A Look Back at RiRi: "Anti" Review

So after the release of "Anti" this year, I decided I wanted to look back at Rihanna's music career the past 10 years. I wonder how an artist like her has reached such a successful point in her career where she has more #1s than Michael Jackson and is one of the best selling artists of all time. It made me wonder: is Rihanna's music really that good? Well, let's started with her first album back in '05:

Music of the Sun (2005)

1. Pon De Replay
This is a cute club banger!! It reminds me immediately of the summer of '05 when Rihanna first came out. It has decent lyrics, a great beat and melody that's easy on the ears. It's sad though that Rihanna seems to shy away from her pre-"Good Girl Gone Bad" hits. Then again, "Pon De Replay" was only a moderate hit compared to Rihanna's bigger hits even if it did reach #2 on the Hot 100 but it's one that shouldn't be forgotten. It was a nice introduction for her and I like to call this genre "teen dancehall". A good starter for the album!
(B)

2. "Here I Go Again" Featuring J-Status
This is a smooth dancehall track that sees Rihanna singing about a boy or former lover that does things to her she can't express. J-Status comes in for a nice verse. I really like the chill, cool vibe of the song and it's Caribbean charm is undeniable. A pretty good track.
(C+)

3. "If It's Lovin' That You Want"
I really enjoyed this track ever since it came out in '05. I'd say it's one of her best pre-"Umbrella" singles with its great reggae/pop crossover appeal. The beat is great, the lyrics are sweet and Rihanna sounds good. Overall, a solid single that should have had more success on the charts and airplay.
(B)

4. "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)" Featuring Vybz Kartel
This is another nice (if not a bit forgettable) dancehall track. Rihanna sings of a man who doesn't love her and her yearning to be free from such a relationship. Vybz Kartel comes in for a decent verse when the beat become switches up and gets heavier. But there's nothing that stands out on this track, kinda fills like filler to me. Not bad, just "meh"-worthy.
(C)

5. "That La, La, La"
The album changes genres with this bouncy R&B track that sees Rihanna singing about a guy that got her singing "La, La, La". Now what that "La, La, La" is up to the imagination. Though I assume it means it's about being so in love your in a daze. The melody is pretty catchy, if not needlessly repetitive. It's...okay overall.
(C)

6. "The Last Time"
This is an R&B track that reminds me of a track off of Destiny's Child's "Writings On The Wall". Rihanna here sings about being a woman heartbroken and scorned by her lover, not wanting the relationship to end. It has a nice beat with good lyrics and I enjoyed it, especially with the incorporation of the Spanish guitar instrumental. Though is it just me or are the parts of the song that sound like it's skipping!? It's kinda jarring. Oh well, Anyway, vocally, Rihanna sounds good during parts of the song and it's an easy listen.
(B)

7. "Willing to Wait"
Wow, a song where Rihanna is singing about "slowing things down" and "waiting to be in love" before rushing into anything. This is sure a far cry from the girl who would go on to sing "sex in the air, boy I love the smell of it". Lol. Anyway, Rihanna gives a good enough vocal performance once again and I like the message she is sending out with this song. It's a solid track.
(B-)

8. "Music of the Sun"
Title track time! Though I admit, I was expecting a better song. Not that "Music of the Sun" isn't bad, it's just the title track for an album should always be one of the strongest tracks, not just pretty good one. I mean the song boast a nice instrumental and more nice guitar playing, not to mention solid lyrics about letting the music leading listeners to some escapism in their lives. I enjoy it for what it is, but like I said, could have been better.
(C+)

9. "Let Me"
This is a fast paced R&B track. I love the beat and it has a nice enough melody that this would have been good for the clubs if it was released. I like the incorporation of the Indian flute. It's an overall solid track that sees Rihanna singing about letting her lover know she wants to do things for him. Fun song.
(B)

10. "Rush" Featuring Kardinel Offishall
Switching things back to the dancehall/reggae scene, we get "Rush"! Kardinel Offishall comes in for some assisted dancehall chants and Rihanna rides the beat with her silky, sharp sounding vocals. This is another dancefloor blazer and I can imagine once again, people immediately getting on the dancefloor for this one.
(B+)

11. "There's A Thug In My Life" Featuring J-Status
This is a sweet mid-tempo R&B track with a nice message about sticking with a lover despite him not being the nicest guy and the most socially appealing. It's a nice, if once again passable track that doesn't stick out amongst the album's stronger tracks.
(C+)

12. "Now I Know"
Here we have the album's first full blown ballad...which isn't Rihanna's strongest area of expertise. Though she would get much better with latter albums...but this track isn't one of them. Her vocals are a bit clunky and pitchy, but Rihanna does her best and it could have been worse (Wait until "Unfaithful"....YIKES! )
(D+)

13. "Pon De Replay" Remix Clean Featuring Elephant Man
This is a cool remix with Elephant Man so infectiously lending his reggae chants to the track, but it's no different outside the original outside Elephant Man's feature. But it reminds us of one of the album's better tracks and it's a fun song that kinda should be a cult classic in the dancehall scene.
(B+)


You know, it's funny looking back on Rihanna's debut because I sure most of fans don't remember when she first came out by mistaken "Umbrella"/"Good Girl Gone Bad" as her debut but I'll always remember her as that almost faceless artist in a sea of reggae pop star that were saturating the airwaves from the early to mid-2000s. Lumidee, Wayne Wonder, Rupee, etc. all came out around the same time and had that same dancehall meet pop appeal. But none of them seem to stick around...besides Rihanna. "Music of the Sun" got pretty much a mixed reaction from critics and I can see why. The dancehall music is nice but there isn't much diversity in music besides the occasional switch to R&B. Rihanna was really doing anything different or innovative, she sounded like just like most other artists in her genre of music...which is a shame cause the album sure had potential. It isn't bad, it's just a pretty generic sounding album that just fades to the back of your memory. I enjoyed some of it and the rest I could do without. The singles, "Pon De Replay" and "If It's My Lovin That You Want" are good among a few others and Rihanna's vocals at times are surprisingly good. But then you remember she has her limits both lyrically (That La, La, La") and vocally ("Now I Know"). But you can see why Rihanna's producers quickly let go of this album and quickly started work on her follow-up. Also, it's surprising how innocent and sweet Rihanna's image was at this time. Who knew she would deft so far from girl next door to sexual icon in a matter of a few years.

"For a debut album from this Barbadian beauty at the rip old age of 17 at the time, "Music of the Sun" proved to be a very modest (and quite forgettable) freshman effort with some dancehall gems mixed with some very lukewarm material that should have been left on the cutting room floor."
(C)