PARIS, FRANCE - JANUARY 22: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY - For Non-Editorial use please seek approval from Fashion House) Chris Brown attends the Amiri Menswear Fall/Winter 2026-2027 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 22, 2026 in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
Pitchfork and its senior writer, Alphonse Pierre, had Team Breezy heated on Tuesday (May 12) following a review of the ‘BROWN’ album. Pierre gave the project a 1.3 score, calling it “a real piece of sh*t.” While he hasn’t addressed the viral backlash to the review, Chris Brown finally broke his silence! Tank, whose Team Breezy all the way, also threw a lil’ shade at Pitchfork.
The question really should be…what DIDN’T he say?! Alphonse Pierre held nothing back, choosing to analyze Chris’ entire history in the music industry rather than just the album ‘BROWN.’ From the beating of Rihanna in 2009 to Chris Brown’s attempts at public redemption since, it’s all in there. More than 2,000 words trashing ‘BROWN’ less than one week after its release on May 8. The summary line alone, which opens the Pitchfork article, goes HAM. It reads, “Chris Browns soulless, hit-chasing new album doesnt justify his return to the public eye.”
In the copy, Pierre said Brown has positioned himself as the “victim of the media conspiring against him.” Simultaneously, Pierre claims the singer useshis fans’ “nostalgia for his youthful innocence” and his “cool…backflips” to convince them of “his version of history.”The senior writer emphasized that Chris has used the “battering of Rihanna” to “give his music an emotional complexity it didnt have before the incident.” That’s been the case in all his music since 2009, including ‘BROWN,’ Pierre argues. Being a Chris Brown fan turned into rooting “for a talented Black man to triumph, regardless of the truth.”
“It was to view his physical abuse of women as a rite of passage on the journey to becoming a man,” Alphonse Pierre wrote. Adding, “All of the overstuffed albums and Billboard hits hes racked up since then are tainted with that context. None more than BROWN, which isnt romantic or funny or sexy or sultry or dancey or soulful or vulnerable or honest or creative or inspired whatsoever. Its soulless, hit-chasing music with nothing going for it if you arent personally invested in the Chris Brown culture wars.”
All that said while also being the first time Pitchfork has reviewed the singer’s music in at least 6-7 years? Skipped over at least three projects to land on the idea that “Not every musical legend deserves to be a martyr.” Those are facts that Team Breezy is holding on to and calling out! Meanwhile, Pitchfork has been radio silent on the backlash, while continuing to promote the article on X with captions like, “This album is a real piece of shit,” and “Soulless, hit-chasing music with nothing going for it.”
Alphonse Pierre also hasn’t stepped up to defend the words he wrote. On X, he pushed it out once with the caption, “Went a little long on 20 years of Chris Brown and his new album, ‘Brown.'”
Before Tuesday was over, Chris Brown broke his silence on what Pierre had to say. And if anyone was expecting a sad message from Breezy? Don’t. “F*ck that,” is what the singer said.
“We kicking a*s goddammit. We ain’t letting up, imma keep my foot on their neck and we ain’t stopping,” Chris Brown said, mentioning his and Usher’s upcoming R&B tour and other secret projects. “I don’t give a f*ck what these n*ggas talking about. I know exactly who my fans is and I know exactly who hearing this album. If you not my fan, I don’t want you to listen to my sh*t.”
He ended his clap back by suggesting that his non-fans listen to someone like Zara Larsson, a Swedish R&B singer and songwriter.
Like Chris Brown, Tank had similar energy for Pitchfork and its ‘BROWN’ review. On X, he responded to a tweet asking whether he had cussed the publication out yet for the 1.3 rating. Tank replied, “Pitch who?..” adding laughing emojis.
Fans were expecting him to go off, given that just last week he heavily defended Chris after a social media user claimed Breezy needed to be challenged, saying “CB is a musical genius if youve really followed the music. This style isnt new to him its only new to you..lol.”
SWIPE BELOW TO SEE REACTIONS TO THE ALBUM REVIEW.
