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Anti is the eighth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on January 28, 2016, through Westbury Road and Roc Nation. The singer began planning the record in 2014, at which time she left her previous label Def Jam and joined Roc Nation. Work continued into 2015, during which she released three singles, including the internationally acclaimed "FourFiveSeconds"; they were ultimately removed from the final track listing. Anti was made available for free digital download on January 28 through Tidal and was released to online music stores for paid purchase on January 29.

As executive producer, Rihanna contributed to most of the album's lyrics and collaborated with producers including Jeff Bhasker, Boi-1da, DJ Mustard, Hit-Boy, Brian Kennedy, Timbaland and No I.D. to achieve her desired sound. The efforts resulted in a departure from Rihanna's previous dance and club music genres and created a primarily pop and R&B album, with elements of dancehall and soul. The producers incorporated dark, sparsely layered, minimalist song structures, while most of Anti's lyrics dealt with the complexities of romantic love and self-assurance.

Amid heavy promotion and an anticipated release, the album was released to commercial and critical success. It peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200, moving 166,000 equivalent-album units in its first-tracking week, and after two days of its release was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) as a result of Samsung purchasing one million copies of the album in advance that were then given away as a free download. It was promoted with four singles, including the hit single "Work", featuring Canadian rapper Drake, which peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 becoming Rihanna's fourteenth number one single on the chart.

Activism
During her performance at the NCAA March Madness Music Festival, Rihanna expressed her disagreement with Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act that allows companies and individuals to use their religious beliefs as protection, in case of being accused of discrimination against LGBT people. Rihanna along with numerous other high-profile celebrities featured in an online video entitled "23 Ways You Could Be Killed If You Are Black in America". The video was released in partnership with the We Are Here Movement and called for action against police brutality.

In January 2017, Rihanna participated in the 2017 Women's March, which took place in New York and protests the day after President Donald Trump's inauguration. Following the announcement of the Executive Order 13769, which was President Donald Trump's executive order to ban citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States. Rihanna expressed disgust for the order and condemn the US Presidents act.

Sex With Me
During 2015, Rihanna held a writing camp at her home in Malibu, one of the writers invited was singer-songwriter Jahron Braithwaite also known as PartyNextDoor. During his initial arrival Braithwaite did not understand why her was there as numerous other writers had already made "hits" for Rihanna. Braithwaite went on to try and create more "streamlined songs" and moved away from his usual "looser, more experimental at-home productions." During the sessions Braithwaite wrote two songs, the albums lead single "Work" and "Sex With Me".

"Sex With Me" was written by Braithwaite, Matthew Samuels, Adam Feeney, Anderson Hernandez, Chester Hansen and Rihanna. It was produced by Boi-1da, whilst co-production was handled by Frank Dukes, with additional and vocal production being carried out by Vinylz and Kuk Harrell respectively. "Sex With Me" was recorded at the Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles. The vocal recording was done by producer Kuk Harrell and Marcos Tovar while Blake Mares served as a recording and production assistant. "Sex With Me" was mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Studios in Universal City, California and was assisted by Chris Galland & Ike Schultz. The song was mastered by Chris Gehringer at the Sterling Sound Studios in New York City.

Background
Following the release of Rihanna's seventh studio album, Unapologetic, and its accompanying tour, Rihanna took a step back from music. Rihanna aimed to take a hiatus from recording music stating; "I wanted to have a year to just do whatever I want artistically, creatively,” Rihanna went on to state that this hiatus lasted a week and she had returned to the recording studio. During the initial writing and development of the album, Rihanna recording a vast amount of songs that were up-tempo, but was unsure of what she wanted Anti to sound like. Following the albums initially recording Rihanna became bored with pop music stating that she gravitated towards music that was "honest" and represented her at that time. Rihanna also recognised that the music she was recording "might not be some automatic record that will be Top 40," but believes she had "earned the right to do that now.”

In May 2014, it was announced that Rihanna had left Def Jam to sign fully with her manager Jay Z's company Roc Nation, Still no announcement for an album was made, which led to considerable confusion among music journalists and fans, with Rihanna avoiding discussing the album or its release. On October 8, 2014, Rihanna posted a picture of herself in the studio, working on the album. On February 8, 2015, during his Grammy Awards red carpet interview, Kanye West announced, that he will be the executive producer of Anti.

In October 2015, it was revealed that Rihanna had acquired the masters to all her recordings and would be releasing Anti jointly through her own record label Westbury Road and Roc Nation. Later that month it was announced that Rihanna had inked a $25 million contract with Samsung. The deal would see Rihanna promoting Samsung's Galaxy line of products whilst Samsung would sponsor the release of Anti and its supporting tour. However, in January 2016, in a Twitter reply message to a fan, Rihanna wrote that West is no longer executive producer of the album and both of them are working on different projects.

Following the release of Rihanna's seventh studio album, Unapologetic (2017) and it's accompanying tour the singer decided to take a step back from music. After the release of Unapologetic and its accompanying tour, Rihanna aimed to take a hiatus from recording music stating; "I wanted to have a year to just do whatever I want artistically, creatively," Rihanna went on to state that this hiatus lasted a week and she had returned to the studio. During the initial writing and development of the album, Rihanna recording a vast amount of songs that were up-tempo, but was unsure of what she wanted Anti to sound like. Following the albums initially recording Rihanna became bored with pop music stating that she gravitated towards music that was "honest" and represented her at that time. Rihanna also recognised that the music she was recording "might not be some automatic record that will be Top 40," but believes she had "earned the right to do that now."

