UNAPOLOGETIC
| Rihanna
UNAPOLOGETIC
Unapologetic is the seventh studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 19, 2012, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. It was recorded between June and November 2012, during promotion of her sixth album, Talk That Talk (2011). As executive producer, Rihanna enlisted previous collaborators The-Dream, David Guetta, Chase & Status, and StarGate to work alongside new collaborators such as Parker Ighile, Mike Will Made-It, and Labrinth. Unapologetic is mainly a pop, dubstep and R&B album that incorporates elements of hip hop, EDM and reggae in its production, similar to the sound of her previous albums Talk That Talk (2011) and Rated R (2009). WIKIPEDIA
Critic Reviews
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Pitchfork
Rihanna's seventh album is designed to engage with our perception of Rihanna the Pop Star and Rihanna the Victim.
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billboard
Rihanna proves once again that she can set -- and often raise -- the bar for modern pop music.
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CoS
readily appealing, but ultimately, two-dimensional
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Rollingstone
Unapologetic‘s stark, shadowy R&B is confrontationally honest and sung within an inch of its life.
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The Guardian
Hearing Rihanna sing her abusive partner's praises makes this a deeply disturbing listen, however good the tunes.
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The Telegraph
Rihanna's new album is a mixed bag.
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Esquire
Apparently, it's the law now that every pop album needs to include at least one dubstep song. If only they were all this good.
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Entertainment
Just how controversial is Rihanna’s new album? That depends on how worked up you get about rhyme schemes like this: ”Your love is infectious/Let’s make out in this Lexus.”
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SPIN
The now-24-year-old's voice may be simple, but it's distinctive--and as defiant as her album titles.
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NME
Unapologetic makes a compelling case for Rihanna knowing what she's doing. This most compelling of pop phenomena still has something new to offer.
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The New York Times
The music is just as brutish and bruised.
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ALL MUSIC
While this is a fine, if uneven album, the only way to enjoy a significant portion of it is by taking it as pure entertainment.
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Chicago Tribune
Talk about a mixed message. Even Rihanna sounds confused.
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FACT
Even when Unapologetic fails, it often does so in interesting ways.
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HIPHOPDX
The album itself morphs from Dubstep, to R&B, to ballads, EDM, to Pop-Reggae.
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The Observer
Her seventh album in seven years is all filthy lyrics and crashing dubstep drops: R&B-pop turned up to 11.
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DJBOOTH
Unapologetic has no real core, no real theme; unless you count "making hits" as a theme.
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BBC
Rihanna as a human being dragged headfirst into a breakdown, and somehow surviving it.
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Boston Globe
Ballads work well for Rihanna, and this album has two of her finest.
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SLANT
While compelling on its own terms, Rihanna never seems to figure out that being Unapologetic isn't the same thing as picking fights on the dance floor.
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INDEPENDENT (on Sunday)
Like most of Unapologetic, it's ["Nobody's Business" is] instantly forgettable.
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AV/MUSIC
A fiery pop album that's unfortunately coated in the icky residue of unearned defiance that has marked Brown's recent output.
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Los Angeles Times
Rihanna's 'Unapologetic' shines light on past drama.
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NOW
Sonically, the first half of Unapologetic picks up on the syrupy Southern hip-hop minimalism popular last summer, while much of the latter half is a grab bag of unwieldy balladry.
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DROWNED IN SOUND
In spite of Rihanna's best efforts, Unapologetic is more depressing than offensive.
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musicOHM
When you're at Rihanna's level you can afford the best songwriters and producers in the business and sonically the album is generally far ahead of her peers. Yet if Sia's Diamonds is a sultry triumph, its character and uniqueness highlights the ultimately hollow pleasures of much around it.
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Digital Spy
The singer is unnervingly honest on her seventh outing.
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Daily News
"Unapologetic" does include its share of fine music, and in decent measure.
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Hamilton News
She's still pumping out good music and I hope she continues to.
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BOOM 103.9
The album offers a variety of features including a much-missed Eminem on “Numb,” as well as features from David Guetta, Future, Mikky Ekko (Nashville indie artist), and of course, Chris Brown.
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NewsDay
she's gone back to the darker head space.
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VIBE
Rihanna Is Sorry She’s Not Sorry.
