abusive history- thought, cannot be disregarded by anyone with a moral compass.
First of all, Beyoncé doesn’t lip sink. And it seems that everyone over looked Chris Brown’s act of violence against Rihanna when he danced straight back into people’s hearts, with a terribly lip-synced song. This behavior didn’t stop there. It carried on with other women he later had relationships with. But everytime, he seemed to be allowed forgiveness. But now, it seems that people want to separate Chris Brown from the hits he has produced.
This is a bizarre way to look at art. By excluding the artist, you are removing the context of the music they produce. Even though it’s pop music, many of Brown’s music are based on party
bops, dancing and sex. And this is how he has tended to live his life after stardom. He has been the center of attention of his own real life music video. And so the women in his life seem to have to constantly take the role of the video chicks that look pretty and listen. Life is blurred with the art.
Would you separate the art of Van Gogh form his person, real life and the context that it gave his art. Michael Angelo went blind from painting the Cestine chapel. Without knowing the brilliance of a man lost, how much more would we appreciate it. The artist is their art, as the art is the artist. They mirror each other and what they give to the world. You will know that you are listening to `A Chris Brown song,' but you can’t choose what part of him he has given to the songs he produces merely because you choose to release yourself from having a guilty conscience. They as a functional whole, with all their mistakes and moral misgivings are what it took to make the music you enjoy.
When listening to music by Elvis Presley, you dare not forget that some of it was inspired by, or rather, taken from black women and then later presented to a white audience. You allow a harsh judgment for such racist behavior, but it seems that abusers of black women, are not afforded the same treatment.
Chris Brown can perform all he wants and release a CD that even allows for the smoke break, but what series of events has lead up to him being able to produce this work. What punishment from society has he been allowed to bypass?
The artist is their art, and the art is the artist. Separating the two would disregard the artist from his right of owning their art, and unfortunately, you cannot suddenly forget the baggage that comes with that artist.