Chris Brown has apologized after throwing a hissy fit on Instagram after he lost the Grammy for best R&B album to Robert Glasper, the decorated pianist and producer whose work transcends jazz, R&B and hip-hop.
Posting a screenshot of his own direct message to Glasper, Brown wrote, “Congratulations my brother… I would like to apologize if you took offense to my reaction at the Grammys. You were not the intended target and I know I came off really rude and mean.”
Brown continued, “After doing my research I actually think you’re amazing… the organization isn’t doing us Blacks our due diligence. You and I should never be in the same category… two totally different vibes and genres. So from one Black man to another, congratulations. Hope you are able to feed your family for life. God bless my G.”
After Glasper won his fifth Grammy award, beating out Brown in the R&B album category, Brown posted an Instagram story of Glasper that read, “Y’all playing. Who da fuck is this?” He then wrote, “Ima keep kicking y’all ass! Respectfully.”
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Brown also posted an image that read, “Who the f*ck is Robert Glasper,” using a graphic and phrase that Glasper himself has used in self-deprecating fashion. Last week, Glasper wrote on his own Instagram, “It’s been brought to my attention that y’all have questions about Who TF is Robert Glasper! If y’all have questions, I have answers. Check out my stories to play along!”
Brown — who has been nominated for 21 Grammys, winning one — then went on to write, “I gotta get my skills up… ima start playing the harmonica.” He then reposted a TikTok showcasing his achievements, including chart performance and ticket sales. The end of the video shows a Google search of Glasper with a voice over that says, “Who the fuck is this?”
A representative for Glasper did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment.
Glasper is set to embark on a handful of festival dates in Mexico and Australia. In April, he will play Coachella with his supergroup Dinner Party, which features modern jazz titans Kamasi Washington and Terrace Martin.
In an October interview with Variety, Glasper spoke of his ability to jump across genres, saying, “No one in the history of music has ever been a high-level musician in any other genre — like a high-level R&B or hip-hop or classical musician — and been able to go into the jazz world and make some noise and get respect. That doesn’t happen. To play jazz, you have to master your instrument just to play the music, even in a mediocre sense.”