Rihanna faced challenges during the initial recording and creative process of the album. Rihanna wanted to create a body of work that reflected and represented her at that time, however Rihanna stated "I was evolving in the midst of making a body of art that was supposed to reflect who I was in that moment, yet it was the very answer I didn't have!" Rihanna continued to describe herself as being disconnected from her emotions and "numb" during the albums conception however Rihanna stuck to the albums recording until she "felt something again!" Following Rihanna's creative struggle she rented a house in Malibu over a couple of months and created music in every room, with her team and various musicians. During this time one of the albums producers made a comment which effected Rihanna, it was during this moment that Rihanna broke her creative block stating "I trusted myself, trusted my ear, trusted my gut, trusted the way that my music made me FEEL!!"

In May 2014, it was announced that Rihanna had left Def Jam to sign fully with her manager Jay Z's company Roc Nation, and later revealed she had acquired the masters to all her recordings and would be releasing her eighth studio album jointly through her own record label Westbury Road and Roc Nation. On February 8, 2015, during his Grammy Awards red carpet interview, Kanye West announced, that he will be the executive producer of Anti. West further compared Rihanna's vocals on the song to that of Scottish singer Annie Lennox: "I feel like she has this type of energy in her vocals. And she even brought it to another level of like soul and heart and artistry". However, in January 2016, in a Twitter reply message to a fan, Rihanna wrote that West is no longer executive producer of the album and both of them are working on different projects. Instead, Rihanna served as the executive producer of Anti and worked with several producers including.

Writing and recording
Beginning in 2013, Anti evolved from nearly three years of sessions and featured an extensive roster of R&B, hip hop, and pop musicians and recording technicians. The albums sessions took place at numerous recording studios including; Jungle City Studios in New York City, Westlake Recording Studios, Sandra Gale Studios and Windmark Recording Studios in Los Angeles, SOTA Studios in Toronto and Twin Studios in Paris. However the majority of the albums recording took place in three main studios. The extensive recording led to the albums release being in 2016, which marked the the longest wait between records in her music career.

Eight of the thirteen songs – "James Joint", "Work", “Desperado”, "Woo", "Needed Me", "Yeah, I Said It", "Higher" and "Close To You" – from the final track listing were recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Songwriter Bibi Bourelly had been working with producer, Paperboy Fabe, who arranged a session with Kanye West, who isolated her in a booth. The result was "Higher". "Higher " was recorded in the early hours of the morning whilst Rihanna was under the influence of alcohol; “We just said, ‘You know what? Let’s just drink some whiskey and record this song.” The song was compared by Rihanna to a “a drunk voice mail”. Later amendments to the songs lyrics were made by Rihanna and James Fauntleroy. The latter co-wrote a further three songs from the Westlake sessions – "Desperado", "James Joint" and "Close To You" – "James Joint" was written with Rihanna and Shea Taylor, who wrote the song in "no more than 30 minutes", whilst "Close To You" was written after producer Brian Kennedy sent Fauntleroy piano music.

"Desperado" was written by Mick Shultz and Rook Monroe, following the songs writing Shultz met with Rihanna. After visiting Rihanna's home, Shultz was contacted a week later by Rihanna's team who stated "she really loves the record". Rihanna, Fauntleroy and Kuk Harrell, were all later involved in the songs development, production and recording. In the summer of 2015, songwriter and producer Rupert Thomas together with Allen Ritter and Boi-1da among others, stayed at Canadian rapper's Drake house in Los Angeles for three-four days. During the time, creation of the lead single, "Work" came in to fruition. Thomas created the beat and played it for Boi-1da to which he positively responded. Boi-1da came with up idea for sampling an "old school dancehall rhythm" and after that the chords were made. When the song's music was finished, Boi-1da sent it to Braithwaite (better known by his production name PartyNextDoor) who wrote the lyrics.



Two songs each were recorded at Jungle City Studios in New York City and Windmark Recording Studios in Los Angeles. The studio sessions at Jungle City produced the opening track "Consideration" and "Kiss It Better". Rihanna stated that when recording the albums opening track "Consideration", she felt a connection to it, stating that the song captured the sound and attitude she was aiming for. The recording sessions at Windmark Recording Studios produced the songs "Never Ending" and "Love on the Brain". The former was written by Chad Sabo during his time in California, were Sabo was playing with the band Basic Vacation. Sabo was in the bands van and began to write the intro riff that would become "Never Ending". Shortly after he took the song home and attempted to bring the song together using a digital 8-track studio. He later worked on the songs lyrics and posted it onto the internet. The writing process of "Never Ending" began in November 2013, and started again in April 2014 at which time Rihanna became interested in the track and wanted to record it.

Only one song was recorded completely outside of the United States – “Same Ol’ Mistakes” – the track was recorded at the Twin Studios in Paris. Rihanna's management Roc Nation contacted Tame Impala's management team, Spinning Top, informing them that Rihanna loved the band's song "New Person, Same Old Mistakes" and asked if she could re-record the track for Anti. The song's writer, Kevin Parker, agreed and gave Rihanna permission to record the song. After hearing Rihanna's version, Parker stated, "We’re all really happy with how the song turned out, love it!".

