Chris Brown has faced harsh criticism over the last few days, following his violent outburst at “Good Morning America” on March 21. But now hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is coming to Brown’s defense, claiming he’s “suffering” from the perils of the entertainment industry.
“Chris is suffering from the same thing as almost every young star has gone through, including the Disney kids,” wrote Simmons in an essay posted on his website, globalgrind.com. “And, having lost control, some of these young artists, sometimes, do an unspeakable thing … And they pay the price. What’s not fair is artists paying the price of the sins in their young lives for the rest of their lives.”
In the essay, Simmons also reveals that he spoke with Brown on March 23 at the singer’s album release party and that Brown, like many other artists such as Kanye West, LL Cool J and Run, is struggling to find fulfillment and happiness amongst the glitz and glamour of fame.
“I know that this young man’s dancing, singing and art are his prayers. Without them, he’s left to deal with a cluttered world in a way that is far too complicated than he imagined when he was a 13-year-old kid with a dream of being famous,” wrote Simmons. “It is during those seconds of stillness when you’re dancing that the Christ/Buddha/Allah/Moses inside of you is awakened and comes to power. This is the freedom Chris knew as a child, but as he rose to fame, finding freedom became a lot more complicated.”
As Simmons also explains, he believes that the continued shaming that Brown has received is ultimately unfair and is robbing him of his artistic and spiritual expression.
“If we insisted on that there would be no art. There would be only shame; there would be no learning, no redemption, there would be no road for millions of fans to travel the journey of the artist to enlightenment,” wrote Simmons. “It would negate the very purpose of art itself which is to reconcile, through a redeeming journey, the intractable contradictions in life and society.”
Simmons closes out the essay by asking Brown’s critics to stop judging him, and instead, forgive him.
“I’m just saying, give this man a break. I spoke to him last night for a long time and I know how good of a young man he is.”
Do you agree with Simmons’ essay? Is Brown a victim of the treacherous entertainment industry? –nicholas robinson
