RATED R
| Rihanna
RATED R
Rated R is the fourth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 20, 2009 by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Recording sessions for the album began in April 2009 and took place at several recording studios throughout United States and Europe. Rihanna, together with Antonio "L.A." Reid and The Carter Administration, was the executive producer of the album and worked with various record producers, including Chase & Status, StarGate, The-Dream, Ne-Yo, and Brian Kennedy. The record featured several vocalists and instrumentalists, including Young Jeezy, will.i.am, Justin Timberlake and Slash, who played the guitars in "Rockstar 101". -WIKIPEDIA
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Rated R, Rihanna's artistic aspirations are currently loftier than her abilities.
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CoS
this album is about Rihanna growing up.
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RollingStone
Rihanna has transformed her sound and made one of the best pop records of the year.
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Los Angeles Times
A complex and fascinating portrait of a young woman's emotional process after enduring abuse.
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Chicago Tribune
Nothing else on the album can top 'Russian Roulette,' but they certainly complement it, and make its startling conclusion feel sadly inevitable.
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The New York Times
It's a bleak, adamant album that's both brave and skillful.
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NME
Despite the abundance of male influence on the record, from ex-boyfriend to songwriters to producers to mentors, Rihanna makes the sound her own, and fights back.
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NOW
Rihanna is at her most adventurous, and while we're not completely convinced that all the wailing hard rock guitars suit her, the aggression makes sense within the context of the album.
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Entertainment
Rated R rarely delivers Top 40 fodder. Instead, it's a raw, often unsettling portrait of an artist who is, she insists, no longer a Girl at all.
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Rap Reviews
It is very dense and maybe needed more melodies to help digest it all. Adding to that, the production at times lets her down, ranging from excellent to average, with a couple of songs that could well have worked better as skits.
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Boston Globe
What works as therapeutic psychodrama for the singer doesn't always work quite as well as pop music, which, from the shiny surfaces, it's clear everyone here is still striving for.
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musicOHM
We have an album that opts to cater for the variety of fans that flock to support Rihanna in her time of trouble. It's a diverse work. But this so happens to be its biggest setback.
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The Guardian
In the absence of a song as undeniable [as 'Umbrella'], they try a number of approaches, with varying success.
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AV/MUSIC
The exceptions are songs that have nothing to do with the Brown affair.
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SPIN
Rated R, Rihanna's first album since her brutal confrontation with ex-boyfriend Chris Brown, wants to recast her as a searing woman scorned. It doesn't quite take.
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popMATTERS
She brings hints of techno, R&B, disco, hard rock, hip-hop, and pop-punk to this album, but rather than feeling like a masterpiece, it just feels undercooked.
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BBC
She’s transformed into a revenge-hunting, firebrand diva – and it suits her.
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ALL MUSIC
Rated R is more like Good Girl Gone Evil, or Abused Girl Full of Vengeful Rage.
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sputnik music
An album deep with solid tracks, Rated R finds Rihanna exploring post-relationship emotions in a mature yet pop-friendly way.
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billboard
she's a good girl gone bad-ass.
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Digital Spy
This is the record that takes Rihanna from popstar to pop artist.
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IGN
The album is basically a win.
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Washington Post
Consider "Rated R" a misstep on the road to recovery.
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Tiny Mix Tapes
Luckily, all critical over-thinking aside, disappointment rarely comes in as satisfying a package
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DailyStar
Thing is it all feels a bit – whisper it – depressing.
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Random J Pop
Rated R is a look at Rihanna the artist, and the visionary. And it's not a bad look at all. 0
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The Couch Sessions
this album is fantastic on many levels.
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Global Grind
Rihanna’s frustration and pain is unleashed on her new album.
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PARLE'
Rated R is a work of art that displays Rihanna’s growth as a singer and an artist.
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The Telegraph
'Rated R' is a sleek and dynamic hard pop record.
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INDEPENDENT
In no other field of music does the autobiographical imperative wield as much power as it does in R&B.
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HIP HOP DX
Rated R is probably the least deliberately Pop-y so it’s worth considering even if you’re not a fan of her old work.
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PLANET ILL
This “good girl gone bad” has emerged from the dust of a rocky relationship a new woman, and Rated R masterfully takes you along for the ride.
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SOUL TRACKS
On Rated R, Rihanna goes for bold, outlandish imagery and shows no sign of temperance as it pulsates like a suspenseful drama flick.
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Hartford Courant
Rihanna's at her best here when she lets her voice carry the song, instead of trying to make the song fit her voice.
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The Observer
Her latest work throws up some intrigue and some innovative productions.
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The Guardian
It's difficult to look past the lyrics and focus on the music.
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Sound Opinion
Rated R is a record of empowerment.
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The Grape juice
I doubt this signals the end of her career, as I’m sure many are hoping (which they shouldn’t…that’s bad karma lol). It just means we’ll probably be subject to 300 singles and 25 re-releases (including the Deluxe, Super Deluxe, Ultra Premium Deluxe, Spanish, Hebrew and Japanese versions.
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exclaim
Rated R puts her devastated emotional state on full display, both as a victim and as a gun-toting survivor.
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READ: Mezzanine
RATED R explodes with a genuine energy, confidence and vibrancy that is becoming increasingly rare in the charts.
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Hit Music Academy
Rated R is not an easy pill to swallow for fans hoping Rihanna would deliver Good Girl Gone Bad the sequel, but it should be appreciated and revered as an album that shows the growth of an artist who is no longer a good girl gone bad, but a woman with a real story to tell.
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Controlled Babble
This album shows her growth as a vocalists and as an artist. This is a must get CD.
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