– The unavoidable hit. A dancehall-inflected loop that feels hypnotic and slightly annoying (intentionally so). Drake’s patois is laughable, but Rihanna’s detached repetition of “work, work, work, work, work” becomes a mantra for exhausting love. On the Deluxe, it flows into…
– Slow, psychedelic, and explicitly sexual. A cousin to The Weeknd’s Trilogy . She’s in total control, whispering threats and promises. Rihanna - ANTI -Deluxe- -2016-Album-
– A 78-second weed-and-R&B interlude. Dreamy, wasted, and gorgeous. It sets the album’s hazy mood perfectly. – The unavoidable hit
– A Western-tinged escape fantasy. Sparse, menacing bass, and Rihanna playing the outlaw bride. “I need a desperado / I need a partner in crime.” This is the underrated gem of the album. On the Deluxe, it flows into… – Slow,
The Deluxe edition adds three additional tracks to the standard 13, but more importantly, it completes the album’s thesis: freedom is messy, and so is this record. Gone are the EDM bombasts of We Found Love and the glossy Caribbean-pop of Work . ANTI is a grimy, sample-heavy, genre-bending collage. Executive produced by Rihanna herself alongside Jeff Bhasker (Kanye, Bruno Mars), the album pulls from 70s soul (Tavares’ “It Only Takes a Minute” on “James Joint”), trip-hop (a haunting interpolation of Tame Impala’s “New Person, Same Old Mistakes” on “Same Ol’ Mistakes”), and gut-punch ballads.