Rated R

by Rihanna

Overview

Rated X, Rihanna's follow-up to 2007’s multiplatinum Good Girl Gone Bad, features the controversial first single, "Russian Roulette." The dark ballad was written and produced by Ne-Yo, and is Rihanna's first solo single since her altercation with then-boyfriend Chris Brown before the Grammys on February 8, 2009. According to Rolling Stone, Rhianna also recruited producers The-Dream & “Tricky” Stewart, Chase & Status, Stargate and Justin Timberlake for Rated R.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/23/2009
Label:	Def Jam
UPC:	0602527283715
catalogNumber:	001382702

Tracks

1. Mad House
2. Wait Your Turn
3. Hard
4. Stupid In Love
5. Rockstar 101
6. Russian Roulette
7. Fire Bomb
8. Rude Boy
9. Photographs
10. G4L
11. Te Amo
12. Cold Case Love
13. The Last Song

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Rihanna   Primary Artist
Glenn Fischbach   Celli
Peter Nocella   Viola
Olga Konopelsky   Violin
Emma Kummrow   Violin
Igor Szwec   Violin
Gregory Teperman   Violin
will.i.am   Synthesizer
Future Cut   Keyboards
Allen White   Acoustic Guitar
Bernt Rune Stray   Guitar
Makeba Riddick   Background Vocals
James Fauntleroy   Background Vocals
Chase & Status   Musician
Mikkel Storleer Eriksen   Musician
Brian Kennedy   Keyboards
Caleb Speir   Bass
Luigi Mazzocchi   Violin,Soloist
Jon Epcar   Drums
James J. Cooper   Celli,Soloist
R. Swire   Musician
Tor Erik Hermansen   Musician
Ben Harrison   Guitar
Beardyman   Vocals
Monte Neuble   Keyboards
Tim Stewart   Guitar
Davis Barnett   Viola
Jessie Bonds   Guitar
Charles Parker   Violin
Keith Harris   Strings

Technical Credits

Ys   Producer
Evan Rogers   Executive Producer
Pat Thrall   Engineer
Karl Heilbron   Vocal Engineer
Christopher "Tricky" Stewart   Composer,Producer
Simon Henwood   Art Direction
Paul Foley   Engineer
Stargate   Producer
will.i.am   Producer,Engineer,drum programming
Neil Tucker   Guitar Engineer
Justin Timberlake   Composer
C. Stewart   Composer
Mike Johnson   Engineer
Padraic Kerin   Engineer
Makeba Riddick   Composer,Vocal Producer
Shaffer Smith   Composer
Sean Tallman   Engineer
James Fauntleroy   Composer
Rihanna   Composer,Executive Producer,Art Direction
The-Dream   Composer,Producer
Ne-Yo   Producer
Chase   Producer
Status   Producer
Chase & Status   Producer
Mikkel Storleer Eriksen   Composer,Engineer,Vocal Producer
Brian Kennedy   Programming,Producer
Chuck Harmony   Producer
Ester Dean   Composer
Andrew Wuepper   Engineer
Rob Swire   Composer
Ciarra Pardo   Art Direction
Marcos Tovar   Engineer
Tor Erik Hermansen   Composer
Ben Harrison   Additional Production
Robin Tadross   Composer
M. McHenry   Composer
Jay Jenkins   Composer
Charles Harmon   Composer
J. Baptiste   Composer
M. Riddick   Composer
Antonio Reid   Executive Producer
Paper-Boy   Additional Production
JP Robinson   Art Direction
B. Kennedy   Composer
B. Kennedy Seals   Composer
Carl Styrken   Executive Producer
Brian "B-Luv" Thomas   Engineer
Marcos Taylor   Engineer
Chris "Tek" O'Ryan   Engineer
B. Harrison   Composer
T. Tendayi   Composer
A. Pineda   Composer
Saul Milton   Composer
Tor Erik Germansen   Composer
Terius Nash   Composer
Will Kennard   Composer
William Adams   Composer

Editorial Reviews

"Russian Roulette," released weeks prior to Rated R, just hinted at Rihanna's sudden desire to provoke. Even with the realization that it is metaphorical, the song startles with its hesitant gasps, spinning cylinders, and verses that are glacially paced, where a cold piano line and the slight inflections in Rihanna's voice are front and center. And then there's an audible shudder followed by a discharged bullet -- the abrupt end to one of Rated R's most restrained moments. It's not the only instance where Rihanna's rise in fame, combined with being the victim in the decade's highest-profile felonious assault, added up to a perfect-storm scenario for a creative overhaul. Rated R is more like Good Girl Gone Evil, or Abused Girl Full of Vengeful Rage, not Good Girl Gone Bad, where the only casualties were some dishes. The closest the set gets to upbeat pop is "Rude Boy," and by any standard it is stern; needless to say, there is quite a difference between "Can you get it up?" and "You can stand under my umbrella." Much of this daring album is absolutely over the top, bleak and sleek both lyrically and sonically, but it's compelling, filled with as many memorably belligerent lines -- two of which, "I pitch with a grenade/Swing away if ya feeling brave" and "I'm such a fuckin' lady," set the tone early on -- as a rap album made ripe for dissection. "G4L," over a low-slung and sleek production, is the most fantastical of all, in which Rihanna leads a band of homicidal women, opening with "I lick the gun when I'm done 'cause I know that revenge is sweet" and "Any mothaf*cka wanna disrespect/Playin' with fire finna get you wet." The breakup song, "Fire Bomb," even though it is also metaphorical, is a close second in terms of lyrical extremity: "I just wanna set you on fire so I won't have to burn alone." Some of the breathers -- the songs that are less intense -- hold the album back since Rihanna sounds detached from them. The one exception is the wistful, bittersweet "Photographs," a rare instance of the singer dropping her guard, but it really sticks out since it is surrounded by material that has her taking the variably authentic roles of abused lover, dominatrix, and murderer. Whether the album seems ridiculous or spectacular (or both), Rihanna's complete immersion in the majority of the songs cannot be disputed. That is the one thing that is not up for debate.

All Music Guide - Andy Kellman

It’s a bleak, adamant album that’s both brave and skillful. Its love songs are about breakups and passion’s destructive power, leaving listeners to read into them what they will. Meanwhile, in the power-chorded “Rockstar 101,” Rihanna announces, “I never play the victim.”

New York Times - Jon Pareles

The songs are etched in somber shades and minor chords, with Rihanna belting over synths and booming beats. The results are a musical match for the black-on-black CD cover — goth R&B.

Rolling Stone - Jody Rosen

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