After abruptly folding in June, Vibe magazine is staging a comeback. The once-leading R&B/hip-hop monthly is attempting to rise from the ashes with help from an artist who is himself
trying to reignite his career, Chris Brown.
According to Advertising Age magazine, the new owners of Vibe are actually splitting the upcoming December 8 cover of the magazine's rebirth between Brown and rapper Drake, but it's the Brown cover that is likely to get the most attention.
The singer, who has done just a handful of interviews since pleading guilty in June to assaulting former girlfriend Rihanna, will appear on the magazine's cover just weeks before releasing his new CD, Graffiti, on December 15.
After Vibe's assets were bought in August, the new owners announced plans to revive the once-monthly magazine with a four-issue rollout in 2010. The formerly dominant voice of urban culture will also widen its focus from mostly music to include sports, culture, arts, politics and fashion.
The Vibe appearance will represent the first major magazine cover Brown has landed since his guilty plea to felony assault in connection with the Rihanna case, and though no excerpts of the interview were available at press time, it's likely that the singer will once again face questions about the incident.
Rihanna has also embarked on a full-court publicity blitz for her new album, Rated R, due out on November 23, beginning with an appearance on "Good Morning America" and "20/20" this week. Both artists' faces are likely to be fixtures on tabloid and mainstream magazines for the next several months.
This report is from MTV News.
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