Chris Brown believes himself and ex-girlfriend Rihanna will always be friends, despite him assaulting her in 2009.

The 25-year-old singer was sentenced to six months community service and placed on probation for five years for assaulting his former girlfriend in 2009, but he believes they still share a deep connection and hopes they will continue to be pals as time goes on.

Speaking to 'Access Hollywood,' he said: ''Me and her [Rihanna] are friends. We have a great understanding, there's no issues. We've been friends for almost 10 years and I don't think that's ever gonna change.''

The 'Forever' hitmaker, who spent 108 days behind bars for violating his probation when he allegedly made threats about using guns while seeking anger-management treatment in rehab, was released from jail on June 2 and admits the experience helped him.

He explained: ''The past year has been God's way of showing me what was necessary. You think you're invincible and I needed to look at my life and see it. I need to be more of a role model. I wanna be an icon for what I do with my talent. ''I want to be legendary for what I do with my music not for what happens in my personal life.''

However, the hunk, who was sentenced to time already served after pleading guilty to assault in Washington DC earlier this month stemming from an incident last October, admits he didn't pen any tracks in jail.

He added: ''I didn't write in jail. I need the vibe of the studio. I feed off people's energies. I like to pack my studios with females because that's my core audience. I like to see their vibe so it lets me gauge if I am doing something right.''