October 27, 2009

Chris Brown Announces December 15 Graffiti Release Date

By Gil Kaufman (MTV.com)

With the shape-shifting video for "I Can Transform Ya" slated to debut soon, and a tour planned for November, the only piece of the Chris Brown puzzle left to solve was when the singer's Graffiti album would be released.

Brown finally provided the answer Monday (October 26), tweeting, "Official album date: December 15." The disc will be the singer's first effort since his highly publicized assault of former girlfriend Rihanna in February. While the exes are both releasing albums in the fourth quarter, Brown's street date steers clear of Rihanna's by three weeks, dropping nearly a month after her Rated R disc (November 23).

Brown, 20, is setting out on a 19-city "fan appreciation" promo tour beginning November 11, with the final show, at the Nokia Theatre in New York, coinciding with the album's release date. He is scheduled to give his first major performance since the Rihanna incident on Tuesday, when he takes the stage alongside Fabolous, The-Dream, Trey Songz, Keri Hilson, Ginuwine and Day26 at Power 105.1's Powerhouse concert at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

While Brown has been reluctant to discuss what happened on the night of the assault, he will likely face such inquiries as he begins a press tour in support of the tour and album. In only his second interview since his guilty plea in June, Brown spoke in general terms about the assault to Angie Martinez at New York's Hot 97 last Wednesday, telling her, "I'm learning from my mistakes every day, and I regret it every second."

And, on Monday, just hours before announcing the album's release date (a spokesperson for Brown's label confirmed the release date), Brown gave another glimpse at his enduring affection for his ex when he re-tweeted a fan-made mash-up video of the couple's happier moments. Brown has been ordered by a judge to stay 100 feet away from Rihanna for the next five years.