What do you do when you're the princess of pop, riding at the top of the charts with smash single after smash single, and find yourself the apple of everyone's eye? Brand advertisers are dying to put your face on every kind of product from umbrellas to make-up and women all over the world ooh and ahh over your every fashion move, even going so far as to name a haircut after your signature style.
If you follow the book of Madonna, you re-invent. It doesn't matter if the last sound and look was incredibly successful and fans show signs of wanting more. Each project must be a re-invention. Rihanna, apparently, is a believer in re-invention.
The new image that Rihanna and team have cooked up for "Rated R" is noticeably aggressive, dark and posturing. The domestic violence incident with Chris Brown may have nudged Rihanna further in this new direction, but it was clear even after the re-release of "Good Girl Gone Bad" that Rihanna was beginning to build her anti-pop persona, donning more and more S&M attire and doing less and less choreography.
"Wait Your Turn," the second first single off the album, is supposed to be Rihanna's street anthem. The beat has a chop shop, rock tinge to it and the video is shot in grainy black and white, with tilted, shaky camera angles. The wardrobe is all neutral tones and to show just how BAD she is, Rihanna's even got on a pirate eye patch, as if to say, "Yeah, I've been to war and I've lost some battles." The blonde chickenhawk is purposely ugly and uneven, further uglying up the Caribbean beauty. She ain't no cover girl now.
In the video the "Umbrella" singer pulls b-boy stances and even grabs her crotch at one point. Clearly, the memo here is that she's not one to be messed with, but who is she trying to convince? The viewer or Chris Brown?
Watch the video for "Wait Your Turn" below.
Evolution, growth and change are all essential to longevity in the music industry. But premature "change" can come off as pretentious, just ask Ciara. Rihanna is teetering on this very thin line and this project could push away many of the fans she gained with "Good Girl Gone Bad." Or perhaps her star power will help her fans overcome their hesitation and draw in casual listeners to her new self-described Hip hop meets rock sound. Russian roulette isn't just a song for Rihanna, it's also a game she's playing with her music career. Will she win this round?
