Rihanna was also rallying up fist pumps with her stint with EDM, benchmarked by “We Found Love” featuring 2012’s Calvin Harris (her longest-leading No. 1 and a Grammy for best rap sung collaboration in 2008. To lead off her third album Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna signaled a new direction - and reached a new level of stardom - with the Jay Z collaboration “Umbrella.” It was an edgy pop song with rap and rock touches, earning another No.
Rihanna work language full#
Although her sophomore effort began to infuse more pop sounds, it still carried “Break It Off” featuring aforementioned dancehall king Sean Paul.ĭirector X Talks Creating Rihanna’s ‘Work’ Video and Putting West Indian Culture on Full Display Her mother is Afro-Guyanese and her father is of Afro-Barbadian and British Isles ancestry (known as 'Redlegs' in the Caribbean). Michael, Barbados and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados to Monica Braithwaite, an accountant & Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor. Music of the Sun also featured dancehall-leaning tunes like “You Don’t Love Me (No, No, No)” featuring vet Vybz Kartel and “Rush” featuring rapper Kardinal Offishall. Rihanna was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on Februin St. Her debut led with the infectious dancehall-influenced tune “Pon De Replay” - a title that translates to “upon the replay” from Bajan Creole, the official language of Rihanna’s native Barbados - and was remixed by Elephant Man. 5 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, respectively, the latter even going platinum. Her first two albums - 2005’s Music of the Sun and 2006’s A Girl Like Me - were loaded with dancehall vibes that put her on the map, debuting at No. Of course, the West Indian vibes of “Work” aren’t new to Rihanna Inc., nor should it be to a Navy member or casual follower. #WORK is sittin pretty at #1 for a second week in a row on #BBHot100!!! Big ups to God and my fans!!! On the other hand, “Work,” is an interpolation of “Sail Away,” a 1998 dancehall riddim by Jamaican singer Richie Stephens and features Rihanna singing in patois. Last year’s ubiquitous “Cheerleader” featured traces of singer Omi’s Jamaican roots, but it was undeniably a dance-pop song at heart. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 was Sean Paul‘s “Temperature” in 2006. The track is a proud, powerful reminder of the Barbados-born singer’s West Indian roots - and a milestone for dancehall: The last song in the genre to hit No.
No, the Drake-assisted song isn’t part of a new genre that many in the mainstream media are calling “tropical house.” And no, it isn’t one of the pop anthems we’re used to from Rihanna, like her last album’s lead single, “Diamonds.” As the first half of her ‘Work” video, filmed in the beloved Caribbean restaurant The Real Jerk in Toronto, makes explicit, Anti’s lead single is undeniably drenched in dancehall - a genre with deep roots in Jamaica’s club scene that spun off from reggae in the 1970s. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, isn’t your typical chart-topper. Rihanna‘s “Work,” currently spending its second week at No.