The last time Bobby Brown released an album, Bill Clinton was less than a year into his second term as president, The Spice Girls and Hanson were the hottest thing on the pop music scene, and Justin Bieber was barely three years old.
Certainly, much has changed in the past fifteen years. Bobby has spent much of that time as a laughing stock, either appearing on embarrassing reality TV or getting arrested and/or jailed–often.
Masterpiece, his fifth (!) studio album as a solo artist, is finally scheduled for a June 5th release date, and Bobby has been hitting the pavement hard in support of the album’s first single, “Don’t Let Me Die.” Of course, many of the press outlets that Bob has spoken to have wanted to focus less on the music and more on his ex-wife Whitney Houston, who passed away in February. Bobby has (somewhat unfairly) been targeted as the person whose influence led to Whitney’s issues with addiction, and ultimately, her death. To his credit, Bobby has not shied away from discussing the situation, and…
…see? Now I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole myself. Back to the music-the song itself (despite a somewhat insensitive title–even if it’s not about Whitney) is pretty good. It remains to be seen whether Bobby can create a musically successful comeback (a la his New Edition counterpart Johnny Gill,) but “Don’t Let Me Die” hints that he might still have some of that magic that made Don’t Be Cruel a sensation nearly a quarter century ago.
…and, because I find this incredibly fascinating, check out Bobby’s interview with Matt Lauer of “The Today Show,” in which he discusses, in detail, his issues with addiction, Whitney’s death, and his relationships with his daughter and the rest of Whitney’s family.
And hey, here’s the “Don’t Let Me Die” video!