REVIEW: Rihanna Pulls the Trigger, Again

There's another man down in Rihanna's latest music video "Needed Me"

It started as a beautiful sunny day in Miami with scenes of the ocean, a view of the city, people out in their speed boat, a bird flying above their heads.

(photo from gq.com)

The beat drops and the song begins, "I was good on my own, that's the way it was, that's the way it was." Automatically we're introduced to this strong, independent woman that wakes up knowing she is going to have to get her hands bloody.

While this isn’t the first time Rihanna has pulled the trigger in one of her videos it seems to be about more than just revenge.

Her most recent video “Needed Me,” aired for the first time on April, 20, in honor of the pot culture holiday "4/20." Danette Chavez from A.V. Club described the video as a "revenge fantasy," the hit is from her latest double platinum selling album “Anti,” and was directed by Harmony Korine.

Lyrics like “Didn't they tell you that I was a savage F*** your white horse and a carriage,” send a pretty clear messages to listeners that she doesn’t listen to anyone, people take orders from her, in other words, she’s the boss. This is the typical unapologetic, bad girl attitude Rihanna embodies in her music, risky fashion choices, and her attitude towards the media. Some things you can expect to see in a music video from her are: nudity, violence, and drugs. While her art can be taken as glamorizing a rebellious lifestyle, it also reflects her growth not only as an artist but as a woman who was a victim of domestic abuse.

Myles Tanzer, contributor for Fader Magazine gave a brief history of Rihanna's killing spree in the article "All The Men Rihanna Has Killed In Her Music Videos So Far." The first murder happened in 2010, in her video "Man Down." Throughout the song Rihanna confesses she killed a man, who turned out to be abusive towards her. "I didn't mean to end his life, I know it wasn't right, I can't even sleep at night," while the character Rihanna plays in this video did what she had to do for herself,  there was guilt and regret. In her latest videos we can hear the tone change in the music and see this compassion fade away in the visuals as Rihanna takes on the role of a heartless killer.

Before "Needed Me," Rihanna's hit single "BBHMM" was the topic of discussion, feminists argued the video glorified violence, kidnap, and misogyny. Throughout the song, "BBHMM" repeats lyrics like "b**** better have my money! Pay me what you owe me." It's pretty a clear message that if you cross Rihanna she's coming after you and your loved ones. Both of these songs and videos revolve around the concept of money, power, respect, and death after disloyalty. But the controversy around the video particularly focuses on the visuals that accompanied the lyrics "your wife in the backseat of my brand new foreign car, don't act like you forgot, I call the shots, shots, shots." Rihanna kidnaps a rich white woman (who was the wife of her accountant enemy), puts her in a chest and takes her to her car, where two of Rihanna's girlfriends help tie up the victim, put her in the trunk of a car, strip her, tantalize, drug her up, get her drunk, and hang her upside down from the ceiling topless. In an interview with NME Magazine Rihanna responded to the backlash from acclaimed feminists by saying “This was not a woman empowerment video. I was making a piece of art.”

Regardless of the mixed reactions, one thing’s for sure, Rihanna doesn’t hold back when it comes to her vision and stands as a leader in contemporary pop and hip-hop culture, her "I don't give a f***" mentality is what helps her stay authentic to her vision, and continuously setting trends. While parts of the lyrics to "BBHMM" and the visuals may not have been aimed towards feminism, “Needed Me,” screams women empowerment. Typically when we’re shown these kind of narratives the crime leader is a man. Rihanna switches the roles and makes the woman the person in charge, showing that women can also be the shot caller.

“Know you hate to confess But baby who, you needed me,” echoes over and over again as the story makes its way into the night scene. Gun in hand she walks through a strip club to a private room where the man covered in tattoos is getting a private dance. She looks him in the eyes as he looks back with an expression of disbelief, and takes a puff from his blunt. Rihanna lifts her gun to his face and the song continues "you was just another n**** on the hit list tryna fix your inner issues with a bad b****."

Suddenly the man throws stacks of money into Rihanna’s face and she let's out one shot. He reaches down on his lap for his gun and she lets out two more. Symbolically we can see this as a statement to not underestimate what a woman would do to protect herself and for respect, a recurring theme throughout Rihanna's music. Once you get past the nudity, violence, etc. you’ll see that works such as “Needed Me” show women can also be the boss and deserve the same amount of power as men. You'll also see the story of Rihanna's growth from innocent pop sensation to the unapologetic, kick ass "bad gal" she's known as today.


At a glance:

Name: Robyn Rihanna Fenty
Hometown: Barbados
Age: 28
Label: Def Jam
8 Studio Albums
Currently on tour for latest album "Anti" that was released on Jan. 28, 2016 and went double platinum on April 29.

Some Links:

"Needed Me" music video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfN4PVaOU5Q&feature=youtu.be

"Needed Me" lyrics
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/rihanna/neededme.html

"All The Men Rihanna Has Killed In Her Music Videos So Far"
http://www.thefader.com/2016/04/20/rihanna-music-video-kills-man

"Review: Rihanna's 'Anti' Is Gold... If You're Willing To Give It A Try"
http://www.vibe.com/2016/01/review-rihanna-anti/

"Watch Rihanna's Violent, Dark 'Needed Me' Video"
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-rihannas-violent-dark-needed-me-video-20160420