Production
American vocal producer Kuk Harrell, who has been working with Rihanna since 2007 stated that for Anti Rihanna was creatively more involved in the making process. Harrell stated that Rihanna aimed to push the album in the direction she envisioned. The producer stated that he attempted to move away from mainstream pop music when producing the album's vocals, "Every record that everybody does is a record that somebody else could've done, if that makes sense. It's so awesome that she just stepped out and was courageous enough to stick to that and be that and do that."

Harrell noted that with the production of Anti Rihanna was far more meticulous about what she wanted each individual line to sound like. He stated that he attempted to work quickly when producing the album, however Rihanna wanted to constantly improve the album's quality stating "Listen, let's up the quality level. Let's make sure we have the emotion, and make sure it's a masterpiece." Harrell stated that when he and Rihanna had previously worked together they aimed to make a great body of work, however on Anti they aimed to create a "masterpiece". When discussing his and Rihanna's mindset during the album's production Harrell stated;

Rihanna album [Anti], because it is such a body of work. The whole mind-set. The records that stick out for me the most are when we went into it thinking, "Let's just do great work. Let's not chase radio. We're not trying to get radio hits. We're not trying to make sure that we can have a song that anybody could sing." So that's what Anti is. Let's just do good work, because we love doing what we do, and we get to make music to it.

Speaking of the album's production and style, Harrell stated that artists such as Rihanna, have been talking a stance and stepping away from the popular music of the time and the expectations of her label, directors and radio, stating; "I don't want to make what everybody else is making. I want to make what I want to make. I know my fans will love it because my fans are loyal to me, but if everybody else loves it, great. If they don't, at least I know, as an artist, I've done what I want to do." Anti was engineered by Nathaniel Alford, Chris Godbey, Kuk Harrell, Blake Mares, Daniela Rivera and Marcos Tovar. The album was finally mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound, in New York City.

Music and lyrics
Anti has an unconventional musical style, and was seen as a departure from Rihanna's previous material, leaving behind the club and dance genres of her previous releases for a predominantly pop and R&B album. With influences from dancehall and soul music. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian viewed the album as an "experimental R&B" album with elements of psychedelia, whilst Lindsay Zoladz of Vulture believed that "to neatly classify Anti by genre, you'd have to invent one," which she described as being "industrial dancehall". Ben Rayner of The Toronto Star stated that Anti is divided into two halves; the first consisting of "futuristic robo-R&B", whilst the second half contains "a more organic breed of soul". Writing on behalf of Billboard, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd found the Ant's hazy rap and alternative R&B style was similar to artists such as Jhené Aiko and Travis Scott.

Containing interludes and a lack of verses, choruses, melodies and hooks, the album's production has been characterized as being, dark, sparsely layered, bouncy, with lo-fi bass, old school styles, downtempo moodiness and electro-soul minimalism. Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph described the album and musically focusing on "depth and texture" using a mid-tempo rhythm. Stephen Erlewine of All Music stated that albums key factor is it's mood which he noted as being a "subdued, simmering affair, its songs subtly shaded yet interlocked to create a vibe caught halfway between heartbreak and ennui." Anti's production is less prominent in comparison to Rihanna's previous, which allowed "room" for Rihanna's vocals to be derived in a raw and emotional dense style. Throughout the album RIhanna's vocals were used as a focal point, singing with a feathery falsetto, with dexterity, acumen, soul and deep tones, that incorporates the use of her native patio.

During the albums recording Rihanna aimed to create an album that was both "soulful" and "aggressive", elaborating on this she stated that the aggressive and soulful themes would be heard in the musical, lyrical or vocal context. During a press conference in early 2014, Rihanna told MTV News that she aimed to depart from the musical style, of her pervious releases, which she described as being "big songs. From the jump, they just blow up." Rihanna continued to state that with "Anti" she would be focusing on music that "felt real" and soulful and would be timeless. She also stated that she wanted to record songs that could be "timeless" and she could perform them in a span of 15 years, "Not any songs that were burnt out. I find that when I get on stage now, I don’t want to perform a lot of my songs. They don’t feel like me."

Anti's lyrics feature themes of sex, love, drugs, desire and frustration, however the album's lyrical content predominantly touches upon themes of relationships, exploring what it means to be in love, to get hurt, to need someone, and to be true to yourself. The themes of relationships are picked up in numerous songs such as "Kiss It Better" which sees Rihanna questioning how far an ex-lover will go to get her back; in "Woo", Rihanna turns spiteful, stating she does not care for her ex-partner, while "Never Ending" features Rihanna admitting she would like to be in love again. The album's themes were also noted as being unapologetic, with an uncaring attitude, and self-assurance. Writing on behalf of The Guardian Alexis Petridis's stated that "amid the sagas of romantic woe and the inevitable references to marijuana, there are a lot of lyrics about doing things her own way, being more creative, and a pointed-sounding line about her ability to “cover shit in glitter and turn it gold”."

Songs
Anti opens with the dub-inspired song "Consideration". The song contains a "glitchy" production and features guest vocals from singer-songwriter SZA. The song hears Rihanna turning her back on record labels and their expectations, opening with the line "I got to do things my own way darling," delivered in Rihanna's native Barbadian accent. "James Joint" is a neo-soul song that contains "keyboards built over rising bass riffs that create a thickly textured groove." The song was compared to the work of Stevie Wonder, due to the use of a harmonica. "Kiss It Better" is a pop power ballad inspired by the music of the '80s and '90s. Built over deep synths the track features an electric guitar and lyrics that focus on a destructive relationship that the singer knows is wrong for her, but one she finds irresistible. "Work", which features Canadian rapper Drake, is a reggae-pop song and was described as "an understated midtempo jam in the vein of Janet Jackson's recent 'No Sleeep', with a percolating beat, sinuous synth lines, and vocal samples stretched and pulled in a way that recalls Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis's masterful production work on Jackson's 1997 album The Velvet Rope." "Desperado" contains a "mid-tempo groove, bell ringing and shuddering drums, along with deep synths and vocal samples."

