Rihanna – ANTI (Westbury Road/Roc Nation, 2016)
Rihanna decides to march to the beat of her own drum for her eighth studio album ANTI. The Barbadian musician steers away from her club music past and puts out a more genuine and timeless record. Her tracks are a brilliantly crafted melange of reggae, dancehall, R&B and pop; Vulture has even classified her album as “industrial dancehall.” She flaunts a soulful side of her vocals in “Love on the Brain,” a jazzy song that takes us back in time to evoke the classic jazz vocalists Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James. A dub-style R&B track about the dark side of fame titled “Consideration” speaks to an unidentified “you” about her struggle to flourish as an artist in the music industry. RiRi proves to be a more well-rounded and mature artist this time around.
Trial track: “Consideration”
8/10
