Chris Brown may actually be getting the hang of this "self control" thing. Recently he spoke with Rolling Stone about redirecting his emotional outbursts to the tracks on his upcoming album, 'X.'

"Whether it's personal or life experiences -- my girl, my exes, love in general, or just reality -- I'm putting all that into this album," he said. "That's the basis of what 'X' is, and who Chris Brown is. The stuff I wanted to talk about, I found clever ways to add myself into the metaphors."

The 'Forever' singer also shared that there will be some surprising guests joining him on his sixth studio LP, including Kendrick Lamar on the "real emo record" 'Autumn Leaves.'

"I picked Kendrick," Brown explained, "Because his subject matter as a lyricist is beyond everybody else's. There's a substance to what he says."

"It's also fun to experience the ambitions and aspirations of a younger artist who's just learning how the game works," he added.

Though not yet confirmed, there is a possibility that his girlfriend Rihanna will be joining him on the album. Breezy says that he wrote a song titled 'Put It Up' just for her -- but it's only one of 50 songs he still needs to root through for the final tracklist of 14.

"It's still in the pot of songs we have to pick from," he shared. "It may or may not make it, but you know, because she's already on it, it's a strong possibility."

On 'X,' Brown also revealed that he'll be returning to the style of R&B that influenced his career, shying away from the Euro-dance-pop rhythms that have had the genre in a chokehold over the past few years. Citing the use of live instrumentation, the crooner gushed about his newest musical direction.

"I wanted to take the Quincy Jones approach," he enthused. "The record pays homage to the Stevie Wonders, the Michael Jacksons, the Sam Cookes: I wanted to put that classic essence of R&B and soul with the new age of music now."

As layered as the musical formula sounds, 'X' is a seemingly simple title, with a lengthy definition just as complex.

"‘X' defines everything I've been through in my life," Brown divulges. "It's the Roman numeral for 10. 5/5/89 is my birthday: 5 plus 5 is 10, and this is my tenth years since I got into music. 'X' is the 24th letter in the alphabet, and I'll have turned 24 when this album comes out."

"'X' is also a metaphor," he continues. "As in 'ex-girlfriend': it implies you're progressing and moving on in life, not holding on to the past and your old ways."

Could 'X' mark the start of a musical -- as well as emotional -- maturation of C. Breezy? We'll see after the album arrives in either late summer or early fall of this year.

Watch Chris Brown's 'Home' Video

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