The sixth track "Woo" opens with "two jarring, atonal guitar chords repeated along with small, trap-influenced percussion, over a basic riff." "Woo" was compared to the work of Kanye West due to its slow stomping, distortion and lack of melody and groove. The following track "Needed Me" is a downtempo song, with small elements of electro bubble, synthetic sounds, and a loose, casual vocal that discusses romantic rejection, whilst the following song "Yeah, I Said It" continues the trend of containing a slowed down groove. "Same Ol' Mistakes" is a cover version of "New Person, Same Old Mistakes" (2015) performed by Tame Impala. The song contains the same production as the original, featuring a "fluid sound, with elements of psychedelic, hip-hop and pop-rock genres, along with a slow, dreamy, psychedelic synth groove." Rihanna's vocals on the track are "airy, echoing and underpinned" by the song's bass and percussion. "Never Ending" is a guitar-led song, with elements of country music, organic melodies and backing vocals.

"Love On the Brain" is a mid-tempo '50s inspired doo-wop ballad "that features a guitar arpeggio, swirling organ, simple chord progression and backing vocals," and was compared to the work of Amy Winehouse. Rihanna's vocals on the track were noted as being acrobatic and ranging from her "trademark snarl", to high notes, with dark lyrics that depict a destructive, yet addictive relationship. "Higher" is a love song that follows a similar chord sequence to "Love On the Brain", along with woozy production that contains lyrics about Rihanna's feelings towards her lover whilst she is under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The standard edition of Anti closes with the slow piano ballad "Close to You", which is sung in a jazz style. The deluxe version of Anti contains three more songs. The first is "Goodnight Gotham", which contains an interpolation of "Only If for a Night" (2011) performed by Florence and the Machine and hears Rihanna singing along with the "looping" sample. The following track "Pose" features a grimy beat, along with the singer aggressively boasting about her riches, before a chant-heavy breakdown. The final track on the deluxe version, "Sex with Me", contains dreamy production which hears Rihanna talking about her beauty, "before closing with a trippy blend of vocals."

Packaging and title
On October 7, 2015, Rihanna held a private viewing for fans and press at Los Angeles' MAMA Gallery, where she debuted the album's official artwork and title. Initially thought to have been entitled R8 by fans and critics alike, Rihanna announced the official title during the album's cover art release, revealing the album would be called ANTI, the exhibition included a piece of art which defined the album's title stating that anti is "a person opposed to a particular policy, activity or idea." Following the exhibition, Rihanna took to social media to confirm the album's title along with an explanation of its meaning. The explanation stated, "By continuing to follow her own instincts, her work strives to make an impact by doing the very antithesis of what the public expects."

The artwork was designed by Israeli artist Roy Nachum, and was described by Rihanna as her "favorite album cover". The album's front cover shows an image of Rihanna, which was taken on her first day of day care, holding a black balloon, with a gold crown covering her eyes; the majority of the artwork is black and white with a "smattering" of red paint. Speaking about the cover art's concept, Nachum stated that he painted a young Rihanna to represent her "bringing something new" to music.

Over the red, black and white canvas there is a poem written in Braille by poet Chloe Mitchell; the braille follows the theme of the album's singles artwork which also features the same technique. Speaking on her choice to use the language, Rihanna commented, "Sometimes the ones who have sight are the blindest." During the cover's designing stage, Rihanna met with Mitchell, in which they "drank" and came up with a poem that would be used for the artwork and liner notes entitled If They Let Us. Mitchell explained the poem and its meaning to Rolling Stone magazine, stating it was about being misunderstood, but still be able to stand out while doing what is right for you. She further said that the poem speaks about not conforming to society and being a leader as well as accepting that being misunderstood is a positive thing.

At the gallery, the album's back cover, along with multiple inside album artworks were revealed. The album's back cover features the same image this time from behind. The seven pieces of artwork were all named and featured a poem written by Mitchell or Nachum, the front and back covers were titled "If They Let Us Part I" and "If They Let Us Part II" and featured a poem that was split over the front and back, another piece entitled "If They Let Us" was commissioned and featured the full reading of the poem. The inside booklet contains a further five pieces entitled "Fire Part I", "Fire Part II", "Fire Part III" and "R".

Release and promotion
In November 2014, Rihanna announced, that her album should come out "very soon". The following month Rihanna invited "hundreds" of her fans in Paris to participate in a promotional video which was thought to be associated with the release of the album. Following the album's announcement Rihanna released three singles, various snippets of songs and performed at numerous award shows, but never announced the album's release or possible release date. What was then said to be the first single from the album, "FourFiveSeconds", featuring Kanye West and Paul McCartney, was released on January 24, 2015. She later released what was called the second single, "Bitch Better Have My Money", performing it for the first time at the 2nd iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 29, 2015. Another song entitled "American Oxygen" debuted on Tidal on April 5, 2015. The song was at one point reported to be featured on the album. Rihanna also posted an interlude entitled "James Joint" in its entirety from the upcoming album on her website on April 21, 2015, as a "celebration of 420".

