Rihanna – Anti

Anti is the eighth studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, released on January 28, 2016, through Westbury Road and Roc Nation. The singer began planning the record in 2014, at which time she left her previous label Def Jam and joined Roc Nation. Work continued into 2015, during which she released three singles, including the internationally acclaimed “FourFiveSeconds”; they were ultimately removed from the final track listing. The record was made available for free digital download on January 28 through Tidal and was released to online music stores for paid purchase on January 29. Anti is scheduled to be released to physical retailers on February 5.

As executive producer, Rihanna collaborated with producers including Jeff Bhasker, Boi-1da, DJ Mustard, Hit-Boy, Brian Kennedy, Timbaland and No I.D. to achieve her desired sound. Their efforts resulted in a primarily R&B album; it features guest vocals from longtime collaborator Drake and new partner SZA. “Work” was released as the lead single from the record on January 27, 2016. The album will be promoted with the upcoming Anti World Tour, scheduled to begin in February 2016.

In November 2012, Rihanna released her seventh studio album, Unapologetic, a pop and R&B album that incorporates elements of dubstep and other electronic music. It received mixed reviews from music critics and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with sales of over 238,000 copies. The album spawned seven singles, including the international hits, “Diamonds” and “Stay”. To further promote it, in 2013, Rihanna embarked on her fifth concert tour, the Diamonds World Tour. From the start of her career in 2005 until 2012, Rihanna released or re-released at least one album annually. In 2013, however, Rihanna took a step back from music and did not release a new album that year or the following. She instead opted to take part in other endeavours, starring in the 3D animated film Home, alongside Jim Parsons, Steve Martin and Jennifer Lopez, as well as executively producing its accompanying soundtrack.

In May 2014, it was announced that Rihanna had left Def Jam to sign fully with her manager Jay Z’s company Roc Nation, during this time the media reported that the album was delayed or scrapped, with Rihanna opting to start the project again and in search of a new sound. There was considerable confusion among music journalists and fans, with Rihanna avoiding discussing the album or its release. In October 2015, it was revealed that Rihanna had acquired the masters to all her recordings and would be releasing Anti jointly through her own record label Westbury Road and Roc Nation. Later that month it was announced that Rihanna had inked a $25 million contract with Samsung. The deal would see Rihanna promoting Samsung’s Galaxy line of products whilst Samsung would sponsor the release of Anti and its supporting tour.

The span gap between Rihanna’s last studio album, Unapologetic and Anti is the longest wait between records in her music career. On October 8, 2014, she posted a picture of herself in the studio, working on the album. American singer Ne-Yo, and also her frequent collaborator, in an interview with Capital Xtra on November 11, regarding Anti said, “The stuff I’ve heard is absolutely incredible. I can’t speak on what it sounds like because I’ll get in trouble. But I definitely feel like people are gonna enjoy it. Anybody that’s a Rihanna fan is gonna stay a Rihanna fan, and anybody that’s not might become a Rihanna fan … just gear up for it.” On November 19, 2014, while on the red carpet for the premiere of director Andrew Jenks documentary, It’s Not Over, Rihanna told Entertainment Tonight, that her album should come out “very soon”. She further said, “I’m really excited about the music that we’ve been working on, so I can’t wait for people to hear it.”
In December 2014, Rihanna invited her fans to participate in a promotional video which she shot in Paris.

Rihanna invited “hundreds” of her fans in Paris to participate in a promotional video shot on December 18, 2014. It was reported that the clip might be associated with the release of Anti. On January 21, 2015, American rapper Kanye West made a surprise appearance at the iHeartMedia Music Summit, where he spoke about his career, played a few upcoming songs, and concluded with a collaboration with Rihanna that “featured acoustic guitar and a big, soaring chorus and melody with a massive hook. He then slammed his laptop shut and walked offstage to a standing ovation”. Earlier, on January 2, recording artist and producer Ty Dolla Sign gave an interview to Billboard magazine where it revealed that he, West, Rihanna and English musician Paul McCartney worked on a track together, which was yet to receive its final title.

On February 8, 2015, during his Grammy Awards red carpet interview, West explained how the collaboration came to fruition: “I’m executive producer of Rihanna’s album, and I said I’d done a few songs with Paul McCartney and she couldn’t get past this record. She had to have it on her album. … So now we at the Grammys doing it”. West further compared Rihanna’s vocals on the song to that of Scottish singer Annie Lennox: “I feel like she has this type of energy in her vocals. And she even brought it to another level of like soul and heart and artistry”. However, in January 2016, in a Twitter reply message to a fan, Rihanna wrote that West is no longer executive producer of the album as both of them are working on different projects.

Rihanna served as the executive producer of Anti and worked with several producers including, Jeff Bhasker, Boi-1da, DJ Mustard, Hit-Boy, Brian Kennedy, Timbaland and No I.D.. American producer and regular collaborator, Kuk Harrell produced all her vocals on the songs. The album was recorded at the Jungle City Studios in New York City, Westlake Recording Studios, Sandra Gale Studios and Windmark Recording Studios in Los Angeles, SOTA Studios in Toronto and Twin Studios in Paris.

On May 16, 2014, in an interview with VH1, Australian singer and songwriter Sia Furler stated that she recently gave a new song to Rihanna, “Like as soon as I played it for her manager, he flipped over it and [when] he left the house I felt sick. I was like, ‘F–k.’ It was going to be on my record, but he was over and I was playing him loads of jams.” Canadian musician Grimes and her frequent collaborator Blood Diamonds, wrote a song for Rihanna which was turned down, so Grimes decided to perform the song herself. On June 11, American rapper Big Sean posted a picture on his official Instagram account; the picture featured him and Rihanna in the studio with a caption “#2014″. According to MTV News, the collaboration was recorded either for his third studio album or Anti. In late June, the Roc Nation-signed songwriter, Alicia Renee, posted a photo on Instagram with her and Rihanna in the studio. Renee cried when she heard Rihanna performing one of the songs she wrote for her.
Kiesza was one of the many artists who wrote songs for Anti.

