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Rihanna (born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on
February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian R&B recording artist and model. Born in
Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of
16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan
Rogers. She subsequently signed a contract with Def Jam Recordings after
auditioning for then-label head Jay-Z.
In 2005, Rihanna released her debut studio album, Music of the Sun, which
peaked in the top ten of the Billboard 200 chart and features the
Billboard Hot 100 hit single "Pon de Replay". Less than a year later, she
released her second studio album, A Girl Like Me (2006), which peaked
within the top five of the Billboard albums chart, and produced her first
US number one hit single, "SOS", as well as Billboard Hot 100 top ten
entries "Unfaithful" and "Break It Off". Rihanna's third studio album,
Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), peaking at number two on the Billboard 200,
featured five top ten hits including three US number one hit
singles—"Umbrella", "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia"—and the worldwide hit
"Don't Stop the Music". The album was nominated for nine Grammy Awards,
winning Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Umbrella," which features Jay-Z.
Her fourth studio album, Rated R, was released in November 2009. As of
February 2010, Rihanna has released three singles from the album, "Russian
Roulette", "Hard" and "Rude Boy", the first two both peaking within the
top ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. This brings the total amount of top
tens on the chart to thirteen.
Rihanna has received several accolades, including the 2007 World Music
Awards for World's Best-Selling Pop Female Artist and Female Entertainer
of the Year, as well as the 2008 American Music Awards for Favorite
Soul/R&B Female Artist and Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist. Rihanna has
attained five Hot 100 number one singles, becoming the first of two female
artists, joint with Beyoncé, with the most number ones attained within the
2000s. She also serves as one of Barbados' honorary cultural ambassadors.
In January 2010, Rihanna received two Grammy Awards for her 2009 single
"Run This Town", bringing her total number of Grammys won to three.
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados on February 20, 1988, to
Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor, and Monica Fenty, an accountant. Her
mother, a native of Guyana, is Afro-Guyanese, and her father is of
Barbadian and Irish descent. She is the oldest of three siblings; two
younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty. She began singing at around the
age of seven. Her childhood was deeply affected by her father's addiction
to crack cocaine and parent's rocky marriage, which ended when she was
fourteen years old. Rihanna attended Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a
primary school in Barbados, and then the Combermere School, where she
formed a musical trio with two of her classmates at the age of fifteen. In
2004 she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant. She was an army cadet in
a sub-military programme that trained with the military of Barbados and
Shontelle was her drill sergeant.
At the age of 15, she formed a girl group with two of her classmates. In
2003 friends introduced Rihanna and her two bandmates to record producer
Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. The group
auditioned for Rogers, who said that "the minute Rihanna walked into the
room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." While auditioning for
Rogers, Rihanna sang Destiny's Child's cover of "Emotion". Over the next
year, Rihanna and her mom shuttled back and forth to Rogers home in
Stamford, Connecticut. Then, shortly after turning 16, she relocated in
the United States and moved in with Rogers and his wife. Carl Sturken
helped Rihanna record a four-song demo, which included the ballad "Last
Time," a cover of Whitney Houston’s hit "For the Love of You" and what
would become her first hit, "Pon de Replay" to send to various recording
companies. It took a year to record the demos, because she was going to
school and would only record during summer and Christmas school breaks.
Rihanna's demo made its way to Def Jam, which invited her to audition for
the label's then-president, Jay-Z, who quickly signed her.
After signing with Def Jam, she spent the next three months recording and
completing her debut album. The album featured production from Evan
Rogers, Carl Sturken, Stargate and Poke & Tone. She first collaborated
with rapper Memphis Bleek on his fourth studio album 534 before her debut.
She released her debut single, "Pon de Replay", on August 22, 2005, which
peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. It also became a global hit
where it peaked within the top ten across fifteen countries. Her debut
album, Music of the Sun, was released in August 2005 in the United States.
The album reached number ten on the Billboard 200, selling 69,000 copies
in its first week. The album has sold over two millions copies worldwide
and is certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America,
denoting shipments to US retailers of over 500,000 units.
