The-Dream, ‘Birthday Cake’ Remix: Rihanna ‘Forgives’ Chris Brown — Exclusive

The-Dream is in full promo mode in New York City for his new single, 'ROC,' which will appear on his fourth album, 'The Love IV: Diary of a Madman,' the follow-up to 2010's 'Love King.' Early Wednesday afternoon (Feb. 22) at the Def Jam offices, while speaking on his project and his upcoming Kill the Lights tour, the R&B crooner spoke to The BoomBox about his role in creating the remix to Rihanna's 'Birthday Cake' featuring Chris Brown.

"Yeah, I was asked," The-Dream tells The BoomBox of his part in creating the remix with Brown, which has critics turning their noses up due to the latter's domestic violence assault against the 'Talk That Talk' entertainer. "And fully at the end of the day my job is to, not only as a songwriter, but as a friend with most of the people I spend time with, Rihanna being one of those friends, is having her back. Not only that, practicing what we was taught as kids, and that's to forgive. However someone chooses to forgive is entirely up to them."

The '1977' creator, who produced 'Birthday Cake' alongside beatmakers Da Internz, feels that if she can forgive Brown, those around her should support her as well. "I just felt like if she's to that point, I don't consider her insane, she's a very smart girl. The fact that I respect her and that she's smart, to me, means that I should respect whatever her decisions are. One of her decisions was, 'I think I want to put Chris Brown on the record.' Cool! Let's go."

He went on to say there wasn't hesitation about putting Brown on the track and receiving backlash from critics. "It wasn't no, 'Well, what about what people...,'" The-Dream reveals. "It wasn't about the people. It's me, it's her, there's a song, let's do the song. 'You wanna do it?' Aight. Of course somebody's gonna say this of course the pictures are gonna come back. She thought of those things probably eight billion more times than I did."

The public heard the song on Feb. 20, Rihanna's 24th birthday, not long after the actual track was recorded and fine-tuned. "Within like the last week-and-a-half [it was recorded]," he discloses. "It hasn't been that long. It's quick. We had just finished it that day on her birthday in London."

'Birthday Cake' originally appeared on Rihanna's sixth album, 'Talk That Talk,' released in 2011.

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