Rihanna

Sept 16, 2021

Higher (acapella)

1 Song

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Rihanna Essentials

Rihanna was introduced to the world by then Def Jam president JAY Z in 2005, and broke through with a demand on behalf of all the gals on the dance floor: Turn the music up. Since then, the Barbados-born pop innovator has been making us beg for more. Starting with 2007's Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna has cleverly played with her image, incorporating BDSM allusions and sexual bravado, and expanding her reggae-tinged dance pop to encompass epic EDM, sultry rock, and undulating hip-hop. Even when she's working with larger-than-life foils—Eminem, Drake—Rihanna's still the one making demands.

Rihanna: Deep Cuts

While Rihanna's biggest smashes inhabit 21st-century pop's hooky, hip-shaking ideal, her catalog is full of left turns into unexpected territories. The thundering, mournful “American Oxygen” casts a gimlet eye on the American dream; the Future collaboration “Selfish” allows her to show off her silvery, sensuous upper register; and her reverent cover of Bob Marley's “Redemption Song” is a striking tribute to her Caribbean heritage.

Rihanna: Influences

Rihanna's potent combination of seductive style, cutting-edge beats, and forthright lyrics echo personality-driven, sex-positive pop smashes from decades past like Janet Jackson's strutting kiss-off “Nasty” and Madonna's bedroom jam “Erotica.” She also salutes her Barbadian heritage by incorporating island-inspired rhythms into her songs, à la Grace Jones' nu-disco come-on “Pull Up to the Bumper.”