Don’t Be Cruel is the second studio album by American singer Bobby Brown.
Released two years following his debut album’s failure to chart, Bobby came back with a vengeance to create a name for himself in the music industry—switching up his image with a gumby haircut and being assigned the hitmaking duo L.A. Reid and Babyface to guide with songwriting and production. It’s dedicated to his best friend, James “Jimbo” Flint, who was stabbed to death when Bobby was 11.
This album made Bobby Brown a household name world-wide, earning him many awards, sales and achievements. At the 32nd Grammy Awards, Brown won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Every Little Step.” It spent a total of six weeks on top of the Billboard 200 and was the best-selling album of 1989 in the United States.