Chris Brown gets “fearless” on the latest cover of Urban Ink.
For the magazine’s “Relaunch Issue,” CB gets his shine on. Rocking huge rings, the Royalty singer covers half of his face as tag lines surround him, including “Fearless,” “Jesus,” and “The Man Behind the Media.”
Breezy sports different looks in the magazine’s smoky photo shoot, including a ripped up Bob Marley shirt, a vintage Bartman tee, and some shirtless snaps. He switches up the footwear too, stepping out in Timberland boots and Vans for the Miguel Starcevich-shot images.
Check out highlights from the cover story, where Brown discusses his daughter Royalty, his approach to music, and his rebellious spirit.
ON HIS APPROACH TO MUSIC: “Well, it’s easy: fearlessness. It’s not arrogance; it’s fearlessness. People dog themselves before they give themselves an opportunity to fail. So I think they let other people’s insecurities bring their doubts down. I don’t let that stop anything I’m doing. It’s never worked out for me in the past, so I think that listening to myself and focusing on what I needed to do puts me in that category. So if I wanted to rap or if I wanted to yodel, I think I would have just done it anyway with the confidence of me saying, ‘I’m gonna do it.’ People usually have a lack of confidence due to insecurities. Once again, it’s not arrogance. It’s just being very aware and fearless of doing things or willing to try.”
ON ROYALTY: “When I look at her, I see myself. I see a better version of myself. I just see her future. There’s no need to go backwards. At the end of the day, you learn that life is all about choices. Life is about responsibility and, actually, life is about love. Seeing my daughter embodies everything that I need to feel a sense of fulfillment and believe in myself. Being able to have her in my life, it’s just been amazing.”
ON BEING AN INSPIRATION AND NOT A ROLE MODEL: “I would just say that I would rather be an inspiration and not a role model. Make your own decisions. You don’t have to rebel just to rebel. You don’t have to accept just to accept. If you want to get a tattoo, if you think that’s your thing, then that’s cool. I personally think that now, not having a tattoo is kind of like a statement in itself. Our generation is gonna be old, tatted, and we’re gonna look so dope. So, it’s a choice. When my fans can say, “I want to get tatted or I don’t want to get tatted.” I don’t look at them any differently.”
ON HIS CONTROVERSIAL HEAD TATTOO: “It’s just whatever. People want shock value. If I went outside butt-naked tomorrow, it would be headline news. But for me, the bull symbolizes the Taurus I am and the Aphrodite, the Goddess of all women. My stubbornness always makes me attracted to those types of females. So that’s me [the bull] chasing Aphrodite.”
ON HIS BLACK PYRAMID CLOTHING LINE: “I was always one of those kids that equated fashion with the first day of school or Christmas or the last day of school. Looking at the Eastbay [catalog], I always wanted to be one of those kids that liked ’90s urban hip-hop culture. Admittedly, I’ve always been a fan of that. I think, with my clothing line, I tried to grasp that kind of concept, but also give my fans and my core audience a chance to see what type of clothes I like, the type of stuff that I’m into and clothing that’s actually affordable. My price range is like H&M and Zara prices, so I’m not trying to crush my consumers. I want them to be able to build the brand with me. Slowly roll out pieces and hopefully some small collabs will come out. I’m just getting my feet wet in the fashion industry. I want them to be able to see that I’m actually authentic and genuine about it. Not just trying to do it because it looks nice.”
