Rihanna: Talk That Talk
It took her six albums, several costume changes, a new hair color, and some major break-ups for her to release her best record yet. The sound speaks for itself. The moment her voice utters the first verse from her Billboard eleventh #1 single “We Found Love”- I knew that Rihanna was no longer the good girl gone bad. She was now the bad girl gone superstar. Her last album Loud was a feat that only gave us a taste of what she was prepared to deliver, and in her new release Talk That Talk, Rihanna seriously walks that walk.
There is no holding back in this album. No slow stops. No holes in the script. Rihanna emphasizes on her strengths as a hit maker and gives us the raunchiness and sass we loved in all her other records; yet in the end, she keeps us begging for more. Every song on this album can be played on the radio and hit the top of the charts. She at first planned to make a few tracks of TTT be a part of a Loud re-release. But unlike Beyonce, and other pop artists who later re-release deluxe editions of their albums, Rihanna went back to the studio and made a completely new album. And we all should be happy she did. Unlike Loud, this album screams what the former only suggested. In “Birthday Cake” she lyrically demands that she wants sex, while “Skin” on the last album only hints at it. Everything about this album screams relevant and risky and makes Rihanna the ringleader.
Her musical sound and variety is explored even more with the inclusion of hip hop, R&B, electro, dancehall and dubstep all throughout the album. The Barbados native does not forget her roots in such tracks as “You Da One” which is a bouncy mid-tempo song with a Caribbean flavor. However, in “We Found Love,” Rihanna enters the electro centric vibes with a classic retro 90s feel that is mastered by Calvin Harris. Notable producers on the album were Alex da Kid, Mr. Bangladesh, Calvin Harris, Dr. Luke, and Ester Dean who created sounds that made each track unique surefire hits.
This album is the modern-day Erotica. Madonna in the 90s explored the realm of sexuality and pop-taking it to new hypes in that album. Rihanna carries that torch and introduces a new beat and texture to the composition. There has not been one major pop album in years that I have seen push the envelope like this in the 21st century. Justin Timberlake’s FutureSexLoveSounds is the safest bet, but the edge and vulgar that Rhianna belts in this album is the makings of a real tour de force.
Overall, I cannot resist my obsession, and neither can you. Rihanna is the most consistent pop artist in recent years. No flukes, no one hit wonders- she is the real deal. Britney has reached her prime. Katy Perry is living in the moment. Gaga is on a career speed crash. And Ke$ha, Avril, and Justin, have come and gone. What remains is a young woman who has reinvented herself time and time again and has made her music relevant in every moment. Talk That Talk is the best pop album of the year, hands down. It is Rihanna’s most cohesive and sought through record to date, and I predict that the public response will show likewise. Rihanna may have found love in hopeless place, but with this album she will find even more success in a guaranteed place.
- Ernest Owens, Ernestly Speaking! (Saturdays from 8-10 pm @ WQHS.org)
