Chris Brown Covers Urban Ink: Talks Art, Fatherhood, Music, Being An Inspiration To Fans, His Black Pyramid Clothing Line (Pics)

Pics After The Jump

Multi-platinum selling recording artist Chris Brown lands on the latest cover of Urban Ink.

During his chat with the publication the singer covers a lot of bases by talking about his ink, his daughter Royalty, what influences the types of songs he releases, being an inspiration to fans rather than a role model and more.

Check out an excerpt from the interview below, then head over to Urban Ink to read it in full.

Urban Ink: Art is a really important part of your life. Can you tell us about some of your early influences?
Chris Brown: As a kid, your imagination is very fertile. So, growing up in the early ‘90s, I was influenced by everything from “The [Big Bad] Beetleborgs,” “Biker Mice from Mars,” “Street Sharks,” Animorphs books and Harry Potter books. All that had an effect on my creativity, my music, my art, even down to what I wear. For me, it’s more about just having fun and living with an adolescent vibe.

You talk about how creativity influences not only your tattoos and your art, but also your fashion. You got the Black Pyramid [clothing] line going. What inspired that concept?
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.

Today we were obviously listening to a lot of your music. You’ve got some straight R&B and some rhymin’. That’s something that’s evolved throughout your career. Can you tell us how you approach those tracks differently, from a traditional R&B song to a Hip-Hop track?
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.

You have the reputation of a rebel. What would you say to your fans about that?
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.

Now that you’re a dad, we know a lot of fathers who say you’re just never the same after you see your baby. What has Royalty taught you?
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.