June 05, 2007 @ 9:58 am
Rihanna - Good Girl Gone Bad (Def Jam)
Bahamian princess in a pop state of mind. From VIBE's July 2007 issue.
Rihanna should have titled her third album Good Girl Gone Pop. The 19-year-old Def Jam Recordings ingenue, who butterflied her way from Bahamian dancehall queen to American pop princess in a few short years, has executed a genre-swapping crossover move as smooth as her elastic-limbed choreography. Good Girl Gone Bad is a creative revisiting of fallen pop compatriot Britney Spears' coming-of-age album, Britney (Jive 2001). And like Britney, Rihanna, in the final year of her teens, seductively straddles the line between doe-eyed sweetheart and sassy sex kitten. But this act of calculated sensuality is more than a simple hiking of hemlines - it's adventurous reinvention.
Until now, Rihanna has delivered a carnival of huge singles - "Pon de Replay," "SOS," "Unfaithful," - followed by far less-satisfying albums. But Good Girl is cohesive, stuffed with less Twinkie filling than last year's A Girl Like Me (Def Jam). On "Umbrella," the rhythmic, Jay-Z-assisted single, the sticky chorus, "Um-ber-ella-ella-ella-ay-ay-ay" is as contagious as a beat-injected nursery rhyme. Later, it isn't hard to picture a sea of shirtless, X-popping, Madonna-loving Chelsea boys jamming to the techno-tinged "Don't Stop The Music." Rihanna even coos Michael Jackson's classic tongue twister, "mama se, mamasa...," over the StarGate-produced house banger - she's clearly in a pop state of mind.
But Rihanna's strength still lies in uptempo numbers. The few ballads here are the weakest of the bunch, save the Timbaland-produced "Rehab." The lackluster Ne-Yo-penned title track is hardly a window to Rihanna's soul: "Treat us right / 'Cause once a good girl goes bad / She's gone forever," she sings, with a nod to Jay-Z. And the breezy Ne-Yo duet, "Hate That I Love You," is little more than a pretty regurgitation of his 2006 hit "So Sick."
Although Rihanna's Caribbean-inflected vocal cadence is audible throughout, she rarely capitalizes on her roots. Instead of the booming dancehall beats of longtime producers Syndicated Rhythm, the production team's West Indian flavor is synthesized with standard-issue urban pop. As a result, the hook-laden Good Girl is 100-degrees-in-the-shade hot - and about as deep as a puddle.
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http://www.vibe.com/music/revolutions/2007/06/rihanna_review/
Comments
1.
Finetwine says:
To Mamii, the correct term is Barbadian, when one is referring to a person born in Barbados. Bajan is the slang term. To verify this, look at someones passport, birth certificate or anything official....It is Barbadian....You need to get your facts straight before you talk and make yourself look stupid.
October 30, 2007 at 8:37 am
2.
ranawaseem says:
this websit is veery god
October 25, 2007 at 3:36 am
3.
MAMii says:
FIRST OF ALL SHE IS NOT BAHAMIAN SHE IS FROM BARBADOS
SECOND OF ALL IF YOU ARE FROM BARBADOS YOU ARE NOT CALLED "BARBADIAN" YOU ARE A "BAJAN". ITS AL SHAME HOW PEOPLE WHO ARE FROM BARBADOS EVEN MESS THAT UP. GESSSHH
October 22, 2007 at 11:29 am
4.
The Realist says:
After all the smoke clears from this garbage opinion hitting the dirt, clean the crust from your eyes, go to your CD collection or your car for that matter & play the CD you just dissed...better yet, turn on EVERY radio station and you'll hear what you can't deny is talent. Haters flourish everywhere...but most maggots grow up to be flys....I BROUGHT THE SWATTER!!
October 21, 2007 at 8:39 am
5.
Shakira says:
As a Barbadian woman, I love Rihanna. So next time you write an article please get the facts right. She's from Barbados, not the Bahamas
August 9, 2007 at 2:57 pm
6.
spicyvincy says:
one would think that when a review is being done that the author would ensure that all details (no matter how minute) would be thoroughly research. Its BARBADIAN (Barbados)not Bahamian (Bahamas).
