During an interview, Chris Brown revealed that he and Kanye West almost picked the same titles for their 2007 albums.

Image by Eva Rinaldi, Jason Persse, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Chris Brown and Kanye West go way back. Although their friendship has had its ups and downs, they have managed to stay very close when it matters. With both holding a great deal of respect for each other, it is not surprising that their dynamic has lasted for more than a decade.

Kanye West performs at The Museum of Modern Art | Credits: Jason Persse via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0

When it comes to friendships that last thing long, it is only natural that there will be conflicts every now and then. However, during an interview, Brown revealed a hurdle that West and he faced that could have ended in a lawsuit.

Kanye West and Chris Brown Had the Same Album Name

Over the years, Kanye West has released many albums that follow a cohesive story. Starting with The College Dropout and then Late Registration, he followed a theme of academic pursuits. With this, he released his 2007 classic album, Graduation. However, many might not know that Chris Brown was also going to name his album the same thing.

Songwriter, Chris Brown (Credit: Instagram: chrisbrownofficial)

In an interview with MTV, he confessed that since he was turning 18, he wanted to name his big project “Graduation,” wanting it to be symbolic of him starting a new chapter in his life. However, since West was naming his album the same thing, things could get complicated very easily.

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In the music industry, lawsuits are a very common thing, and two artists who are close to each other having the same album name is a recipe for disaster. However, this situation went down very differently, all because of the bond that the two artists share.

I was like, I’ll change mine because I respect his reason more with ‘[The] College Dropout’ and ‘Late Registration’ all that, so it kind of went with his,

Kanye West in the music video for All Day | Credit: YouTube

Brown revealed that he understood the reasoning behind why West wanted to name his album as such, considering a pattern that millions of his fans were looking forward to. With this, he decided to change the name of his album out of respect for the “Flashing Lights” singer.

Chris Brown Changed His Own Album’s Name

Later in the interview, Chris Brown talked about what he decided to do with his own album, considering how it was no less significant to him. The artist decided to go for a different title that held a different kind of meaning, and this time, it wasn’t just for himself.

Chris Brown (Credit: Capital Xtra)

The artist decided to go for Exclusive, wanting to make the title a nod to his fanbase. He explained that he wanted them to know that he was exclusively making music for them, and this album was almost like a love letter to each and every one of them.

So I was like, I don’t need mine to be ‘Graduation’, you know, I’ll change mine to ‘Exclusive’, because I’ll make an album exclusively for my fans.

Both albums were released in 2007 and continue to be two of the most celebrated works by both artists. With this in mind, one can assume that the small conflict did not overshadow the mastery of their respective works.

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