Q&A: Bobby Brown on mourning his daughter and dashed dreams of working with Prince

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This article was published 22/06/2016 (3752 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – As Bobby Brown awaits the arrival of his third child with wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown, a sizable void will forever remain in the life of the R&B star.

It’s been nearly a year since the untimely death of Bobbi Kristina Brown, the daughter Brown shared with the late Whitney Houston. He is also the father to three adult children from previous relationships.

Brown and Houston’s 22-year-old daughter, known as Krissi, died in hospice care on July 26, 2015, six months after she was discovered face-down and unresponsive in a bathtub in her suburban Atlanta townhome.

Her death bore eerie similarities to the way her pop superstar mother died in 2012 in a Beverly Hills hotel. Authorities concluded she had accidentally drowned, and investigators found a dozen prescription-drug bottles in her suite. Heart disease and cocaine use were listed as contributors to Houston’s death.

“It’s a feeling you’ll never get over,” Brown said in a recent phone interview from Chicago.

“It just crushes my heart that she’s gone. But at the same time, her mother needed her with her — and that’s how I feel. They were that close that they needed each other.”

In his new memoir “Every Little Step” (Dey Street Books), Brown charts his rise from hard-scrabble beginnings in Boston, to chart-topping superstardom with New Edition and then as a solo artist.

Brown doesn’t shy away from discussing the wilder exploits that burnished his bad-boy image, and he also delves into his tumultuous marriage to Houston.

Brown, 47, spoke with The Canadian Press about his dashed dreams of working with the late Prince, discovering comfort in writing about loss, and finding humour in the unlikeliest of moments.

The Canadian Press: When you went solo, you wanted to draw on influences from three iconic performers: Michael Jackson, Rick James and Prince. Did you ever get a chance to meet Prince?

Bobby Brown: I have. I spent a lot of time talking with Prince. We were in the process of getting into the studio and working on my new album, which is going to be great. But with that Prince song, it probably would have been better.

He was the one person I always wanted to work with. Out of everybody in this industry, he was the one person that I felt that could bring out the best out of me, and I was looking forward to meeting with him and writing some songs — and I didn’t get the chance.

CP: That’s something you’d been talking about before he passed?

BB: Yes. We had been talking and everything was in the process of us working. And with him passing, all of that got discombobulated. I didn’t get my dream.

He was so original. He was so himself. If you’ve got a chance to know Prince, I mean, he was goofy, intelligent, and then at the same time, come on! You cannot deny his talents as far as singing is concerned. He could play any instrument you put in his hands. And I find that fascinating.

CP: Have you had the opportunity to meet either Drake or the Weeknd, and what do you think of their contributions to modern R&B and hip-hop?

BB: I’m loving every moment of it. And no, I haven’t gotten the chance to meet them or work with them — but I would love to. I think the guys of today are creative, and they’re giving what they can give right now. I would love a lot more songs about love and about good relationships and being positive in your life.

CP: You’ve been through such an incredibly tough few years with the loss of your parents, Whitney and Krissi. Why did you feel like you wanted to take the opportunity at this stage of your life to share these stories?

BB: I needed to clean out. I needed everything off of my heart and off of my mind, and the only way I know how to get anything out of my head and off of my heart is to write. And writing this book has been so therapeutic for me.

I mean, my therapist can’t even imagine how I was able to write this book. It’s been a long journey for me to get everything out. And that’s all I had to do. I’m just trying to move on with my life and trying to be better as a man, as a father, as a brother, as a husband, as a friend.

CP: What were the parts of the book that brought you joy or made me you laugh as you were going back through the memories of your life?

BB: Just writing about my past, just writing about the things that I’ve been through. Stealing the bikes, chasing a girl … and getting shot and getting stabbed and all that made me chuckle.

CP: Getting shot and stabbed made you chuckle?

BB: Yes. It just made me feel like: “You know what? I shouldn’t have been there in the first place.” But it happened. I chuckled about a lot of different things in this book, but for the most part, it was like: “Why was I so stupid to be in this position in order to get harmed?”

I live my life totally different now. By the grace of God, I can’t even count how many chances I’ve gotten to be better or to be different. I can keep my mouth closed all I want. But you know what? My life is what it is. And in order for me to become a better person, I have to change.

In the book is everything that’s going to make me a better person. My kids are a part of it. My wife is a part of it. My friends are a part of it. My siblings are a part of it. It closes a chapter of my life that I needed closed. I’m just grateful, man.

— This interview has been edited and condensed. With files from The Associated Press.

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Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version stated it has been nearly two years since the death of Bobbi Kristina Brown. In fact, it has been nearly one year.