Chris Brown sat down with MTV and talked about everything from artists who influence him to artists that he inspires with his own music — and why he’s capable of both singing R&B and spitting serious rhymes.“Bobby Brown and a lot of the young cats back in the day — they kind of set the standard for ‘fly teenager who sings to all the girls,’ you know? They’re the legends in that so [I have] the utmost respect for all of them as far as the music,” Brown said. “I just try to get it where I fit it as far as the music,” he laughed. “I do my deed and move.”

Brown says of his new album, “i think it was important to go back to the basics of what people love me for, and that’s my R&B. “You know, the crooner kind of records,” he laughed, “me singing. On this album you get to see the different textures within Chris Brown. All in all you get that R&B guy again. I get a chance to be more mature and adult but at the same time still cater to my younger audience.”

Brown’s new album is part of why he doesn’t agree with other artists who claim that R&B is dead. “I think people are quick to jump on cliches and jump on fads. With me, I don’t intend to do it or put myself in that box,” he said. “I would never say one fad is dead because everything always reinvents itself, as far as music, as far as fashion — everything, you know? So maybe because it’s not getting the recognition or the time that it needs — give it time, it’ll come back around.” Wise!

Though he’s getting back to his “crooner” roots, Breezy has made a name for himself lately through his rapping. “With the hip-hop and the rapping, I wouldn’t say it’s a hobby, but it’s more about me expressing myself,” Brown said. “As far as my fans and my management, at first that wasn’t the ‘key,’” he laughed. He talks about how his manager was adamantly against him rapping early in his career, but that ‘Look at Me Now’ changed her mind. “My first No. 1 was ‘Look at Me Now’ and I didn’t sing on the record at all,” he noted. “It just was a rap song, and I was like, ‘Well cool!’ As long as they’re going for it, I’ll keep doing it.”

Tune in to the video below to hear why Brown isn’t afraid of the artists he inspires and the transition from ‘F.A.M.E.’ to ‘Fortune,’ as well as how he gets in the zone when he dances onstage. Breezy also talked about his bit part in the hit Steve Harvey star vehicle ‘Think Like a Man’ and how it came to fruition — including a possible crush on a co-star — and on his most challenging movie role to date.

Watch Chris Brown’s Full MTV Interview

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