Anti by Rihanna

R&B/pop artist Rihanna has been a part of the mainstream pop scene for what feels like forever now. As hard as it is to believe, it's been over 10 years since here early hits Pon de Replay and SOS hit the airwaves for the first time. During her career, Rihanna has at the very least, attempted to change her musical style multiple times, to varying degrees of success. On her last release back in 2012 Unapologetic, she attempted to incorporate elements of EDM in her music, a change that while an interesting idea, didn't add very much to the music she was creating.

Now, 4 years have passed since the release of Rihanna's last full-length album. Not only did she decide to drop an album without much notice or singles to hype the release beforehand, but she also looked to go against the "grain of pop music" so to speak, even naming her album Anti, because as she stated "the album will be the very antithesis of what the public expects." With that being said, Rihanna isn't the first pop star to try and reinvent the formula, and if the risk doesn't pay off, she won't be the first to fail either.

First, let's look at the bad. The lyrical content on this album is arguably the most dumbed down you will find on a pop record. It goes without saying at this point that Rihanna doesn't write her own music, but typically, hearing that an artist does not write their own songs leads one to expect fairly catchy and simplistic songs. However, that isn't always the case on Anti. Instead, we get horribly written lines like James Joint's "I'd rather be, smoking weed, whenever we breathe" and whatever you want classify the mumble filled moments of the album's only single so far Work, which happens to be easily the least enjoyable track on the album as Rihanna comes through as both obnoxious and non-sensical at times, and even a feature from one of the biggest acts in hip-hop Drake can't seem to save face. As the album nears the finish, we also get a trio of slow, uninspired, all together boring ballads. The first of which, Love on the Brain is a clear ode to early mainstream soul artists, but falls completely flat and is nothing new to see from a pop singer as just last year Meghan Trainor's album Title was an equally uninspired throwback doo-wop album. The second to last track Higher sees a very quiet piano based instrumental hide in the background as an attempt to showcase Rihanna's vocal talents. While Rihanna has, without a doubt, a fantastic voice, there's nothing aside from her voice to take away from the track, as it simply offers nothing else. Finally, the closing track Close to You is another piano ballad, this time a break-up song. It's a very forgettable track, and could be interchanged with any other ballad on any other of her earlier albums (so much for the antithesis right?)

Now, onto the areas were the album truly impressed me. The opening track, Consideration, features a glitchy drum pattern focused instrumental, and is one of my favorite cuts on the whole album due to the dub/reggae elements incorporated. We also get a guest appearance from TDE signee SZA, and the two come together for a short yet very enjoyable opener. Desperado is also a very enjoyable track, thanks to the explosive piano/synth based instrumental which also features some of the better lyrics on the record. The Hit-Boy/Travis Scott produced Woo sounds like it would have belonged perfectly on Scott's last full-length Rodeo, and for that reason alone is very easily one of the best songs I've ever heard from Rihanna. Of all these moments, perhaps the album's peak moment comes on Same Ol' Mistakes, a cover of Australian psychedelic-rock act Tame Impala's song by the same name. Not only does Rihanna handle the track incredibly well, but it was recently reported Tame Impala's Kevin Parker is "very happy with how the song turned out" which should definitely say something of her performance.

Anti is easily one of the more interesting pop records I've heard in the past few years, and Rihanna manages to take influence from many artists and genres as a whole throughout the project. Not only is this, in my opinion at least, a new career high for the Barbadian singer, but it's also perhaps her most divided album as far tracks go. The songs range from boring and disappointing, to unique and innovative, and the transitions between are often so quick that sometimes you might forget you're listening to an album from a Top-40 Billboard artist, and I mean that in the best way possible. Unfortunately, the base formula that often times comes with being such a successful mainstream act appears quite a bit throughout Anti, and while it doesn't ruin the album, it does take away from what could have easily been a milestone release.

Favorite Tracks: Consideration, Desperado, Woo, Needed Me, Same Ol' Mistake,

Least Favorite Tracks: Kiss It Better, Work, Higher,

Rating: 3.5/5