Rihanna can be as unapologetic as she feels she needs to be, and can support Brown all she wants. After becoming a metaphorical cop in ‘Numb,’ Eminem describes himself like this: ‘I’m the siren that you hear / I’m the butt police, and I’m looking at your rear, rear, rear.’ Eminem, one of the greatest rappers in the genre’s history, wrote that line. But this is not that, and the following lyric should explain why. Featuring slow, down-pitched snares and a crawling momentum, the most notable of these, ‘Numb,’ is a duet with rapper Eminem, who’s repaying Rihanna for the ‘Love the Way You Lie’ chorus that revived his career. Others draw on the ‘chopped and screwed’ sounds of Houston and good old-fashioned dance pop. Times criticizes the album collaborations, saying: “Half the record, in fact, features hints of dubstep. Like previous Rihanna projects, Unapologetic is destined to crank out at least five singles over the next 12 months (or until it’s time for the next album, anyway).” There’s hard-hitting club songs (‘Phresh Out the Runway,’ ‘Pour It Up,’ the Ginuwine-sampling ‘Jump’), feel-good dance jams (David Guetta-produced ‘Right Now,’ Chris Brown duet ‘Nobody’s Business’) and a surprising abundance of heartfelt ballads (lead single ‘Diamonds,’ ‘Stay’ featuring Mikky Ekko, the confessional suite ‘Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary’ and bonus track ‘Half Of Me’), all of which showcase Rihanna’s voice in ways the listener hasn’t heard before. Read below to see what the top music critics are saying about the album:Īndrew Hampp of Billboard takes note of the album’s musical variety: “Amping up on urban, dubstep-leaning R&B and scaling back on the often awkward sex jams that populated the second half of 2011’s Talk That Talk, Unapologetic is Rihanna’s most confident, emotionally resonant work since 2009’s Rated R.
While some critics praise the singer for the diversity of sounds on her album, others say she is has yet to shine. The lead single on the album, “Diamonds,” has already climbed toward the No. STORY: THR’s Top 25 Hollywood Beauty Moments of 2012: Katy Perry, Kristen Stewart and Rihanna The album, a mix of club hits, personal ballads and R&B grooves, features a host of star collaborations, from the David Guettaand The-Dream produced “Right Now,” to Eminem‘s rap verse on “Numb.” However, one of the most talked-about collaborations on the album, “Nobody’s Business,” features Rihanna’s controversial ex-flame-turned-friend, Chris Brown. Continuing the theme of seven, and her “hardest working woman in show business” title, Rihanna released her seventh album in seven years on Nov. On Tuesday, Rihanna will wrap her headline-making 777 Tour (in which she delivers seven concerts in seven countries in seven days) to promote her Unapologetic album.