Released on Jan. 28, the 27 year old singer, Rihanna, gave fans her 8th studio album, ANTI. The Barbados island gal’s album sold 1.4 million copies in only 15 hours via streaming. After listening to the album myself, I have noticed Rihanna explored new sounds.
My personal favorite addition to this album would be the huge influence of Travis Scott. He is a rapper from Houston, Texas who had one of the most underrated rap albums of 2016. You will hear his sound production quite a lot with this project. TMZ has often spotted the two hooking up recently at several venues, but as Rihanna declares she is single to many sources, we’ll get back to the music.
The album begins with Rihanna exercising her vocal ability with the introduction track “Consideration.” She has been practicing her vocals and she gives a good taste of her capabilities in the song with singer SZA. The two exchange high notes that are both soulful and aggressive.
Rihanna uses the interlude “James Joint,” previously released on April 20, 2015, to confess her strong love for marijuana. This song was named after singer and songwriter James Fauntleroy.
Exploring her horizons, Rihanna brings us songs like “Kiss it Better” and “Desperado.” The song “Kiss it Better” has a rock/dance feel in collaboration with guitarist Nuno Bettencourt. The song may possibly be hinting at a secret relationship she shares.
In “Desperado,” however, she gracefully vocalizes over a synth based instrumental. The piece is simple and somewhere in the Pop/Rock genre.
Although Tidal views Rihanna’s album release as a success, it really depends on how one recognizes sales which differentiate variously in the music industry. It has only been a week, and may be too soon to name the highly anticipated project as success or failure. A tour date for ANTI World Tour has been set to begin Feb. 26, 2016.
