Music

Chris Brown enlists digital Aaliyah for "Don't Think They Know" video

by Tyler Munro

I’m sure this isn’t true, but if you’d asked me before “Don’t Think They Know” if I’d heard a Chris Brown song, I wouldn’t have an answer. That’s because beyond the fact that he’s a terrible person, his music is little outside of a reason for him to dance (which he’s good at) and hit vocal runs (which he isn’t).

This one I’ll remember. No, not because it’s good.

“Don’t Think They Know” is going to stand out because once again Chris Brown is fishing for a reaction. He’s not so much playing the victim here as we’re used to but that doesn’t make this anything more than shallow and exploitative. He was 12 when Aaliyah died, so his connection to her is a curious one. And even if it’s legitimate, which I can’t speak on, the amount of effort he put into this track seems next to none.

It’s her voice that carries it. It’s her appearance that’s going to make you watch it. Chris Brown can dance pretty, but in this song he’s reduced to some shrill aural acrobatics and, we assume, the convoluted concept that carries the clip’s gang-alluding colour scheme throughout.

This is half of a good song. We’ll let you figure out which is which.