In an interview with Digital Spy, on July 7, Canadian artist and songwriter, Kiesza, told that Rihanna recorded two or three songs she wrote, but was not sure whether they will make the final track listing. According to her, “The one that Rihanna has cut is one that I never in a million years expected her to pick out, so it was super interesting. It just shows that people want to evolve and try new things.” On September 15, record producer DJ Mustard confirmed that he and Rihanna collaborated on a song for Anti, “We haven’t got our club record just yet but we have a ballad that I really like and that she likes too. I did a couple of songs with her, we’re still working, we’re still in the early stages, trying to come together with a massive record.” Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, who previously penned Rihanna’s 2011 single, “We Found Love”, told UK’s KISS FM that he and American singer Tinashe wrote a song for Anti which Rihanna later rejected. English singer Natalia Kills, on December 12, posted on her official Twitter account that she has worked on a song for Rihanna.

In the summer of 2015, Jamaican Canadian songwriter and producer Sevn Thomas together with Ritter and Boi-1da among others, stayed at Canadian rapper’s Drake house in Los Angeles for three-four days. During the time, creation of the lead single, “Work” came in to fruition. Thomas described the time spent at the home as a “beat factory, everyone was sitting there working and collaborating with each other.” Thomas created a beat which was dancehall-influenced; he later played it for Boi-1da to which he positively responded, “We’re both Jamaican-Canadian. It was just something in our DNA, so it woke him up, and we started remembering all these old dancehall songs from the ’90s.” Boi-1da came with up idea for sampling an “old school dancehall rhythm” and after that the chords were made with Ritter and past it, “everything went organically”. When the song’s music was finished, Boi-1da send it to Braithwaite (better known by his production name PartyNextDoor) who wrote the lyrics, “he’s an incredible writer, and he’s Jamaican as well I think so that’s how he’s able to come up with those vibes and feels,” noted Thomas. After Drake heard the song he loved it and decided to write and record a verse on it.

Rihanna served as the executive producer of Anti and worked with several producers including, Jeff Bhasker, Boi-1da, DJ Mustard, Hit-Boy, Brian Kennedy, Timbaland and No I.D.. American producer and regular collaborator, Kuk Harrell produced all her vocals on the songs. The album was recorded at the Jungle City Studios in New York City, Westlake Recording Studios, Sandra Gale Studios and Windmark Recording Studios in Los Angeles, SOTA Studios in Toronto and Twin Studios in Paris.

On May 16, 2014, in an interview with VH1, Australian singer and songwriter Sia Furler stated that she recently gave a new song to Rihanna, “Like as soon as I played it for her manager, he flipped over it and [when] he left the house I felt sick. I was like, ‘F–k.’ It was going to be on my record, but he was over and I was playing him loads of jams.” Canadian musician Grimes and her frequent collaborator Blood Diamonds, wrote a song for Rihanna which was turned down, so Grimes decided to perform the song herself. On June 11, American rapper Big Sean posted a picture on his official Instagram account; the picture featured him and Rihanna in the studio with a caption “#2014″. According to MTV News, the collaboration was recorded either for his third studio album or Anti. In late June, the Roc Nation-signed songwriter, Alicia Renee, posted a photo on Instagram with her and Rihanna in the studio. Renee cried when she heard Rihanna performing one of the songs she wrote for her.
Kiesza was one of the many artists who wrote songs for Anti.

In an interview with Digital Spy, on July 7, Canadian artist and songwriter, Kiesza, told that Rihanna recorded two or three songs she wrote, but was not sure whether they will make the final track listing. According to her, “The one that Rihanna has cut is one that I never in a million years expected her to pick out, so it was super interesting. It just shows that people want to evolve and try new things.” On September 15, record producer DJ Mustard confirmed that he and Rihanna collaborated on a song for Anti, “We haven’t got our club record just yet but we have a ballad that I really like and that she likes too. I did a couple of songs with her, we’re still working, we’re still in the early stages, trying to come together with a massive record.” Scottish DJ Calvin Harris, who previously penned Rihanna’s 2011 single, “We Found Love”, told UK’s KISS FM that he and American singer Tinashe wrote a song for Anti which Rihanna later rejected.English singer Natalia Kills, on December 12, posted on her official Twitter account that she has worked on a song for Rihanna.

In the summer of 2015, Jamaican Canadian songwriter and producer Sevn Thomas together with Ritter and Boi-1da among others, stayed at Canadian rapper’s Drake house in Los Angeles for three-four days. During the time, creation of the lead single, “Work” came in to fruition. Thomas described the time spent at the home as a “beat factory, everyone was sitting there working and collaborating with each other.”Thomas created a beat which was dancehall-influenced; he later played it for Boi-1da to which he positively responded, “We’re both Jamaican-Canadian. It was just something in our DNA, so it woke him up, and we started remembering all these old dancehall songs from the ’90s.” Boi-1da came with up idea for sampling an “old school dancehall rhythm” and after that the chords were made with Ritter and past it, “everything went organically”. When the song’s music was finished, Boi-1da send it to Braithwaite (better known by his production name PartyNextDoor) who wrote the lyrics, “he’s an incredible writer, and he’s Jamaican as well I think so that’s how he’s able to come up with those vibes and feels,” noted Thomas. After Drake heard the song he loved it and decided to write and record a verse on it.

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