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contact music
She doesn't have to feel apologetic for anything, but what's more concerning is that Rihanna doesn't seem to feel anything anymore, something all too apparent on this turgid LP.
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COMPLEX
Unapologetic sounds like Rihanna's best album yet. Also her most uninhibited, which is saying a whole lot.
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the GAVEL
Rihanna is a machine. She is an unstoppable force.
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SOUTHWEST SHADOW
Overall, Rihanna manages to make bold song choices that relate to everybody.
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ihiphop
Unapologetic definitely delivers several solid club bangers, it’s also unexpectedly peppered with slower, more revealing tracks.
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HELLO BEAUTIFUL
“Unapologetic” does not disappoint.
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Critic of Music
Unapologetic is a mixed bag of songs.
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The Urban Daily
Unapologetic is the best album of Rihanna’s career.
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spectrum pulse
Unapologetic alternates between being boring as fuck and offensive - or, to put it in other words, it's an exploitation movie with CGI blood and plastic tits.
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the NET
The ever-impressionable PDA generation has an album made for them with Unapologetic.
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Source
Overall, Unapologetic is a must-listen album and shows that Rihanna still has the ability to surprise both her fans and critics!
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SUPAJAM
There’s absolutely zero emotional core, and a fistful of catchy dance numbers, by numbers.
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IDOLATOR
in Unapologetic, she navigates through some of pop’s loudest permutations while refusing to fake a smile, much less a smoldering gaze.
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the CASCADE
Although some songs might require more than one listen to be appreciated, one thing is certain; Barbados hot tamale Rihanna is amazing and always will be.
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HTF Magazine
‘Unapologetic’ is arguably her most honest and controversial release to date.
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Southern News
Her music lately has symbolized strength and confidence.
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express
Confident and with real energy, Rihanna has become something of an unstoppable sex machine, churning out fresh, quality material.
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iBraglots
Unapologetic offers fans a more cerebral look into the life of a rockstar that is truly dazzling.
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PARLE'
Unapologetic is a compelling pop potion that manages to be introspective and alluring at the same time.
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helen success
Unapologetic is a fantastic blend of pop, dubstep, electronic dance and hip hop.
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Seawanhaka
Overall the album has a few decent hits with well-produced tracks and a variety of featured artists to top it off.
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STASH
It’s different and it explores all genres plus it’s interesting to see what Rihanna actually does as opposed to rolling and smoking blunts all day as her Instagram suggests.
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Has it Leaked
When Rihanna first came on the scene, she had this unique singing style and lexicon, refreshing naivety and supreme talent. Yet now it depresses me to see that for the most part she has now fallen in with the wrong crowd.
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Pretty Much Amazing
Rihanna, appears to once again embrace the trials and tribulations of her well-publicized personal life.
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indieLONDON
this album leaves a bad taste. And it’s nowhere near as good as Rihanna’s best, which to date has been Loud in my opinion.
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The San Diego Union Tribune
It's full of future hits, and not a single miss.
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The Scotsman
the cynical exploitation of her abusive relationship with Chris Brown on and off this album is troubling.
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GLAMOUR
It's a Must-Listen.
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The Ithican
Her lyrics are proud, raunchy and unremorseful, sending the message that Rihanna is definitely unapologetic.
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The Line of Best Fit
Unapologetic comes at a career high for Rihanna when attention on her couldn’t be less intense – and yet she’s chosen to release something that will only fuel this attention and do so in a very unfortunate way.
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stuff
Rihanna's seventh studio album is a bit like her relationship with Chris Brown - sometimes on and sometimes off.
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POP! BLERD
Truth is, Unapologetic isn’t bad. There is a handful of crappy songs. There is also a handful of really good songs.
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CHARGED.fm
Rihanna has the ability to cross musical borders successfully and that is nothing to be sorry for.
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The National
While Rihanna is not singing from the same song-sheet as domestic violence campaigners, her album will surely spark further, much-needed discussion of the issue.
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Z107.9
Unapologetic is Rihanna’s best.
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Edmonton journal
Please take a breather, girl. Just for a year, if you can. Disappear from sight, sort your s— out, enjoy life … we won’t forget you. We just won’t forgive you for Unapologetic.
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