In November 2015, it was announced that Rihanna had inked a $25 million contract with Samsung to not only promote Samsung's Galaxy line of products, but to also sponsor the release of Anti and its supporting tour. On November 19, 2015, Rihanna and Samsung released a 16-second cryptic video for Anti, launching a website for Rihanna's forthcoming album entitled "ANTIdiaRy". Upon launch, the mobile-only site gave messages, such as "She's waiting for you. Are you in?" and "Be patient and keep your eyes open". The website then proceeded to launch eight "rooms" over the following 9 weeks, each loosely corresponding to her previous albums, detailing her personal life over the course of her career and including clues from Anti. In the same month, she canceled her performance at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show to finish work on Anti.

The Anti World Tour was announced on November 23, 2015. The Samsung-sponsored tour will start in March 2016, with Travis Scott supporting in North America, and Big Sean supporting at selected European dates. The album leaked onto the internet in its entirety on January 27, 2016, after it was released prematurely on music streaming service Tidal. Anti was exclusive to Tidal for its first full week of availability. Also through Tidal, the album was made available for free download, regardless of whether a listener is a Tidal subscriber or not.

Hours before the Tidal release of Anti, the lead single "Work" featuring Canadian rapper Drake was released. "Work" peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and became Rihanna's fourteenth number-one song in the United States. Subsequently, she became the artist with the third-most number-one songs on the chart following The Beatles with 20 and Carey with 18. A further three singles were released too promote the album – "Kiss It Better", "Needed Me" and "Love on the Brain – with "Needed Me" becoming Rihanna's 29th top ten single on the Hot 100, making her the artist with the third most amount of top tens in Billboard history.

Puma
In the fall of 2015, Rihanna released her first trainer with Puma, named creepers, the sneaker sold out online with three hours of its pre-sale launch. Two months later, in November, a men’s version of the creeper was released and was sold out by the following day. In May 2016, Rihanna released the third instalment of the Fenty x Puma creeper, the trainers sold out within thirty-five minutes of release. Then in 2016, she released the PUMA Fenty Trainer, which premiered in red, white, and black, and then was scheduled to release in a grey "Quarry" colorway at midnight on June 14 via Packer Shoes; they sold for $180. The "Fenty Trainers" were available on June 15 in-store at both Packer Shoes locations. Besides the creepers and trainer collection, Rihanna and Puma, released a faux fur pool slide made in three colours like the creepers, the collection sold out within thirty minutes. As well as designing shoes, Rihanna debuted a clothing line in collaboration with Puma at New York Fashion Week, the collection was met with rave reviews from fashion critics.

Under her PUMA collection, she released the "Puma Creepers".

The publication also relays the brand has experienced the most growth in footwear, which is the area that Rihanna has given most of her focus since taking on the position as Creative Director. Fans are reportedly overly antsy to get their hands on the latest designs by the singer, including the “creeper to the furry shower slides. ” Rihanna has revealed clothing line for the brand Fenty by Puma was also met with rave reviews when first shown at NY Fashion Week. Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/3048389/puma-sales-sky-rocket-thanks-to-kylie-jenner-and-rihanna-kylie-not-backing-down-despite-kanyes-competition/#sGEc5imGk1dZLPpK.99

Writing and development
After the release of Unapologetic and its accompanying tour, Rihanna aimed to take a hiatus from recording music stating; “I wanted to have a year to just do whatever I want artistically, creatively,” Rihanna went on to state that this hiatus lasted a week and she had returned to the studio. During the initial writing and development of the album, Rihanna recording a vast amount of songs that were up-tempo, but was unsure of what she wanted Anti to sound like. Following the albums initially recording Rihanna became bored with pop music stating that she gravitated towards music that was "honest" and represented her at that time. Rihanna also recognised that the music she was recording "might not be some automatic record that will be Top 40," but believes she had "earned the right to do that now.” Following this, Rihanna began to collaborate with producers and writers aiming to create Anti. Initially she began working with past collaborates such as Alex da Kid who along with American rock group X Ambassadors created "American Oxygen". The writing of the song started in 2014, with Rihanna co-writing the verses with Harris and Kid, "I wrote one thing and then Alex and Rihanna had the idea to turn it into this song about an immigrant story, coming to this country as an outsider... That was her idea, really, hers and Alex's, to turn it into that kind of song."



During the album's early development Rihanna aimed to create an album that was both "soulful" and "aggressive", elaborating on this she stated that the aggressive and soulful themes would be heard in the musical, lyrical and vocal context. During a press conference in early 2014, Rihanna told MTV News that she aimed to depart from the musical style of her previous releases, which she described as being "big songs. From the jump, they just blow up." Rihanna continued to state that with Anti she would be focusing on music that "felt real" and soulful and would be timeless. She also stated that she wanted to record songs that could be "timeless" and that she could perform 15 years later. "Not any songs that were burnt out. I find that when I get on stage now, I don't want to perform a lot of my songs. They don't feel like me."

In early 2015 Kanye West announced he would be exceutivley producing Anti. The collaboration came about a year into the albums recording sessions. After Rihanna and West had a meeting, West played her his album which featured work from singer and guitarist Paul McCartney, after hearing the music Rihanna stated she "had to have it" on her album which led the pair to working together. Besides serving as the executive producer of the album West also featured on the song "FourFiveSeconds" along with McCartney, however along with "American Oxygen", the song did not make the albums final cut. In mid-2015 music critics and the media began reporting that Rihanna had scrapped the album in favour of starting again. By September 2015, work on the album slowed down, due to Rihanna's and West's schedules, making it impossible for the pair to record together. Rihanna stated that the pair would be back in the recording studio by November. The same month, Rihanna said that she was still in the process of recording Anti stating it would not be done until the "final moment". However by early 2016, Rihanna revealed that West would no longer executive producer of the album as both of them are working on different projects.

