Its lyrical content has been characterized as multifaceted, exploring themes that range from remorse and regret to desire, affection, and the hedonistic allure of a playboy lifestyle.

[4] The album became his third consecutive top-ten debut in the United States following Exclusive in 2007, while producing two singles that has achieved moderate chart success.

Released months after the domestic violence scandal that had him and his ex-girlfriend Rihanna as protagonists, Graffiti was considered to be a critical and commercial failure compared to the singer's previous works.

Despite receiving generally negative reviews from most music critics, Graffiti was nominated for two Grammy Awards; including one for the Best Contemporary R&B Album and the other for the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the track, "Take My Time" featuring Tank.

In 2008, Chris Brown began working on his third studio album and confirmed the title, Graffiti, at the 2008 American Music Awards.

[5] With Graffiti, Brown took complete control of his artistry, overseeing the entire artistic direction and writing every song himself, except for "I'll Go," which was written and produced by Brian Kennedy and James Fauntleroy.

Following the domestic violence scandal involving the singer and his then-girlfriend Rihanna on February 8, 2009, Brown decided to express his emotional state after the incident on a significant portion of the album.

[2] Greg Kot of Chicago Tribune said that Brown "borrows from the cross-genre experiments of Kanye West, Saul Williams, and Lil Wayne.

"[2] According to Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times, the album is made of an "upbeat" part, that "can be considered the sonic sequel to "Forever"", mixed with power ballads, observed to express his remorse and feelings following the Rihanna incident.

[12] Lead single and album's opener "I Can Transform Ya", lyrically is about introducing someone to a luxurious life, has a robotic synth rock groove, characterized by a heavy use of synthesizers and guitar riffs.

The uptempo electro-hop "Wait", with The Game and R&B singer Trey Songz, features "bouncy sirens", and according to Jon Caramanica of The New York Times is closest to capturing the "frenetic energy" of Brown's early singles.

[18] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times said that "Lucky Me", lyrically about downs of life in the limelight, has a melody reminiscent of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror".

[30] The song's dance-heavy accompanying music video features choreography with hooded ninjas, and makes puns on the Transformers series.

[30][33][34] Its accompanying music video features Brown and American R&B singer Cassie as his love interest, as he yearns for their relationship on a winter night in a city and in a desert scene.

[43] Steve Jones of USA Today gave the album two-and-a-half out of four stars and commented that Brown "succeeds in expanding his sonic horizons with rock and Euro-dance influenced rhythms that are sure to ignite dance floors and innervate his electrifying performances".

[16] Chicago Tribune writer Greg Kot noted an "inconsistent and sometimes contradictory tone" in Brown's lyrics, but commented that the album has "several top-notch pieces of innocuous dance music".

[19] Joey Guerra of the Houston Chronicle said the album might have worked, but much of it "never takes flight, instead recycling the usual slick touches and arrangements.

"[14] BBC Online's Jude Rogers noted "slinky RnB body-poppers and cheesy, breathy ballads" and commented that "plodding melodies draw attention to Brown's unpleasantly macho style".

[40] Rolling Stone writer Jody Rosen expressed a mixed response towards its "punchy dance-pop songs full of club-ready beats and Casanova gestures", calling it "a bland, occasionally obnoxious, pro forma R&B album".

[3] Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson commented that "the only compelling thing about the incoherent Graffiti is the material (both external and internal) that makes it even less palatable than a simply below-average collection of paint-by-numbers R&B beats.

[41] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times questioned the lyrics' substance and called Graffiti "a curiously faceless album that largely thumbs its nose at close reading".