Go back to the first time the photo of Rihanna's beaten face surfaced earlier this year, when the celebrated personality was plunged into a darkened public spotlight. On her newest album, "Rated R," the "Disturbia" singer now embraces this disturbing visage, cutting deeper and seemingly scorning her former pop persona.
With her first work since these events, Rihanna tells her fans two messages: Love is hard, but she is harder.
Although Rihanna sings about lost love, none of the songs on "Rated R" convey that the artist wants any sympathy from her public. In fact, she scorns it.
"Hard," featuring Young Jeezy, shows Rihanna has not forgotten how to swagger. It's difficult not to think of the song as a blow to her now-infamous ex-boyfriend, Chris Brown, as she sings, "I can't just let you run up on me like that / Yeah / I see you aiming at my pedestal / So I think I gotta let ya know."
Many of the writers for this album, which include R&B artist Ne-Yo, said they wanted to distance Rihanna from the altercation.
Even so, it is hard for listeners to accept such a claim when some of the songs translate so easily as a response to the beating.
On "Rockstar 101," which features backing guitar from Slash, Rihanna takes another shot at those wanting to show her pity: "I never am the victim / I'd rather be the stalker."
This is not the same bubble gum coming from the artist who gave the world "S.O.S." This album definitely requires a more mature ear, and one should not expect Top 40 radio to accept the songs from "Rated R" as it did from the hit-machine "Good Girl Gone Bad."
Even so, the album isn't just about flipping the bird to an abusive boyfriend. Rihanna captures multiple aspects of a broken heart.
She can go from the listless and sentimental "Photographs," in which she reminisces over an old flame, to "G4L" for "gangsta 4 life," in which Rihanna licks the tip of her smoking gun, solidifying her sweet revenge.
Rihanna can go from sweet-yet-dejected girl to the scariest woman you have ever met. That's what makes it so interesting -- as soon as listeners think they know what's going to happen next, the following song is a complete 180.
The artist's immersion into her respective roles makes everything theatrical, giving the listener little choice but to play along.
On "Russian Roulette," listeners can hear the desperation and terror in her voice as Rihanna and her love play a round of the fatal game.
Besides the swearing and ominous lyrics on the more passionate tracks on the album, her music has also become more mature, making the work as a whole a lot more appealing musically.
Rihanna's album rewards the listener by combining hip-hop beats with guitars and drums reminiscent of '80s hits. One can hear familiar motifs from songs of this era like "Thriller," "In the Air Tonight," and "Purple Rain" throughout the work.
In short, "Rated R" is not just Rihanna's attempt to vent. It is more. It is full of charisma, emotion and various ways to deal with pain.
If there was some good that came out of her incident with Brown, it was that Rihanna had the drive to sing her best songs to date.
So keep your pity. Save it for the next diva.
Grade: B+
Download: "Hard," "Russian Roulette"
