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Where’s the fire emoji because this track is straight up HOT! This is the Rihanna we’ve been looking for throughout this entire album. That bassline, their vocals, the lyrics – the record will certainly be a fan favourite. It’s safe to say their vocals complement each other wonderfully. Rihanna and upcoming R&B artist, SZA team up in the cool and edgy track that is Consideration. Don’t overlook this one, just because it’s the album closer. We love it when Rihanna’s songs are stripped all the way back to just her vocals.
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The tender piano ballad is probably the only track on Anti that has a sense of emotion. The album’s closing track, Close To You serves as a Stay follow-up. YASS! Slay, Rih! This dubsteppy, self-empowered number is going to be the female savage anthem of 2016. “Didn’t they tell you that I was a savage? F**k ya white horse and ya carriage”. In fact, we actually do want to thank Rihanna for this hit. There’s even a reminiscence of Dido’s 1999 hit, Thank You. Does anyone else feel like this song belongs to Coldplay? The acoustic ballad is simple, but slick. Once again Rihanna steps out of her commercial comfort zone and straight into indie/folk territory with Never Ending. Love on the Brain sounds like something lifted straight out of the 1950’s, sang by British retro superstar, Paloma Faith. No matter how impressive her raw vocal tone is in this number, we still don’t think this genre suits the Rihanna we all know. It’s true, the Fenty Beauty queen delivers some of her finest vocal moments in Love on the Brain. But let’s talk about the singer’s vocals. Could RiRi be crooning about a certain Chris Brown in this one? Maybe. “It beats me black and blue but it f-cks me so good”. This will definitely become fans’ “before bed” song, if you get what I mean… 8. That’s not to say it isn’t sexy or relaxing though. Yeah I Said ItĬomparing to her classic, upbeat tracks like We Found Love or Umbrella, it’s safe to say Rihanna puts little effort in the snooze-fest that is Yeah I Said It. That background melody soon grows tiresome. We won’t have this one on repeat, though. It would have been better if the rapper had a verse on this dark and distorted production. Rihanna’s ex-boyfriend, Travis Scott, collaborates with her on the trippy and almost haunting, Woo. Unfortunately, Ri’s version of Tame Impala’s New Person, Same Old Mistakes is a little too repetitive and hypnotic to make it a favorable track on the album. In fact, it makes us wish Rihanna collaborated with her on this one, just to give it that extra kick. Same Ol’ Mistakes has a certain Lana Del Rey vibe to it. Like we said, Anti lacks that obvious Rihanna sound. But for all you 420 supporters out there, we’re sure it’s your fave on the album… 11. As an interlude, James Joint is simply too short to even enjoy. The stoner anthem on Anti would have been a lot better had it been a longer track. The singer is no stranger to controversy – even in her music! With opening lyrics like “I’d rather be smoking weed whenever we breathe”, James Joint makes you want to light one up, even if you’ve never lit one up before. There’s passion, there’s emotion and there’s a sense of vulnerability but her vocals become too screechy to the point where they grate on you, making the song almost unlistenable. In Higher, Rihanna uses a husky and raspy voice that she’s never used before and we’re not sure if it’s a good thing. HigherĪre we the only ones out there who do not like this track? Respect to Rihanna for daring to experiment but this is in our opinion, by no means a winning track on Anti. Which songs are worth listening to? Here’s a list of Anti songs ranked from worst to first… 13. So, was it worth the wait? There certainly are a few memorable moments, both good and bad. As the title suggests, Anti is not your typical Rihanna album. FourFiveSeconds, BBHMM and American Oxygen are notably absent. If you were expecting to hear pop smashes, forget it. Rihanna unleashes a vulnerable side, delivers a strong vocal performance and experiments with various music genres on the anticipated record. Rihanna’s long-awaited eighth studio album, Anti has arrived guys.