Rihanna finally gets to return to her primary focus of actually releasing an album (fourth in five years, since you ask) – and here we have one more in line with hip hop than R&B or Pop. Since pretty much everyone reading this will probably be entirely aware of every aspect of her altercation with her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, and the subsequent abuse she suffered, but there is no real need to go into the issue anymore – just know that it obviously provides the basis of "Rated R." So here it is, "Rated R" – Rihanna's own mini autobiographical package.
What we have here is a dense album that requires multiple listens. RR, for the most part, has lyricism more akin to hip hop than any other genre. Unlike “Good Girl Gone Bad”, this album is lacking on “club” numbers which is surprising for a Rihanna album.
“Rated R” aims to tell us a story, which could, possibly, be joined by us only in the halfway. To start with, “Hard” featuring Young Jeezy is a very tight and catchy track. This one comes very close to the current hip hop style of self boasting. As the lyrics go, And my runway never looked so clear/ but the hottest bitch in heels right here. Money in the bank, cars, clothes, I need it all. and Jeezy's verse is characteristically strong. The lead single, "Russian Roulette," is a classy, haunting mid-tempo act complete with superb vocal production. "Fire Bomb" is a strange and interesting one, where Rihanna declares The lovers need to clear the road.. If there is a "traditional" Rihanna sound, this is the closest thing to it on RR. One of the interesting moments arrives with "Rude Boy" – again, though, a catchy track but this one lacks on content. Still, the beats make you get hooked on to the song. "Photographs" is a decent number featuring Will.i.am with a 1980's feel to it, complete with a funky switch up. "G4L" – which means "Gangsta For Life" – is her strange revenge fantasy about, presumably, gunning the s*** out of Chris Brown and licking the gun afterwards, because revenge tastes sweet. The track is intriguing enough, but doesn't completely fire on all cylinders. Then comes along "Stupid In Love", an averagely produced but lyrically cracking ballad. It has a potential to be a very anthem that many would easily identify with. Rihanna emphasizes on how shattered she felt after the altercation with Chris brown, I still love you but I just can’t do this. I may be dumb but I’m not dumb.
"Rockstar 101" (a song that sounds superb in a late night driving scenario) is a reckless ride in the VIP section of the club, a subtle contribution from Slash contrasting with completely over the top production, with over-the-top lyrics like six inch walker big ***t talker, I never play the victim I’d rather be a stalker/ so baby take me in, I’ll disobey the law, make sure you frisk me good, check my panties and bra. The disturbed pop singer goes all nasty on this track. “Cold Case Love” is, according to me, the true end to this album, with subtle instrumentation of an aura-like closing. The tempo catches on; the lyrics reflect self-realisation in a way. The actual curtain call is "The Last Song," a slightly pointless, melodramatic end-credits number that serves no real purpose.
Her singing in this album has improved significantly. And the content also, is not all about club numbers unlike the previous album. This is more about mood/lyrics, and it is an undeniable success on those terms. However, it is very dense and maybe needed more melodies to help digest it all.
It scores 3.5 on 5 for me!
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