Music and lyrics
Anti has an unconventional musical style, and was seen as a departure from Rihanna's previous material, leaving behind the club and dance genres of her previous releases for a predominantly pop and R&B album. With influences from dancehall and soul music. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian viewed the album as an "experimental R&B" album with elements of psychedelia, whilst Lindsay Zoladz of Vulture believed that "to neatly classify Anti by genre, you'd have to invent one," which she described as being "industrial dancehall". Ben Rayner of The Toronto Star stated that Anti is divided into two halves; the first consisting of "futuristic robo-R&B", whilst the second half contains "a more organic breed of soul". Writing on behalf of Billboard, Julianne Escobedo Shepherd found the Ant's hazy rap and alternative R&B style was similar to artists such as Jhené Aiko and Travis Scott.

Containing interludes and a lack of verses, choruses, melodies and hooks, the album's production has been characterized as being, dark, sparsely layered, bouncy, with lo-fi bass, old school styles, downtempo moodiness and electro-soul minimalism. Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph described the album and musically focusing on "depth and texture" using a mid-tempo rhythm. Stephen Erlewine of All Music stated that albums key factor is it's mood which he noted as being a "subdued, simmering affair, its songs subtly shaded yet interlocked to create a vibe caught halfway between heartbreak and ennui." Anti's production is less prominent in comparison to Rihanna's previous, which allowed "room" for Rihanna's vocals to be derived in a raw and emotional dense style. Throughout the album RIhanna's vocals were used as a focal point, singing with a feathery falsetto, with dexterity, acumen, soul and deep tones, that incorporates the use of her native patio.

During the albums recording Rihanna aimed to create an album that was both "soulful" and "aggressive", elaborating on this she stated that the aggressive and soulful themes would be heard in the musical, lyrical or vocal context. During a press conference in early 2014, Rihanna told MTV News that she aimed to depart from the musical style, of her pervious releases, which she described as being "big songs. From the jump, they just blow up." Rihanna continued to state that with "Anti" she would be focusing on music that "felt real" and soulful and would be timeless. She also stated that she wanted to record songs that could be "timeless" and she could perform them in a span of 15 years, "Not any songs that were burnt out. I find that when I get on stage now, I don’t want to perform a lot of my songs. They don’t feel like me."

Anti's lyrics feature themes of sex, love, drugs, desire and frustration, however the album's lyrical content predominantly touches upon themes of relationships, exploring what it means to be in love, to get hurt, to need someone, and to be true to yourself. The themes of relationships are picked up in numerous songs such as "Kiss It Better" which sees Rihanna questioning how far an ex-lover will go to get her back; in "Woo", Rihanna turns spiteful, stating she does not care for her ex-partner, while "Never Ending" features Rihanna admitting she would like to be in love again. The album's themes were also noted as being unapologetic, with an uncaring attitude, and self-assurance. Writing on behalf of The Guardian Alexis Petridis's stated that "amid the sagas of romantic woe and the inevitable references to marijuana, there are a lot of lyrics about doing things her own way, being more creative, and a pointed-sounding line about her ability to “cover shit in glitter and turn it gold”."

Songs
During a press conference in early 2014, Rihanna told MTV News that the albums music would be different from previous releases which she discribed as being "big songs. From the jump, they just blow up." Rihanna continued to state that with "Anti" she would be focusing on music that "felt real" and soulful and would be timeless. Rihanna later described the album as both "soulful" and "aggressive" whether it was its music, lyrics or vocals.

Anti is a departure from Rihanna's previous material, leaving behind the club and dance genres of her previous releases for a predominantly pop and R&B album, with elements of dancehall and soul. The album's production has been characterized as being, dark, sparsely layered, bouncy, with lo-fi bass, old school styles, downtempo moodiness and electro-soul minimalism. Lindsay Zoladz of Vulture believed that "to neatly classify Anti by genre, you'd have to invent one," which she described as being "industrial dancehall". Ben Rayner of The Toronto Star stated that Anti is divided into two halves; the first consisting of "futuristic robo-R&B", whilst the second half contains "a more organic breed of soul". The albums songs were seen as being a representation of Rihanna experimenting with her Barbadian culture, with a mixture of early hip-hop sounds on "Consideration," folk styles on "Never Ending," doo-wop on "Love On the Brain," piano ballad's such as "Close to You," and the dancehall rhythm featured on "Work".

During the album's recording Rihanna aimed to create an album that was both "soulful" and "aggressive", elaborating on this she stated that the aggressive and soulful themes would be heard in the musical, lyrical and vocal context. During a press conference in early 2014, Rihanna told MTV News that she aimed to depart from the musical style of her previous releases, which she described as being "big songs. From the jump, they just blow up." Rihanna continued to state that with Anti she would be focusing on music that "felt real" and soulful and would be timeless. She also stated that she wanted to record songs that could be "timeless" and that she could perform 15 years later. "Not any songs that were burnt out. I find that when I get on stage now, I don't want to perform a lot of my songs. They don't feel like me."