Her music was marketed within the reggae genres because of her Caribbean
descent. The album received mixed reviews by music critics. Rolling Stone
magazine rated it 2.5 out of 5 stars and described as lacking the replay
value, ingenuity and rhythm of the single with "generic vocal hiccups and
frills" of US R&B inflecting upon her "Caribbean charm". Sal Cinquemani of
Slant Magazine described the album as a "glut of teen R&B chanteuses " and
described her lead single "Pon de Replay" as "a dancehall-pop mixture that
owes plenty of its sweat and shimmy to Beyoncé's "Baby Boy". A reviewer
for Entertainment Weekly commented that the "dancehall/R&B debut is filled
with chintzy production and maudlin arrangements that block out the Music
of the Sun." The albums second single, "If It's Lovin' that You Want" was
less successful than "Pon de Replay", having managed a peak position of
number thirty-six in the US, and number eleven on the UK Singles Chart. In
Australia, Ireland and New Zealand the single proved to be well-received
reaching the top ten in those countries. However, the third single, "Let
Me" was only released in Japan, peaking at number eight.
A month after the release of her debut album, she began working on her
second studio album. The album contained production from record producers
Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken who produced most of her debut album,
Stargate, J. R. Rotem and label-mate singer-songwriter Ne-Yo. While
recording the album, Rihanna served as an opening act for Gwen Stefani to
promote her debut album. The lead single, "SOS", peaked at number one on
the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her first number-one in the United States.
A Girl Like Me was released in April 2006, less than eight months after
her debut. The album reached number five on the Billboard 200 selling
115,000 copies in its first week and has been certified platinum by the
RIAA, having shipped over one million units. Internationally, the album
peaked at number one on the Top Canadian Albums, five on the UK Albums
Chart and number five on the Irish Album Chart. The critical response to
the album was mixed; Rolling Stone magazine commented "Like her
filler-packed debut album, this similar but superior follow-up doesn't
deliver anything else as ingenious as its lead single." Critics also
described the album as a record that almost identically alternates between
the sunny dancehall/dub-pop, hip-hop-infused club bangers and gushy,
adult-oriented ballads. The second single, "Unfaithful", became a major
worldwide hit, reaching the top ten in dozen countries around the world,
including the United States where it reached number six on the Billboard
Hot 100, as well as topping the charts in Canada, France and Switzerland.
The albums third single, "We Ride" failed to reprise the success of the
lead single but the fourth single, "Break It Off" featuring Sean Paul,
jumped from number fifty-two to number ten eventually peaking at number
nine. After the release of the album, she embarked on the Rock Tha Block
Tour and then toured with Pussycat Dolls from November 2006 to February
2007 in the United Kingdom.
Rihanna released her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad, in June 2007. Prior
to the release of the album, she spent the week of the Grammys writing
songs for the album with Ne-Yo. She adopted a more sexual image while
recording the album, eventually dying her hair black and cutting it short.
Rihanna worked with Timbaland and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, as well as
previous musical collaborators such as Stargate, Carl Sturken and Evan
Rogers to re-imagine her album compositions with uptempo dance tracks.
Rihanna commented, "I want to keep people dancing but still be soulful at
the same time- You feel different every album, and at this stage I feel
like I want to do a lot of uptempo songs." The album topped the charts in
countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Russia and
Ireland, and peaked at number two in the United States and Australia.
Unlike previous work, the album featured a more dance-pop sound instead of
the dancehall, reggae and ballad styles. The album received positive
reviews by critics, becoming her most critically acclaimed album at that
time compared to her previous efforts. It yielded eight hit singles — all
singles reaching the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 — including the
worldwide number-one hit "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z. In addition to
reaching number one in various countries, "Umbrella" was the number one
single in the United Kingdom for ten consecutive weeks, making it the
longest-running number-one single since Wet Wet Wet's single "Love Is All
Around" spent fifteen weeks at the top in 1994. The song is listed number
three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007 published by Rolling Stone magazine.
Her other singles, "Shut Up and Drive", "Don't Stop The Music" and "Hate
That I Love You" were able to mirror the success of "Umbrella," with
"Don't Stop the Music" reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100
while peaking at number one in various countries.
