by Patrick H. Moore
Although Chris Brown is only 24, he is already a hip-hop legend. The song-and-dance man got some good news and some bad news on Friday. The good news is his pending hit-and-run charge has been dismissed and his ongoing probation — stemming from his domestic violence case with hip-hop mega-star Rhianna — has been reinstated. The bad news is that Chris is going to be singing and dancing along the roadside with the rest of the convicted highway cleanup guys and gals. As part of reinstating his probation, the judge sentenced him to complete 1,000 hours of community service.
Specifically, the judge ordered him to perform labor such as highway work and graffiti removal. Brown didn’t speak during Friday’s hearing, other than to agree to the deal worked out in the judge’s chambers.
Although Brown has been in the limelight since he burst upon the music scene at the tender age of 16 with his self-titled debut album, followed up by his chart-topping single “Run It” two years later, he has also had more than his share of trouble. The bad times began just after midnight on February 8, 2009 when he got into an argument with the stunning Rihanna, which escalated into physical violence leaving Rihanna with visible facial injuries which required hospitalization. Brown turned himself in to LAPD’s Wilshire station the following afternoon and was booked under suspicion of making criminal threats. This led to several of his commercials being suspended. Multiple radio stations stopped playing him and he withdrew from the 2009 Grammy Awards, replaced by Justin Timberlake and Al Green. Brown released a statement saying:
“Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired.”
Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault and making criminal threats. On July 20, 2009, he released a two-minute video on his official YouTube page apologizing to fans and Rihanna for the assault, expressing the incident as his “deepest regret”. He stated that he has repeatedly apologized to Rihanna and “accepts full responsibility”. On August 25th, Brown was sentenced to five years of probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and six months of community service; the judge slapped him with a five-year restraining order which required him to remain 50 yards away from Rihanna, 10 yards at public events.
On September 2, 2009, Brown spoke about the domestic violence case in a pre-recorded Larry King Live interview, his first public interview about the matter. He was accompanied to the interview by his mother, Joyce Hawkins, and his attorney, the ubiquitous Mark Geragos. Brown discussed growing up in a household with his mother being repeatedly assaulted by his stepfather. Brown also stated concernning his assault his of Rihanna:
“I’m in shock, because, first of all, that’s not who I am as a person, and that’s not who I promise I want to be.” Brown said that it is “tough” for him to look at the famous photograph released of Rihanna’s battered face and that he still loved her.
In February 2011, Judge Patricia Schnegg — with Rihanna’s agreement — modified the restraining order to a “level one order,” allowing both singers to appear at awards shows together in the future.
On March 22, 2011, after his first performance of “Yeah 3x” and a contentious interview with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America at the Times Square Studios where he was asked about the Rihanna situation and restraining order, Brown allegedly became violent in his dressing room during a commercial break, throwing an object at a window overlooking Times Square. Brown then took off his shirt and after several angry confrontations with the segment producer, other show staff and building security, left the building shirtless. Following the incident, Brown left a message on Twitter saying, “I’m so over people bring this past s**t up!! Yet we praise Charlie Sheen and other celebs for there bullshit [sic].” The comment was deleted moments later.
While performing his community service in Virginia, Brown tested positive for cannabis. He appeared in court on November 1, 2012 to determine whether or not he had violated the terms of his court order less than 24 hours after attending the same party as Rihanna, dressed as an Islamic terrorist. He attempted to address the court and was told by his lawyer, Mark Geragos:
“I don’t dance; you don’t talk.”
In September 2012, Brown received criticism for a new neck tattoo that appeared to be the face of a battered woman, prompting allegations that the tattoo was a depiction of Rihanna. Brown’s publicist stated that the tattoo does not depict a battered woman and is instead a design derived from a Day of the Dead sugar skull.
In January 2013, press reports indicated that there were problems regarding Brown’s community service; he seems to have been credited for hours when he was actually out of the country. Six months later in July, his probation was revoked after he was involved in the alleged hit-and-run in Los Angeles. Everything is cleared up now, though, and his fans can breathe a sigh of relief. As long as he completes his community service in a timely manner and manages to not get into any further trouble, he will be free to continue performing and recording and, well, just being Chris Brown.