The album's lyrical content predominantly touches upon themes of relationships, exploring what it means to be in love, to get hurt, to need someone, and to be true to yourself. The theme of relationships is picked up in numerous songs; "Kiss It Better" sees Rihanna questioning how far an ex-lover will go to get her back; in "Woo", Rihanna turns spiteful, stating she does not care for her ex-partner, while "Never Ending" features Rihanna admitting she would like to be in love again. The album's themes were also noted as being unapologetic, with an uncaring attitude, and self-assurance these lyrics were picked up on tracks such as "Consideration", which features frustrations. Erin Macleod of NPR Music stated that lyrically the albums songs were metaphors, for anti-colonislisim. Macleod picked up on tracks such as "Needed Me", which which features lyrics such as "Didn't they tell you that I was a savage?, Fuck ya white horse and ya carriage", Macleod stated that these phrases seem to be that of a conversation between two lovers but could possibly be speaking against the larger narrative of colonialism. Macleod continued to state that other tracks such as "Work" contained a similar narrative due to Rihanna's use of patois.

"American Oxygen" is a ballad. According to Jim Farber of New York Daily News, it features a "deeply resonant production" accompanied by EDM-inspired beats. Jessica Goodman of The Huffington Post described it as a "slowed-down, dubstep-influenced track". Farber compared the lyrical content of the song to the one of the 2009 single "Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z and Alicia Keys. According to Farber, "American Oxygen" "offers an un-ironic endorsement of the American dream, saluting unending possibility and upward mobility". According to Jake Flanagin of Quartz, the song is autobiographical to Rihanna and describes her move to the United States in late 2003, when record producer Evan Rogers discovered her in Barbados.

"FourFiveSeconds" is an acoustic pop and soul pop song, with a length of three minutes and eight seconds. Critics noted how the song has a stripped back feel to it, and that it incorporates elements of country and folk. "FourFiveSeconds" makes use of a simple instrumentation, primarily consisting of an acoustic guitar and organ, as well as a cello in the background. Lyrically, it "express emotions ranging from the flip to the resigned". Sharan Shetty of Slate stated that the song is about "heartbreak and redemption", while a Yahoo! News reviewer noted that it is about "personal travails and confusion".

"James Joint" is an interlude that lasts for The song is a mellow Jazz and neo-soul song, that features keyboards built over rising bass riffs that create a thickly textured groove, the song takes influence from neo-soul and was compared to the work of Stevie Wonder, due to the use of a harmonica. The songs "light keys and synth bass" were compared to the work of producer Thundercat by Patrick Lyons, who also noted Rihanna's vocals as being "low-key" and "warm". Lyrically "James Joint" speaks about a love, "laced" with weed, wild lovemaking and danger.

"Bitch Better Have My Money" is a trap song that was noted as being reminiscent to the works of West, particularly the half-sang and half-rapped vocals, delivered in a Caribbean accent. Lewis Corner of Digital Spy noted that the track represents a sequel to the music material present on Rihanna 2012 seventh studio album, Unapologetic, with lyrics, that feature an angrier tone than "Rihanna's usual oeuvre".

Packaging and title
On Wednesday October 7, 2015 Rihanna held a private viewing for fans and press at Los Angeles' Mama Gallery, where she debuted the albums official artwork and title, the guests were encouraged to wear red blindfolds upon entry and closes their eyes to the braille versions of the albums liner notes. The album albums cover art was designed by Israeli artist Roy Nachum, and was described by Rihanna as her "favourite album cover". An oil painting the albums front cover shows and image of Rihanna which was taken on her first day of daycare, holding a black balloon, with a gold crown covering her eyes, the majority of the artwork is black and white with a "smattering" of red paint. Speaking about the cover arts concept Nachum stated that he painted a young Rihanna to represent her "bringing something new" to music.

Over the red, black and white canvas there is a poem written in braille by poet Chloe Mitchell, the braille follows the theme of the albums singles artwork which also feature the same technique. Speaking on her choice to use braille Rihanna said "Sometimes the ones who have sight are the blindest." During the covers designing stage, Rihanna met with Chloe Mitchell, in which they "drank" and came up with a poem that would be used for the artwork and linear notes entitled If They Let Us. Mitchell explained the poem and its meaning to RollingStone magazine, stating it was about being misunderstood, but still be able to stand out whilst doing what is right for you, continuing Mitchell said that the poem speaks about not conforming to society and being a leader as well as excepting that being misunderstood is a positive thing.



At the gallery the albums back cover along with multiple inside album artworks were revealed. The album back cover features a similar image of Rihanna as a child, however this time from behind, like the front cover the back art features braille whilst the inside covers feature poetry sculpted in Braille by Nachum, the use of braille made the album become the first album ever to incorporate physical Braille. The seven pieces of artwork were all named and featured a poem written by Mitchell or Nachum, the front and back covers were titled “If They Let Us Part I” and “If They Let Us Part II” and featured a poem that was split over the front and back, another piece entitled "If They Let Us" was commissioned and featured the full reading of the poem. The inside booklet contains a further five pieces entitled “Fire Part I”, “Fire Part II”, “Fire Part III” and “R‎”.

Initially thought to have been entitled R8 by fans and critics a like, Rihanna announced the official title during the albums cover art release, revealing the album would be called Anti stylized as ANTI, the exhibition included a piece of art which defined the albums title stating that anti is "a person opposed to a particular policy, activity or idea.” Following the exhibition Rihanna took to social media to confirm the albums title once again along with an explanation of its meaning, the explanation stated "By continuing to follow her own instincts, her work strives to make an impact by doing the very antithesis of what the public expects.”

