Good Girl Gone Bad

About

Superstars aren’t created overnight; most are lucky to access any notoriety after dropping a single blockbuster hit. But Rihanna isn’t your average superstar. The Barbadian singer’s career, it could be argued, broke through with a solo clash of a hi-hat cymbal now recognized the world over as the first sound of “Umbrella.” The Grammy winning track opens her third LP. With some assist from JAŸ-Z, Ri’s delivery of “brella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh” was the sound heard around the world, the start of her own personal revolution: a departure from her “Pon de Replay” Caribbean pop (after all, “Umbrella” was originally written for Britney Spear, whose team turned it down) and an arrival at total ubiquity. His is the first voice we hear, but her voice is the one we remember. It sets the tone for her third album, a confluence of ambitiou, boundary-pushing vocal work on Rihanna’s part—a pivot toward edgy songcraft targeting the global stage—and a laundry list of A-list producers: Tricky Stewart, Sean Garrett, The-Dream, and Timbaland. They, armed with the skill set to evolve Ri’s voice, worked to maintain her dancehall roots (like in “Say It,” which samples Mad Cobra’s 1992 song “Flex”), laying the foundation for an ineffable career. <i>Good Girl Gone Bad</i> has it all, boasting a prescient genre-agnosticism decades ahead of the pop landscape. “Shut Up and Drive” is high-octane New Wave rock ’n’ roll, for example, though the record is largely classified as pop R&B, while “Disturbia” charms with its gothic disco. There’s also a deep understanding of the importance of worldwide dance-pop hit, particularly with “Don’t Stop the Music,” courtesy of Norwegian producers Stargate, and its clever sample of Michael Jackson’s “mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-koosa" from his 1983 single “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” .

via Apple Music

The Clerk says

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