A Girl like Me: Rihanna Has Got What it Takes on New Album

Rihanna was poised to be the beacon for R&B over at Def Jam’s headquarters in the summer of 2005. The only R&B act on the roster, and the counterpart to Roc-A-Fella’s (distributed through Def Jam no less) own Teairra Mari, Rihanna’s brand of R&B mixed with her Reggae roots edged in hooky pop melodies was Def Jam’s shot at crossing over and gaining a monopoly on the three major airplay markets dominating radio today, making them the ultimate major label in the industry.

But though her debut single, “Pon De Replay”, quickly shot to #2, her debut album, Music of the Sun, under-performed in its first week of sales, and despite it being a consistent weekly seller, “tanked” by industry standards. A flop of a second single led to the promotion on her album being quietly pulled while the powers that be over at Def Jam put some major damage control into motion.

So what does one do when their debut single is a smash hit and their debut album is lost in the shuffle in less than 6 months time? Go for the jugular, of course; call up some higher-profile producers, dilute the reggae with more straight-laced pop and R&B, send the artist’s image into glamour overload, and issue forth a sophomore set in enough time to promote it as if your debut never really existed.

And thus, 9 months after she emerged with Music of the Sun, Rihanna has returned to re-introduce herself with A Girl Like Me.

Now make no mistake. Music of the Sun wasn’t a bad listen by any stretch. It was a fresh, fun album full of energetic rhythms that throbbed, pulsated and swooned in all the right places. And rightfully so, A Girl Like Me doesn’t deviate too much from that blueprint. It itself is a fresh, fun album full of more energetic rhythms that throb, pulsate and swoon in mostly all the right places.

Case in point: lead single, S.O.S. Some said that the reggae-tinged R&B that populated Rihanna’s debut may have been overkill considering it was released right in the wake of the whole Dancehall/Reggaeton movement. So to prove Rihanna’s versatility, producer J. Rotem stripped away the whole Reggae motif and opted for a 2006 rebirth of “Tainted Love”. His electric synthesizers work overtime against the pulsating drumline and Rihanna’s passionate vocal that epitomizes the obsessive nature of young love in quite a fresh manner.

Elsewhere, Rihanna drops the reggae grooves momentarily to demonstrate her worth as a straight-laced R&B artist. Current single, Unfaithful, casts Rihanna in a much more dramatic light as she portrays an adulterous girlfriend who’s infidelity slowly drives her insane. Labelmate Ne-Yo’s descriptive dialogue is a perfect match for Stargate’s thematic production that blends well with Rihanna’s nasal soprano, which is coarse and uneasy but still has a noticeable strength and definition to it. For more evidence of the latter, listen to her pained yet resolved vocal on the heartbreaking Final Goodbye or the sappy piano ballad dedicated to separated hearts, A Million Miles Away.

Stargate demonstrate their best Jermaine Dupri impersonation – handclaps, skittering 808s and all – on the summery, radio-friendly, love-gone-lost We Ride while Rihanna’s ace boon coons, Evan & Carl a.k.a. Syndicated Rhythm, definitely make a bid for her to earn a spot in the Beyonce department on P.S. (I’m Still Not Over You).

But it goes without saying that Rihanna’s sounds her strongest, most natural and most comfortable when she’s belting her heart out over those bonafide Reggae&B tunes. Touring with Gwen Stefani rubbed off on Rihanna as she experiments with Reggae and Rock on the superb Kisses Don’t Lie Mike City notches another masterpiece in his belt with relaxing island swoon of Dem Haters. A positive and uplifting lyric matched with a smooth vocal assist from Dwane Husbands easily makes this one of Rihanna’s (brief) career highlights.

Being reduced to a simple hook girl on her collabo with Sean Paul, Break It Off, is no disservice to Rihanna as the duo still create one energized reggae/dancehall romp that’s akin to Sean’s own “Temperature” and sure to be a summertime, nationwide dancefloor filler. Crazy Little Thing Called Love is slick reggae filler and the title track, A Girl Like Me, is the sonic twin of “Music of the Sun”, this time being a gorgeous and serene ode to Rihanna’s individuality.

Though it may very well be one of the most rushed sophomore albums in history, A Girl Like Me, only serves to perpetuate Rihanna’s rising star and showcases further proof that Rihanna’s meld of reggae-meets-R&B-meets-hip-hop-(on-occasion) isn’t so much a fad as it is a genuine demonstration of her talent and potential. Her focus on #1 records and Platinum plaques still doesn’t seem as strong as it is on making more durable music that will contribute to her longevity.

Rihanna seems in it to win it and if this is the greatness she’s capable of in only 9 months time, imagine what a force she’ll be to reckon with when she actually takes her time.