With the re-issue of her third album, titled Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded,
which was released in June 2008. Rihanna released the first singles from
the re-release "Take a Bow" — which became a worldwide number-one hit —
the duet with Maroon 5, "If I Never See Your Face Again," and the other US
number-one hit "Disturbia." "Disturbia" reached to number four before
reaching number one, as her previous single, "Take a Bow", was at number
two, making Rihanna the seventh female singer to have two songs in the top
five. Meanwhile, Rihanna was featured on rapper T.I.'s "Live Your Life,"
which peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Rihanna her
fifth number-one single on the Hot 100 thus far ("SOS," "Umbrella," "Take
a Bow" and "Disturbia," as well as T.I.'s "Live Your Life"). This made
Rihanna one of the two female solo artist with the most number-one singles
this decade, with the other being Beyoncé Knowles. Good Girl Gone Bad has
shipped over two million units in the United States, receiving a two-time
platinum certification from RIAA; this gave Rihanna her best-selling
album, to date. She was nominated in four categories at the 2007 MTV Video
Music Awards, winning Monster Single of the Year and Video of the Year. At
the 2008 Grammy Awards, Rihanna earned her first Grammy Award for Best
Rap/Sung Collaboration, in addition to receiving five other nominations,
including Record of the Year, Best Dance Recording, Best R&B Performance
by a Duo or Group and Best R&B Song. In support of the album, she kicked
off her second headlining tour The Good Girl Gone Bad Tour on September
12, 2007, with several shows across the United States, Canada and Europe
and then embarked on the Glow in the Dark Tour with Kanye West, Lupe
Fiasco, and N.E.R.D on April 16, 2008. Rihanna also won Favorite Pop/Rock
Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist at the 2008 American
Music Awards.
On February 8, 2009, Rihanna's scheduled performance at the 2009 Grammy
Awards was cancelled. Reports later surfaced regarding an alleged
altercation with then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, who was arrested on
suspicion of making criminal threats. On March 5, 2009, Brown was charged
with assault and making criminal threats. Due to a leaked photograph from
the Los Angeles Police Department obtained by TMZ.com—which revealed
Rihanna had sustained visible injuries—an organization known as STOParazzi
has proposed a law called "Rihanna's Law", which, if enacted, would "deter
employees of law enforcement agencies from releasing photos or information
that exploits crime victims." Gil Kaufman of VH1 reported "the nonstop
coverage of the Rihanna/Brown case has brought up a number of issues
regarding the privacy of alleged victims of domestic violence, including
the decision by almost all major news outlets to divulge the identity of
the victim—which is not typically done in domestic-violence cases" and the
controversial distribution of the leaked photograph. Rihanna was
subpoenaed to testify during a preliminary hearing in L.A. on June 22,
2009. "The DA told me Rihanna will be subpoenaed. I will accept on her
behalf," Rihanna's attorney, Donald Etra told Us Weekly. "She will appear
in court, and if asked to testify, she will do so". On June 22, 2009,
Brown pled guilty to the felony assault. In exchange for his plea Brown
received five years probation and was ordered to stay fifty yards away
from Rihanna, unless at public events, which then will be reduced to ten
yards.
Rihanna collaborated with Jay-Z and Kanye West on "Run This Town." The
song peaked at number two on Billboard Hot 100 and also reached the top
ten in ten other countries. She appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia for
the September 2009 Issue. The photo shoot was influenced by Rihanna's
hair, which she had cut for the shoot into a mohawk-like style. The style
of the shoot was Extreme Couture and very dark, and in one shot she
appeared semi-nude. Rihanna performed "Run This Town" along with Jay-Z and
West for the "Answer the Call" concert at Madison Square Garden in
September 2009, making it her first musical performance since the
altercation with Brown. The trio also performed "Run This Town," on the
premiere of The Jay Leno Show on September 14, 2009.
Rihanna started recording in the studio with numerous different producers,
including The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Chase & Status, Stargate, Slash,
Justin Timberlake, Ne-Yo and Akon, on her fourth studio album Rated R in
March 2009. On October 8, 2009, Rihanna shot the cover for her fourth
album with Ellen von Unwerth in Berlin. Rihanna worked closely with Simon
Henwood for the album's brand and styling. The new album was released
November 23, 2009. The album's lead single, "Russian Roulette", was
released on October 20, 2009. Rihanna performed the song on The X Factor
on November 29, 2009. The official video was released on November 13,
2009. The second single, "Hard" which features Young Jeezy, was released
on November 2, 2009.
On October 31, 2009, The National announced that Rihanna would be
appearing at a New Year's Eve concert in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Rihanna was originally scheduled to perform in Dubai, in the United Arab
Emirates, on May 28 that same year but cancelled due to personal reasons.
She performed in the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi on the December 31,
2009. Al Braik Investments & AEG Live were the main sponsors of the event.
In January 2010, Rihanna won two Barbados Music Awards for "Song of the
Year" with Umbrella and "Entertainer of the Decade". Also at the 2010 NRJ
Music Awards, she was named "International Female Artist of the Year". In
addition, she, Jay-Z, and Kanye West won the "Best Rap Song" and "Best
Rap/Sung Collaboration" awards for "Run This Town" at the Grammy Awards on
January 31, 2010.