Impact


Anti along with Kanye West's The Life of Pablo, and Beyonce's "Formation" were noted as being a "pop reformation". The three bodies of work were said to have been released unconventionally and contained themes of black power, which was described as causing "anxiety", Bryan Garsten, a professor of political science at Yale, stated that "anger contains the seeds of politics, and the same might be said of these projects’ defiant attitudes. Just under their surface simmers the anger and restlessness that inspire action." Jacob Potash of The Yale Herald stated that releases such as Beyoncé's self-titled (2013), D'Angelo's, Black Messiah (2014),  and Kendrick Lamar's, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015), were noted as laying the groundwork down for the political charged releases that happened in 2016, which included Anti.

Doreen St. Felix of MTV, stated that Anti was a "rock-star" album and was noted as a "banner for heterogeneity in R&B — the real range of it," continuing to state that in the early 2010s EDM was the popular genre, however "Anti sits relaxed in the space between, without canceling the value in either avenue." Felix stated in a more in-depth review that "Anti could even change with the seasons, depending on which tracks you chose to listen to. No major album release following could nullify Anti’s control, because Rihanna was stoking atmosphere, not time." Contemporary artist Awol Erizku created a series of pieces inspired by musicians, one of the pieces was titled, “Same Ol’ Mistakes,” inspired by the song of the same name from the album Anti. Referencing one of Rihanna's logo's Erizku spoke of how the song inspired his artwork stating “I always thought that logo was really funny. It’s one aspect of pop culture that I thought fit in my world, Rihanna is a voice of our generation, one of our ideals of beauty. You can see these two things co-existing in the same environment.”

Taj Rani of Billboard stated "Work" has brought the genre of dancehall to the forefront of American music, as it became the first dancehall song to top the Billboard Hot 100 since Sean Paul's "Temperature" reached the feat in 2006. She opined the song is a prime example of "an unapologetic black woman proudly showing her heritage at a time when our politics are dominated by #BlackLivesMatter and Donald Trump’s racist, xenophobic and misogynistic tirades." Rani continued to state that although mainstream critics are uncomfortable with Rihanna’s use of patois (describing it as "gibberish"), she is able to display black culture front and center without appropriation from mainstream culture.

Following the songs release a reviewer from RollingStone noted "Work" as being a Tropical Pop song. The review caused outrage, with numerous reviewers responding, Idolator’s Bianca Gracie was among the first to respond stating “What a joke! You do know where that sound originated from right?”, this was followed by users correcting the magazine stating it was not tropical pop but in fact dancehall. Following the RollingStone review critic Jody Rosen stated that the song’s style was similar to Justin Bieber’s, Purpose singles. Reviewers from Spin Magazine replied to this remarks and stated that the reviews were white-washing dancehall music.

The albums commercial performance especially its streaming performance, was noted as helping R&B flourish again, along with Drake and Kanye West, Rihanna was cited as the second most streamed artist of 2016, earning 795 million streams by June.

FOLLOW UP
Following a hiatus, various other endeavours and the creation of her own record label, Rihanna released her eight studio album Anti in January 2016. Following the albums release, Anti producer Cardo, stated that Rihanna would possibly be releasing songs from Anti's recording sessions which did not make the album, he also stated that he and Rihanna had been working on new music and there would possibly be a second volume of Anti. Following this announcement fans began to contact Rihanna via social media asking if the rumours of an Anti part two were true, Rihanna replied to fans stating that there would not be a part two but she was working on a follow up album which she titled "R9".

Rihanna officially revealed that she begun working on her ninth studio album, just months after releasing Anti. In August 2017, Diplo submitted his material, however Rihanna told him the music reminded her of a "Reggee song at an airport" and was not going to use it for the album. On October 19 2017 Shakka revealed that he was currently working with Rihanna on her "Absolutely Insane" album.

This week, Rihanna teased that she was preparing new material – her first offering since 2016 – revealing she was busy in a studio at 5:40am. She has been renting a state-of-the-art studio on Osea island – which has its own gym, cinema and pool as well as quaint little cottages for her entourage.

New
During the conception of the album (2018), Rihanna wanted to create a reggae-centric album. Rihanna enlisted producer Supa Dups, known for his work with Beenie Man and Sean Paul. Rihanna wanted a to create a reggae inspired album but not something people might typically expect of the genre. During this process Rihanna was already in the “discovery stage” for her tenth album. Rihanna wanted to simultaneously create two "pieces of art", a reggae album which focused on the music of her youth and a follow up where she wanted to go next with music.

In late 2019, Rihanna described the album as being a reggae-infused album, stating, it would not be typical of reggae genre. Continuing to state she has homed in on the genre during the creative process of 

Background
In June 2014, Rihanna trademarked her surname, Fenty, for use on an array of products, leading to speculation that she would begin working on endeavours other than her music. According to Trademark documents, Rihanna’s company filed documents for the following names: Fenty Apparel, Fenty Beauty, Fenty Clothing, Fenty Cosmetics, Fenty Face, Fenty Intimates, Fenty Lingerie, Fenty Makeup, Fenty Nails, Fenty Swim, Fenty Swimwear, Boomflick, Fenty Corp, Robyn, Fenty88 and Rhi Rhi. In 2017, Rihanna launched cosmetic company "Fenty Beauty" under LVMH’s Kendo Brands. The partnership was worth $10 million and would see Rihanna release various beauty products. The first instalment of "Fenty Beauty" is set to be released in Autumn of 2017.