Who the hell is?

Chris Brown

Street 16: Don't be fooled by the dun- coloured surname. It may not have the pizazz of a Jay-Z or the cool of a Kanye West, but Chris Brown is the name that every r'n'b fan from Compton to Camden is dropping these days. The teenager from Tappahannock, Virginia is an old-school r'n'b rhymer who's being hailed as the new Usher. He's also been likened to a young Michael Jackson, a comparison Chris doesn't mind at all. Brown's self-titled debut album has topped the US charts, knocking tough guys like 50 Cent for six, and his new single, Run It, has raced up the UK charts in double-quick time. He's now the hottest r'n'b star on the block - not bad for a nappy-headed 16-year-old who up till recently was just another schoolkid slacker who didn't like having to get out of bed. Now that Brown's a superstar, every day is a school day, except this time it's filled with concerts, photo and video shoots, autograph signings, TV appearances, and recording sessions.

Puppy love: Like any hot-blooded teen r'n'b star, Chris isn't too concerned with saving the world; he just wants to fill his world with lovely ladies and sweet honeys. And he's not too fussy, either: Gimme That sees him hitting on an older woman of - gasp! - 19. "It's telling the girl, 'you may be three years older, but you hot, gimme that'." Yo! is a song that explains the finer points of shouting at girls across the shopping mall - a vital skill for any young buck. And Young Love is a plea for adults to recognise that teeny- boppers can have grown-up feelings too.

Boy wonder: Chris grew up far from the hotbeds of rap and r'n'b, in a small town with a population of just 2,000. That didn't stop him getting down with the hip-hop sounds coming from LA, NY and Atlanta. Before he even hit puberty, his ambition was to become the first superstar MC out of Tappahannock. But another musical influence was pulling him in a different direction. His parents had a record collection that featured such legends as Sam Cooke, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Aretha Franklin; Chris found that he could not only rap along to his hip-hop heroes, he could also sing along to his folks' vinyl treasures.

A-teen: With a rap talent to impress the alpha males, a sweet soul voice to seduce the ladies, and some slammin' dance moves to impress the crowds, Chris was ready for the big time. The album features such A-list producers as Scott Storch, Dre and The Underdogs, all of whom have helped Chris develop his own mix of smooth, old-school soul and tough-kid rap. "I don't want to come out too sexual," he cautions. "I want to appeal to people my own age as well as older people. This gives me time to grow with my audience, so I can make that change when I'm about 20. But for right now I don't wanna be too kiddie but I don't wanna be too grown."