No one should be surprised that Chris Brown refused to give Frank Ocean a standing ovation along with the rest of Sunday’s Grammy audience since the two were reportedly involved in an altercation late last month at a Los Angeles recording studio. No, they didn’t get in this altercation debating whose album is better or who’s the better songwriter, reasons that would be somewhat understandable given their occupations. Disappointingly, this fight was over a parking spot.

Brown and Ocean have a history of animosity, but this latest incident between the two seems to be the culmination of their problems with one another. Despite this being a possible ending for Brown’s troubles with Ocean, something tells me Brown still has a ways to go if he is ever going to cross that bridge over his troubled waters. If pop history is any indicator, we will remember Brown as we do other young stars whose once promising careers took a backseat to their notorious behavior, a la Lindsey Lohan. The last four years of Brown’s notorious behavior will be his legacy, a certainty that leaves me feeling dismayed because I once believed Brown was on his way to becoming my generation’s Michael Jackson. So how did the potential prince of pop end up being newsworthy only because of his transgressions and not his music? Well, it all began in February 2009.

Brown’s physical assault of then girlfriend (and possibly current girlfriend) Rihanna was the starting point for the violent behavior that has come to not only define the career of Brown, but also him as a person. This is not stated to blame Rihanna for Brown’s downfall (he and only he is responsible for his actions), this is stated simply for chronological purposes. Now let us briefly continue down the timeline of a few highly publicized actions that continued to cast negative shadows on the outlook of Brown’s career.

The 2009 incident with Rihanna and the subsequent interviews for both parties were a media fixture for the following two years. In March of 2011 Brown had an outburst at Good Morning America in which he threw a chair through a window after becoming infuriated with the interviewer for asking questions about Rihanna. This major incident continued the spiral downwards for Brown’s career and his frequent Twitter tantrums also impacted his fledgling career negatively.

Surprisingly, Brown won a Grammy at last year’s award ceremony for Best R&B Album of 2012. The surprises continued with Brown and Rihanna collaborating together on songs and following each other on Twitter. None of these surprises helped Brown’s career and he made headlines once again for a club fight with rapper Drake in the summer of 2012. Lastly and most recently, came the fight with Frank Ocean.

Obviously, none of these incidents would be positive influence on his public perception, but they surely overshadowed anything good Brown may have done, an idea that Brown alludes to often on his Twitter account … but how much is the media to blame? They would have nothing to report if he didn’t get into these situations. I am not a Stan (super fan) for Chris Brown but I do enjoy his music and I think that he has a lot more to offer the world musically. There are three changes that I think Chris can make to get his career back in the right direction.

The first is to surround himself with a better team. Like many other stars, he is surrounded by an entourage that doesn’t have his best interests in mind, only the dollar signs they are able to mooch for being associated with a celebrity. Brown came into the music business as a teenager, so I believe it’s correct to assume that a young boy from Tappahannock, Va. and his single mother knew little about the downside to Hollywood fame. Because of that, they aren’t adept at choosing who should become a part of Brown’s inner circle. If Brown can surround himself with a better crowd, it would help to get his career in a more fruitful, successful position because the negative influences and “yes men” would be minimized.

The second thing Brown should do if he hasn’t already, is to start going to therapy. Chris and his mother have admitted that he grew up being exposed to domestic violence. From all the violent outbursts he has made in the recent years it is clear that he is angry. This isn’t not the occasional anger that the average person may feel, but rather a deep rooted anger that I think therapy or some form of counseling can help. Managing his anger is likely to cut down on the negative press he is consistently receiving.

Lastly, Brown should focus on creating good music. Regardless of his transgressions, Brown won a Grammy for Best R&B Album last year. Music critics say the Grammys have become lax in their judging, but this is still no small accomplishment for a musician. If Chris were to refocus his attention on his craft, and keep the drama as small as it could possibly be for someone in the limelight, he can turn from the path of notoriety.

For the last four years Brown has been characterized by his actions as a violent, immature person. In many people’s eyes, he will never be anything more than that no matter how much potential or talent he possesses. Yet, there are many others who choose to separate the man from the music. Whichever side you and I may see ourselves on, there is no debating that Brown has maturing to do and changes to make if he wants a chance to have the career he had and was projected to have before February 2009.