On December 9, 2009, Rihanna announced new dates for her 2010 tour, The
Rated R Tour. So far, 24 dates have been announced in Europe with more
dates expected to be announced in North America, Asia and Oceania in early
2010.
Volume 65 of the Contemporary Black Biography book series notes that
"Rihanna is the rare rhythm and blues (R&B) diva to emerge from the
Caribbean world." Becoming an international sensation, Rihanna is known
for blending R&B with Caribbean music, such as reggae and dancehall. Peter
Coulter of the Antrim Times, commented that "Rihanna has an amazing voice
which showed during her acoustic set, she just needs to work on her
audience engagement during live shows." At the time of her debut,
reviewers referred to her as a "bubblegum queen" and her music to "teen
pop." Larry Meyler of The Sun stated that "Rihanna going bad is very good"
and that she had "shaken off any "teen pop" image as she rocked the
stage." While performing at the Ottawa Bluesfest in 2006, Denis Armstrong
of Canadian Online Explorer commented on her performance saying "her show
was a Disney-esque choreographed fantasy of non-stop hip-swivelling, sassy
attitude and personal endearments and a string of funky, sugar-free hits."
After revealing a new image while headlining her first tour, she was
likely to be criticize for her tight leather outfit during each show. A
review in The Times compared Rihanna's stage wardrobe styling to that of
Janet Jackson. He also described her outfit as "a vision of Ann Summers
couture in thigh-high boots and a few scraps of black PVC." However,
Stuart Derdeyn of The Province commented that "even with the whole haute
couture B&D clearly firing on all points, she's still got a ways to go to
become the new Janet Jackson."
Rihanna's musical style has changed during the release of her last three
albums. She was originally marketed as a reggae singer since she burst on
scene in 2005, with a styles of pop, R&B and dancehall. Her music also
include various styles of musical genres, including contemporary R&B,
dance-pop, pop rock and the Caribbean music styles of reggae and
dancehall. With the release of her debut album Music of the Sun and its
lead single "Pon de Replay", Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic described
Rihanna's musical style as "synthesize Caribbean rhythms and beats with
standard-issue urban dance-pop: Caribbean-inflected urban, if you will."
Rihanna is also described as utilizing "dancehall-lite beats and a reggae
vocal cadence." NME describes the singer as a "heady mix of dancehall,
reggae and contemporary R&B." During the release of her sophomore album,
many critics felt that Rihanna's sound and substance was too heavily
similar to that of Beyoncé's. The media even made negative reviews
comparing her music, music videos, performances and even her image to
Beyoncé, which garnered Rihanna much criticism. Some media even unfairly
claimed that Jay-Z fashioned her to be a replica of Beyoncé. Barry Walters
of Rolling Stone considers Rihanna's A Girl Like Me to be "lightweight
dancehall and R&B jams." After the release of Good Girl Gone Bad,
Allmusic's Andy Kellman credits Rihanna to be "as pop as pop gets." Kelefa
Sanneh of The New York Times described her hit "Umbrella" as a lightweight
pop confection with a heavy hip-hop backbeat, a breezy love song enriched
by those unexpectedly goth-sounding keyboards and by the incongruous hint
of anguish in Rihanna’s girlish voice.
Her debut album featured a refreshing touch from pop veterans Evan Rogers
and Carl Sturken of Syndicated Rhythm productions, who first discovered
her. Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers have collaborated with Rihanna many
times, including with her debut single "Pon de Replay", which helped
launch her career with the tradition of reggae and dance pop and also
collaborated on her sophomore album. Rihanna then enlisted into the pop
and contemporary R&B working with music producer Stargate and
singer-songwriter Ne-Yo on "Unfaithful" and sampling the key section, bass
line, and drum beat from Soft Cell's 1981 single "Tainted Love" on "SOS".
