Asif Khan Inc.

Rated R – Rihanna

Sometimes revenge is sweetest when there is none at all. Following on the astronomical success of her 2007 album “Good Girl Gone Bad”, Rihanna returns this month with an album which pushes her ‘bad’ girl image a couple of notches further. A fair bit of speculation surrounded the news of her entering the studio to begin work on fresh material. After all, this news was preceded by one of most publicized cases of domestic violence in which she was the victim. An incident which forced her to skip her Grammy night performance. An incident which sparked rumors that this album should be brimming with Chris Brown bashers. Yet, Rihanna chose to steer clear, focusing rather on changing the direction of her musical and lyrical style on “Rated R”. “Rated R” signifies Rihanna’s strength as an artist who, beginning at a precocious age has grown to the stature of a diva, complete with the sense of maturity normally expected from one. Artistic maturity in this case, however, has come with the baggage of mature content too. As her first album which has been tagged with a parental advisory label, Rihanna lets her vocabulary flow freely in tune with her emotions. And it is simply not for pure effect everywhere. Barring one place, maybe. Baring a naughtier side to herself, she lets herself loose on “Rude Boy” and indulges in some of the sauciest tongue-in-cheek verbal titillation which would catch your attention for the sheer quality of its tone. Mamas who would still remember her as the petite teen preening around in a little black number with an “Umbrella” tucked under her safely might find themselves running for cover. If they survive the initial shock, that is. With a catchy chorus which goes like “Come on Rude Boy, can you get it up / Come on Rude Boy, is you big enough” and references to being the “captain of the ship” along with admitting a liking for “boom boom”, Rihanna makes sure she has packed enough explosive content in this one track. Content which is sure to make people start viewing her as made of a material different from what they may have thought initially. This amalgamation is but of course, natural. It would however be unfair to judge the album by the character of this singular track. The hesitant, pregnant shuddering pauses and the loading the pistol’s chamber – the silence of which has the capacity to deafen – on “Russian Roulette” marks her progress in an uncharted dark region, she has not seen the light of in the past. As the lead single, “Russian Roulette” has already made its presence on the charts and its video has upped the anticipation audiences had for the album. After all, that slight perturbation in her voice during the chorus, doesn’t just display her vocal quality. It displays the soul of a diva whose talent is maturing gracefully as she gathers experiences in life. A similar eloquence finds its place on “Stupid in Love” whose piano led intro makes excellent material for a love ballad on the lines of what yesteryear divas in the 80s displayed with their powerhouse vocals. The nostalgic feeling of longing on “Photographs” is captured and accentuated by the production skills of will.i.am, who collaborates on vocal duties as well. The mellow acoustic guitar leads the song into a perfect reverie of vocal overdrive as will.i.am autotunes his voice towards the end of the song. The thick club beats of “Hard” and “Wait Your Turn” should keep folks looking for some booty shaking material happy. The freestyling verse of Young Jeezy adds to Rihanna’s qualms of being “so hard”, while she tries to teach a lesson in patience on the latter song. She hasn’t seemed averse to mixing styles on this album either. With the chugging guitar riffs on “Fire Bomb”, she shoots herself into a punk style intro with elements of pop thrown in between. The high point of her collaboration though awaits its turn on “Rockstar 101” where GnR axeman Slash does some killer licks for the track. A pity that they get a bit quashed under the booming beats. Yet, the song pretty much sums up Rihanna’s attitude to the world right now as she “gets (her) middle finger up, and don’t really give a f***”. After all, she is a Rockstar. And Chris Brown would surely have heard.