Rihanna - ANTI

Rihanna
Anti
2016
Spotify

There has been a lot of drama surrounding the new album from Rihanna, ANTI. First Sia releasing her record and basically putting other pop stars including Rihanna on blast for not buying her music, then the absolute flop that was trying to release the record exclusively on Tidal. The record industry gamed the system by giving away the record for free to all Tidal members and pushing a record that sold only about 500 copies on to the top 40. It is just another example of when you try to fuck with people and convince them to like something it does not always work. With all this swirling around the release of this record it would really take something special to pull it out of the drama, and that really is not here. The record as a pop performance is pretty well done, the songs are well constructed and Rihanna seems more confident in her ability and personhood than she ever has. But this album is not the hit machine that her other records have been in the past. "Work" featuring Drake is most likely the biggest hit off the record, but it is more because of these two putting their personality into a song more than it is actually making something great.

Rihanna's choices here are actually really interesting. She seems to be blazing a new trail rather than sticking with the trap sounds that she has been focusing on up until this. The record takes a more electro-hip-hop shape and it seems like a potentially fascinating genre bend but this is the infancy and some of it just doesn't work to well. This is sound is small room type of stuff, like Rihanna is done with the large stadiums and clubs and wants to bring the sound down into a more one on one situation. Rihanna does take this album for herself only using two features on two tracks which could be why this record feels more in line with a sound she personally really wants. The record does crawl along quite slowly however and some kind of high energy track would be a welcome change of pace and an exciting addition. "Woo" is perhaps the attempt, but the song verges on the annoying with it's constant distorted tone bangs. "Same Ol' Mistakes" a Tame Impala cover verges on well done karaoke because there is zero difference between the original minus a new voice. ANTI just is not the record it should be as Rihanna's eight, nor is it the opus that social media would have you think it is. You can stream it anywhere now, but you may want to just say no thanks.

4.2 out of 10