The concept of her third studio album was to head in a new direction with
the help of music producers Timbaland, will.i.am and Sean Garrett, and
also to re-imagine her album compositions with fresh, uptempo dance
tracks. While recording the album, Rihanna stated that she wants to keep
people dancing but still be soulful at the same time. She then commented
"You feel different every album, and at this stage I feel like I want to
do a lot of uptempo songs." She also began taking voice lessons from Ne-Yo
for the third album. With songs like "Kisses Don't Lie" and "Shut Up and
Drive", her music style became more pop rock oriented. Unlike Music of the
Sun or A Girl Like Me, her third album contained a more dance-pop sound
and less of the dancehall, reggae and ballad styles of her previous
albums. She has included various styles of music from uptempo pop-reggae
with "Pon De Replay", to an 80's new wave fueled club banger "SOS" to the
whiff of gothic horror in a love song "Unfaithful". Most of her love
subject ballads contain a mid-tempo pop sound, with an R&B influences that
uses of a gently strummed acoustic guitar with the production of Stargate
and the songs written by Ne-Yo. Some of her up-tempo dance-pop songs
include production from Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers, Christopher "Tricky"
Stewart and J. R. Rotem. She has also taken to the music industry
tradition of sampling songs from other artist like Soft Cell's "Tainted
Love" on "SOS", New Order's "Blue Monday" on "Shut Up and Drive" and '70s
original song "Soul Makossa" of Manu Dibango with a part of the chorus
from Michael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" on "Don't Stop the
Music".
One of Rihanna's major influences and idols is Mariah Carey, whose song
"Hero" she covered while performing at a school talent show. She says, "I
looked up to Mariah a lot and I still do. I admire her as an artist, and
to compete with her was a moment I will never forget for the rest of my
life. Rihanna also considers Madonna as one of her biggest influences and
said that she wants to be the "black Madonna". She mentioned that she
respects Madonna's ability to reinvent herself and aspires to be just as
successful. Beyoncé Knowles has also been named as her major influence,
citing that she was inspired to start her career after watching Knowles on
television as part of a Destiny's Child performance. Of Janet Jackson,
Rihanna expressed: "She was one of the first female pop icons that I could
relate to ... She was so vibrant, she had so much energy. She still has
power. I’ve seen her on stage, and she can stand there for 20 minutes and
have the whole arena scream at her. You have to love Janet." Her other
musical influences include Bob Marley, Alicia Keys Whitney Houston,
Destiny's Child, Celine Dion, Brandy, and Gwen Stefani. Her music also
contains strong influences of caribbean music and says that it has
influenced her tremendously. Her friend and former Island Def Jam record
label artist Fefe Dobson was someone that she admired and looked up to,
having a fellow artist writing, singing, and performing the music she
truly loves. In a interview, Rihanna stated, that while growing up in
Barbados, she grew up listening to reggae music and when she came to the
United States she was exposed to many different types of music.
Jon Bream of the Star Tribune commented "in the tradition of Madonna and
Janet Jackson, Rihanna has become the video vixen of the '00s ... Rihanna
has perfected the pout, the long-legged strut and trend-setting hairdos
that keep women and men alike checking her out on YouTube." George
Epaminondas of InStyle considers Rihanna's music videos to be "cinematic"
due to her "blend of lush island rhythms and swinging pop and ...
mischievous sensuality." Rihanna commented that Marilyn Monroe and vintage
clothing served for visual inspiration for the music video "Hate That I
Love You" and "Rehab"; in contrast, the "dark, creepy" scenes of
"Disturbia" have drawn comparison to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The music
video also ranked number five on the "Top Five Most Paranoid Music Videos"
published by MTV Buzzworthy.
The New York magazine described Rihanna's early look as a cookie-cutter
teen queen and that she has the ability to shift looks so dramatically and
with such ease. Since the release of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad,
Rihanna's has become a sex symbol and also set herself apart from other
R&B starlets, opting for designer couture over belly-baring crop tops.
Sonya Magett of Black Voices reported that Rihanna's style has become
quite risqué since she burst on the scene 4 years ago. In 2008, she
constantly surprised, switching from pretty and sweet in pastels on the
red carpet to dominatrix-leaning wear on stage and at awards shows.
Rihanna's fashion and style also landed her on the list of People's 10
Best Dressed Stars of 2008. Glamour also awarded Rihanna with the
seventeenth most glamorous woman of 2009 out of fifty. Glamour also
commented on Rihanna's style saying "rockstar of leading ladies" and "She
almost can’t make a style mistake right now.” They also said her
"little-bit-punky, very-much-girly look still entrances readers." They
also commented on Rihanna's fashion risks saying "If style risks could be
measured in miles, Rihanna would have criss-crossed the globe a thousand
times over already."
