A Review of Rihanna’s “Anti”

It’s been three years since Rihanna has released an album, leaving listeners waiting, desperate for new music. Her predictable pop schedule came to an end after her award winning album “Unapologetic”. Her newest album, “Anti” was released January 28; receiving backlash from critics. ‘Anti’ is very much a coming of age album for Rihanna. After ‘Unapologetic’ the Barbadian artist separated from Def Jam, resigning to Roc Nation. ‘Anti’ is unlike past albums in the fact that it consists entirely of raspy, unpolished ballads. It lacks the artist’s always successful dance tracks. ‘Anti’ sounds like Rihanna was given total control of the album and wasn’t exactly sure what to do with it.

“Anti” kicks off with “Consideration,” a collaborative track featuring R&B artist SZA. “Consideration” features Rihanna’s deep raspy vocals, a drastic contrast to SZA’s melodic, smooth jazz sound. The track “Work” is the stand out of the album, receiving the most success. Consisting of cracking vocals from Rihanna and the always emotional sound and lyrics from Drake, the song is a perfect fit for both artists. “Desperado” is the next powerful song from the album, discussing struggles with love, loneliness, and leaving in a soulful approach reminiscent of the Calypso songs of Barbados.

The roughest part of the album is the songs in between hits. The longer I listened to “Anti” the more the songs blended together. Songs ended and new ones began and I had no idea. The transition between “Needed Me” and “Yeah, I Said It” is completely unnoticeable. The biggest problem with this album is the absolute lack of variety.

As a whole, “Anti” was a disappointment. As Rihanna continues to progress in her career, her albums become less energetic and more about her history. She has changed her lyric style significantly and lacks all the qualities that originally made her a sensation. Although “Anti” is not the standard Rihanna album, Rihanna has huge potential as an artist and I feel that “Anti” isn’t a true representation of that.