Chris Brown, Rihanna.....

Everyone has either exclusive reports, an opinion or fresh news about the Chris Brown/Rihanna assault incident from major web sites, bloggers and your favorite blogger's blogger. It is interesting to follow. Mostly because no one expected something like this from these two and it seemed completely random. I first saw it as someone's status on facebook Sunday night and quickly thought it was a contrived rumor. Anyway, I'll save my thoughts on it for the most part, but except to talk about how this will affect the energetic singer/dancer we've affectionately come to know and love as one of the princes of r&b.

Already the 19 year-old has been dropped (suspended) from Wrigley's Doublemint commercials (that song was super catchy) and a Clevland radio stations refuses to play any of his music. Now, what is known is that he was arrested and he did assault her, but still no one knows the full story. Rihanna has made some statements, but until I see an official statement or an exclusive interview from either one it's still up in the air. Oftentimes, the hype seems to swallow a story as we assume who is the victim and who is the aggressor only later to have the truth come out.

Will his career suffer? A bit, but honestly I think he's young enough that in a few years it won't even be relevant. Not to say that hitting your girlfriend is to be taken lightly, but if we had a list for the major celebrities/athletes/ etc. who had been involved in domestic violence incidents I'd be listing all day.

Some people still bumped R.Kelly songs, supported him, and cried they were trying to bring him down and he was accused of statutory rape. If R.Kelly put out a hot single right now, he'd have no problem climbing up the charts. Not to say his image isn't tarnished, but we easily forget sometimes. My opinion on R.Kelly was that he seemed to have a history of lusting after young girls, I never saw the tape myself, but definitely thought and still think he was guilty.

But as hard as the hardcore fan of anyone may have to admit we don't know these artists. So, we can't really be surprised at anything they do unless it goes against something they previously condemned or against their entire image. Should we just keep it to the music? As much as I wish we could, people's behaviors and statements do impact how we view them. When last July rapper Yung Berg referred to dark skinned women as "dark butts" and added his two cents about why he didn't date them he offended many. Now, think of all the teen girls out there, light and dark who probably though this guy was cute and liked his music who now no longer support him. That was like shooting your career in the foot to alienate a group of people who are your fans. That's like a popular NFLer who plays for a west coast team saying he hates the entire east coast when we know sports spans the entire nation and there are fans all over no matter what city you play for. That'd be a dumb and insensitive move.

It's a fine line sometimes whether to write an artist or a celebrity off for personal things or just listen to the music. In this case, it all depends how Chris Brown plays it. He obviously did what he was accused of, despite any rumors as if it was started by Rihanna or whatever is floating around out there. But as I always say it's all about ownership; you must own what you do including your successes and your mistakes. If he really wants to show the world he's not a bad guy and people should still give a damn about him he should after it's all said and done explain to his fans and the public what went down or at least issue an apology.