Queen RiRi is back, but don’t sound the trumpets quite yet — there may be some turmoil in her musical kingdom.
The Barbadian beauty on Thursday dropped her eighth studio album, Anti, exclusively through the music streaming service Tidal. Since her departure from Def Jam, fans worried that her new record label, Roc Nation, would not be able to deliver the same sounds as in previous Def Jam hits like Unapologetic and Loud.
Although she collaborated with Roc Nation producers for her previous work Talk That Talk, her recent release will be the first album released solely on the label.
Rihanna goes against the expectations of the music world, and refuses to let anyone dictate her artistry, which the album title reflects. Assuring listeners on the opening track “Consideration,” that “I got to do things my own way darling,” she prepares fans for nothing old, a whole lot of new and some tracks with bits of feeling blue.
While she is widely noted as a pop singer, RiRi experimented with new sounds on Anti, fusing neo-soul, mellow jazz, hip-hop and R&B throughout the tracklist.
Breaking from the pop image was a bold choice, and she clearly made an effort to separate herself from the Loud and Talk That Talk days. But Rome wasn’t built in a day, Taylor Swift didn’t jump to pop from country with only one album and it will take more than Anti to completely steer ship for Rihanna.
Despite the eagerness to let the pop princess picture wither away, the only lead single from the album, “Work” featuring Drake, is a largely reggae-pop song. Her 2015 hit, “Bitch Better Have My Money,” would’ve been a better match to promote Anti and ultimately, the BadBitch RiRi image. But the trap hit was unfortunately left floating in airwaves, unattached to any album.
In the first half of the album, Rihanna doesn’t exhaust her vocals. Instead, she offers a sultry, almost breathy voice for tracks like, “Yeah, I Said It.” This change provides a more mature sound to the music, further emphasizing her shift to new musicalities. But toward the end of the album, she exercises her pipes in songs like “Love On The Brain” and “Higher.” Belting out Whitney Houston-esque love ballads, the Barbadian songstress reminds listeners that she still has impressive vocal abilities.
Anti will most likely not live up to the success of previous Rihanna releases, fans might be outraged and shed tears at the loss of the “Pon de Replay” princess and we may never find love in a hopeless place ever again.
But this album is the start of a whole new image — one that does not answer to the demands of labels, producers or even her own fans. She is taking control of her artistry and breaking free from the constraints of pop standards that catapulted her into the music world more than a decade ago.
She is Anti, and it’s only the beginning.
Reviewer’s Picks: “Consideration,” “Desperado,” “Yeah, I Said It,” “Higher.”
Rating: 3.75/5
