Sunday, November 21, 2010

Rihanna - Loud (& Clear, Darling)



This good girl went bad. 

Then Rated R. 

Then Loud. 

Does it get any better?


    From an island Barbie to running New York as well as the fashion world, Rihanna has moved musical mountains with her discography. You know an artist is good when they need little publicity to elicit a (pirated) rotation in my iTunes. RiRi has helped me through some hard times. If you're going through a break-up, I suggest you take a listen to Rated R. But if that stage has come and gone, and you back on your shit. Loud will be your shit. Guaranteed. 

       The album has an unexpectedly...loud start with the first track S&M"Feels so good being bad. There's no way I'm turning back. Now the pain is my pleasure," she sings as her first 3 sentences for the album. This has to say something. This is the start. The hook then goes on to say, "I may be bad, but I'm perfectly good at it. Sex in the air. I don't care, I love the smell of it. Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me." Word, Riri? 

       And the album only gets better. This is complete collection of music. Well rounded and well paced. The next track is "What's My Name" ft Drake in which we get a playful melody with a playful storyline to accompany it. None of these songs on this album are particularly about love. In this song she talks about wanting "him" to be hers, but there's no love. And really... She just wants to see it he can "go downtown with a girl like [her]". This album is a synopsis of the mind frame of a girl getting out of that hole called Heartbreak. Granted, Rihanna might not have written these songs, but the only way to record a good song is for the artist to actually feel that content. Do it, Riri. 

       But first, fuck all emotions: Block out the pain. "Cheers" starts off with the line "Life's too short to be sitting around miserable." I had no idea what the  song was about at first but... Fuck. I'll drink to that. Yeah, Yeaaah. "Don't let the bastards get you down. Turn it around with another round," she says. I feel her. There's no way you can get over a man while you cooped up, sitting, thinking about him. There's a party at the bar! Eventually, he'll start "Fading" like she talks about in the next song. One day you'll "open up [your] eyes and start to realize today is too late [& that he's] fading away". 

        After you've had your heart broken, it's easy to fall for a second-rate copy of what you just got rid of. But, I think Rihanna would agree with me that, you shouldn't get back into something serious until you're the Only Girl in the world. "Like [you're] the only one that [he'll] ever love." The beautiful thing about this CD is that it doesn't take on only one side of this situation. When you've ended a serious relationship, and even if you've "moved on" you still miss that person. This is when "California King Bed" starts to play. This is where I see Rihanna as a regular girl like the rest of us. She has a heart. This song is beautifully sung and has tremendous cross-over capability. The guitars in the background make the song extremely pop-worthy and if someone out there has any marketing sense, this will be a released single. I can see this one getting airplay from all my Ellas, no matter their race/color/upbringing... this is a woman's song for any woman who's ever missed anyone. 

    But as much as you hurt... a man hurt's, too. "Man Down" explains this exact situation, and if I might be an ass & assume... this song might remind us (&Rihanna) of a certain man whose life she practically ended. "I didn't mean to hurt him," she sings. "Could've been somebody's son. And I took his heart when I pulled out that gun.... Man down." There are regrets we all have about the way a certain situation ended. Ususally in a way that showed what the true you is capable of. (Also we get to  hear the true accent Rihanna has in this song.) But what happened.... happened, right? I mean, those situations when you might have acted certified crazy weren't planned out. But in the moment, you felt he deserved it. So... you're just left thinking:

I never thought I'd do it. 
Never thought I'd do it.
Never thought I'd do it. 

Oh gosh. 

What ever happened to me? 
Ever happened to me? 
Ever happened to me? 

Why did I pull the trigger, 
Pull the trigger?
Pull the trigger?

Boom. 

End a N...
End a N... life so soon?


     Thank god there's other niggas out there. lol... "If you want to let him go, Ladies don't worry cuz they got plenty mo' They be fallin' like the rain." Yup... It's "Raining Men" ft. Nicki Minaj, of course. And sometimes, after we get out of a relationship, we tend to take the next poor bastard who pays us attention and allow him to think he's somebody. AKA rebound. We've all heard the term before, I'm sure. Yes, women have rebounds, too.  So the next guys we come in contact will have to deal with a sentiment most of us tend to share at this point in life."I ain't even worried bout you, cuz there's plenty mo' fish in the sea." But after that relationship... it becomes so easy to let anything go easily. Like if my new guy makes things too "Complicated," it's easy to "throw [your] hands up, cuz baby I tried" cause "my heart knows better."

   So you already know what's left, right? SEX. "No teasing, you've waited long enough." Skin is the ultimate sex song. This slow grind beat is accompanied by moan-like singing: low tones and long notes. This song reminds me of a Ciara, "Ride It," which is funny becuase one of the song writers, Kenneth C. Coby (aka Soundz) also wrote  Ciara's "Gimme Dat"... but yea... if you want to.... riiiiiiiddee iiitttt....  Skin is definitley the jam to do it to. I haven't. I'm just saying someone might want to... In case you want to "explore your talents" ;)

       The album ends on a more solemn, serious note as do most things in life. She closes the project with "Love the Way You Lie (Part II)" ft. Eminem, a version that is fit to rival the original. 

On the first page of our story,
The future seemed so bright.  
And this thing turned out so evil. 
I don't know why I'm still surprised...  

And even angels have their wicked schemes 
and you take that to new extremes.
But you'll always be my hero
even though you've lost your mind.

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn. 
But that's alright because I like the way it hurts. 

       Everything we've gone through is what makes us who we are. It makes us stronger. More resilient. This album is the epitome of feminine strength. The ability to have your heart taken from your chest and shattered before your eyes but bounce back as if nothing happened. Like how burns simply form a thicker skin. But the thing is, it never fully heals, sometimes we attach ourselves to that pain. Sometimes we can't leave a relationship until we completely tear it apart. Until we're completely sure that it can't be saved. I don't know for what reason. "So maybe I'm a masochist," is Rihanna's guess. "I try run but I don't want to ever leave. Till the walls are going up in smoke with all our memories."  

Fuck it. Watch me burn. 

Thank you, Miss Rihanna. Beautiful album. 

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