July 31, 2007 at 11:47 am
7.
YOGESH says:
i love your vidios.
July 25, 2007 at 9:38 am
8.
beyonce fan and ciara fan says:
i love thiz song thiz is a hit like all the others
July 6, 2007 at 5:20 pm
9.
Elijah says:
I agree with the album review 100%. Rihanna has went from dancehall, to R&B, and now pop. I think she's just capitalizing on what's selling. Even though some selections on her new album will definitely end up as Billboard #1's (Umbrella, Shut Up and Drive), she should focus more on having multi-platinum albums with substance if she still wants to continue in the music industry and gain respect. Also she should work more on her ballads, and capitalize on her island fever. And she should try to remeber she doesn't have to avoid R&B totally, even when trying to get #1's , because #1's don't guarantee album sales. I really believe in her and I think if she wouldn't have to come out with a new album every year if she created music that meant something and could sell.
July 2, 2007 at 2:59 pm
10.
jai says:
i like sex.
July 2, 2007 at 7:29 am
11.
Gabrielle Denize Newsam says:
To whom it may concern:
Please check your facts BEFORE printing an article. Rihanna is from BARBADOS, not the Bahamas.
June 22, 2007 at 5:19 pm
12.
NATALYA says:
THIS IS SO NARROW MINDED. I LOVE RIHANNA, [REPRESENTING BARBADOS!!!] THERE ARE NO OTHER YOUNG FEMALE ENTERTAINERS FROM THE CARRIBEAN, SHES A GREAT ROLE MODEL AND HER CD IS FIRE. I MUSTVE BEEN SINGIN THE WORDS WITH HER ON THE 3RD LISTEN!!! THESE PEOPLE NEED TO GET THEIR STUFF IN CHECK.
June 22, 2007 at 11:42 am
13.
amanda stone says:
i think rihanna rck the wiorld and i love her new song unbrella
you can stand under my unbrella ella ella ella air air air under my unbrella
wow that song rock if you want to chat call me on 0434994983
ps GO RIHANNA!!!!!!!!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxx
June 18, 2007 at 5:32 pm
14.
valasi says:
rihanna is hawt...if i was a man i wud so get wif her
June 11, 2007 at 7:14 pm
15.
BIGMOUTHIPPO says:
U people give such stupid reviews. Say'n she is bahamian how stupid can u get!!!
June 6, 2007 at 2:22 pm
16.
rihannashot says:
Dammn, learn how to write reviews, get the right info. Rihanna the hottest girl in the game. And her new album is soo hott, even dough its got a few flaws itss sizzlin hott.. hehehe
hope she continues like this, maybe she could have kept a little her caribbean flavour!!
June 6, 2007 at 11:54 am
17.
Rayne says:
What an embarrassment LOL. And how rude. Rihanna is from Barbados. That is basic, how do you not know that?
Rihanna is a superstar and its an insult.
The album shouldn't be renamed "good girl gone pop" it should be called 12 singles because EVERY song is grade A material.
Say It is the only song that wouldn't make top 5 but it could get top 10.
June 6, 2007 at 2:08 am
18.
Joanna says:
Rihanna is from Barbados, so she's Bajan not the Bahamian. And Michael Jackson may have used the mama se, mama sa, but it came from Manu DiBango on "Soul Makossa." I do wish she would have kept more Carib flavor, it's what makes her vocal style interesting
June 5, 2007 at 7:20 pm
19.
reviewofthereview says:
Wow!!! All I needed to read was Bahamas and I stopped there.......hmmmm maybe your first review
June 5, 2007 at 5:55 pm
20.
BossMan says:
You can't even get where she is from right. You should not be writing a review. Get facts then right the review dummy.
June 5, 2007 at 4:34 pm
21.
Frank says:
Rihanna is from BARBADOS, not the Bahamas.
June 5, 2007 at 3:48 pm
22.
dericsimmons says:
Rihanna is not bahamian!! She is BARBADIAN!!!
June 5, 2007 at 12:55 pm