Rolling Stone (p.194) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "Brown cruises through teen-romance ballads and jumping dance tracks....Brown's got a stronger grip on his Stevie Wonder croon..."
Rolling Stone (p.114) - Included in Rolling Stone's "50 Top Albums of the Year 2007".
Entertainment Weekly (p.105) - "Brown is most charming when he's playing up his youth: singing of MySpace romance, meeting his girl's 'pops,' and such."
Vibe (p.91) - "[O]n 'Take U Down,' The Underdogs' steamy Isley Brothers homage, Brown excels as streetwise lothario..."
Chris Brown's 2005 eponymous debut was a runaway hit, thanks to the single "Run It," which shot to the top of the Billboard singles chart straight out of the gate. Brown's sophomore effort, EXCLUSIVE, mines a similar vein of hip-hop-tinged R&B with a strong pop sensibility, as the infectious lead-off single, "Wall to Wall," proves.
Assembling a first-rank crew of producers, including Scott Storch, Sean Garrett, Brian the Underdogs, and will.i.am., Brown keeps a cutting edge, commercial appeal in mind by delivering a disc that sounds tailor-made for young contemporary audiences. Brown's balance between club-ready dance tunes and smooth love balladry is finely honed here, and while the longevity of the singer's career is still uncertain (Brown was shy of 20 years old when the record was released), EXCLUSIVE proves his debut was no fluke.