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It’s Time to Forgive Chris Brown, Says ‘Birthday Cake’ Producer The-Dream

LONDON - FEBRUARY 18: Rihanna arrives for the Stella McCartney Special Presentation at 13 North Audley Street during London Fashion Week Autumn/Winter 2012 on February 18, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Samir Hussein/Getty Images)
Photo: Samir Hussein/2012 Getty Images

We’ve already talked you through the conversation you’re likely having with yourself about Rihanna’s new collaborations with Chris Brown, but for producer The-Dream, who put together the “Birthday Cake” remix, that internal dialogue wasn’t nearly as conflicted. “I think [the topic] that should be more on the tongues is: how do we proclaim to be a nation of forgiving, and we go by all of these rules and everything, but we can’t actually do it?” he tells Billboard. “It actually makes you look weaker than your adversary – if you don’t have the power to forgive, but you lie and say that you did.” The-Dream says the remix was Rihanna’s idea, and that cleared up any doubts he may have had over helming a track with Rihanna and her former abuser: “If she can forgive, that’s where she is mentally. As a friend, it’s like, ‘Okay, cool. Let’s roll.’”

It’s Time to Forgive Chris Brown, Says ‘Birthday Cake’ Producer The-Dream