Rihanna's image has also been identified as a sex symbol. Regal of the
Associated Content stated that Rihanna quickly garnered a more mature and
definitely sexier look. In 2007, she ranked #8 in Maxim's 2007 Hot 100
list; she then ranked #15 on 2008 Hot 100 list the following year. In June
2007, Rihanna was named 2007 Venus Breeze’s “Celebrity Legs Of A Goddess”
by Gillette. Margeaux Watson of Entertainment Weekly wrote an article
entitled "Rihanna: Diva of the year" which he refers to her breakout
success of 2008. In 2009, Maxim awarded Rihanna as the number 8th most
sexiest woman on earth. This made Rihanna the only female of African
descent in the top ten or top twenty for that matter.
Rihanna's tattoos have drawn much media attention. She has a total of
twelve known tattoos, including a music note tattoo on her ankle, a Pisces
sign behind her right ear, a Sanskrit prayer going down her hip, a star in
her left ear, the word "love" on her left middle finger, an Arabic phrase
on her ribcage area, meaning "Freedom is God", a trail of stars going down
the back of her neck, a skull with a pink hair bow, the phrase ’shhh...’
on her right index finger, the date ‘11.4.86′ on top of her left shoulder
and a henna-style dragon claw, complete with Hawaiian hibiscus flowers.
Her most recent gun tattoo was planned to be just below her shoulders but
changed it to her ribcage. Although, she was likely to be criticized for
her tattoo, BangBang, the tattoo artist, was quick to explain that the
image simply “represents strength and power”.
Rihanna is heavily involved in the marketing of her native country of
Barbados. She began by including the flag and broken trident in many of
her videos, also shooting her album packaging for A Girl Like Me there. In
September 2007, she became the official face of tourism for Barbados,
being included in many of their ad campaigns. She currently holds an
honourary title of Ambassador for Culture and Youth in Barbados. She
additionally was honored by the Prime Minister David Thompson, who
presented her several gifts at a national concert on 20 February 2008 in
Barbados, called "Rihanna Day". Regardless, In February 2008, Rihanna
thanked her country and honoured them during the acceptance speech for her
win of "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" at the Grammy Awards. Although
Rihanna is heavily involved in the promotion of her country and works with
the government in Barbados to do so, she is constantly criticized and
ridiculed for everything from her music, her successes and for wearing
"skimpy clothes". Rihanna speaking on the incident, "I went to the beach
and I had on a one-piece swimsuit with jeans, They took the picture and
they made it look like a top that was really revealing. There were radio
programmes about it. It was a big deal for, like, three weeks straight -
talking about I'm not setting a good example." Rihanna also states she was
bullied at school. "Having lighter skin wasn’t a problem in my household,
but it was when I went to school — which really confused me at first. The
harassment continued to my very last day of elementary school."
They also mentioned that Rihanna was too young for Def Jam to push her as
a "sex symbol", making a plea that she cover up. The media and The Nation
newspaper constantly make personal attacks and have shown lack of support
and encouragement. Rihanna spoke out against the scrutiny to Entertainment
Weekly stating, "They all hate me. I didn’t have to talk about them. I
didn’t have to even mention that I’m from Barbados. But I do and people
kind of take it for granted. They hate me. They talk shit about me all the
time. But I’m like, "Whatever. I’m still doing this cause I love to do it
and you’re not going to stop me". Media fought back with letters to
Rihanna publicly via a Barbadian newspaper, "what she said sounds as if
though she is doing us a favour. If God didn't give us a Rihanna, he would
have given us someone else. So don't ever for a second get to thinking you
are irreplaceable, Rihanna" and "Her putting Barbados on the map is
nonsense. Barbados was well on the map before she came along; and will be
when she is gone". Her mentor and music producer Evan Rogers spoke out to
the media stating that Rihanna subsequently "formed her impression of any
Bajan dislike from the reception she received at the recent Barbados Music
Awards where," according to Rogers, "It was disappointing the way some
people reacted as if they were almost rooting against her".
In 2007, Rihanna began showing interest in making film appearances. She
made her acting debut in a cameo role to the film Bring It On: All or
Nothing, released on August 8, 2006. During this time, she stated that
singing was always the bigger picture, but she definitely wants to get
into acting as well. Rihanna also made an appearance as the central
character in Kanye West's music video "Paranoid". According to the Daily
News, Rihanna has been taking acting classes during her time in New York,
and will make her acting debut in Personal Protection, due to start
filming later this year. |
