Man Down (song)
Encyclopedia
"Man Down" is a song performed by Barbadian
recording artist Rihanna
, taken from her fifth studio album Loud
(2010). The song was sent to US rhythmic
and urban
radios on May 3, 2011 and was released as the album's sixth overall single in the United States as well as in certain countries internationally on July 11, 2011. The song was written by Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph, Timothy & Theron Thomas, and Shontelle Layne
, with production completed by Joseph.
"Man Down" received positive reviews from music critics, with many calling it a comeback of Rihanna's Caribbean-tinged rhythm. In the US, despite only being released to rhythmic and urban radios, the song peaked at number 59 on the US Billboard
Hot 100 chart and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
chart. In France, the song went number one, whilst reaching the top twenty in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and on the UK R&B Chart. The music video, directed by long time collaborator Anthony Mandler
, sees Rihanna shooting a man after being attacked, singing how she regrets her actions. Due to the violent nature of the video, The Parents Television Council
criticized the singer and attempted to ban the video with no success. "Man Down" is included on the set-list of Rihanna's 2011 Loud Tour
.
, fans were asked to choose from "Cheers (Drink to That)
", "Man Down", "California King Bed
" or "Fading)
". The most popular choice would have its video filmed at the end of March 2011. On March 12, 2011 it was confirmed that fans had selected "California King Bed" as the next single from the album. In the US, "Man Down" was released to US rhythmic
and urban
radios on May 3, 2011. However internationally, "California King Bed" served as the fourth single. "Man Down" was released to digital outlets in Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland on July 11, 2011 as the fifth international single from Loud. Rihanna spoke about the song in November 2010 in an interview with MTV News
:
"Man Down" was written by Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph, Timothy & Theron Thomas, and Shontelle Layne
, with production completed by Joseph. The song draws heavily on the musical genre of reggae
. According to the digital music sheet published at musicnotes.com, the song is written in the key of C major
and is set in common time
with a moderate reggae feel
of 77 beats per minute
. Rihanna's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of F
3 to the high note of E♭5.
of The New York Times
commenting that Rihanna plays up her West Indian accent in the reggae of “Man Down” about shooting a man in Central Station
. August Brown of Los Angeles Times
commented, “Man Down reasserts her Caribbean lilt with a swaggering murder ballad that one can’t help but hear as a warning shot across the radio dial to Chris Brown’s Deuces
. Entertainment Weekly
writer Leah Greenblatt said that "the rum-pa-pum ragga "Man Down" burrows neck-deep in island rhythms." Emily Mackay of NME
commented that the album's experiments feel more organic, its tone better paced because of the Caribbean-tinged anthem for doomed youth of "Man Down". James Skinner of BBC Online viewed "Man Down" as a Caribbean rhythm, where Rihanna relays a break-up as murder metaphor in thick Barbadian patois. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine
named the song the album's biggest highlight, a full-fledged reggae tune about a woman who shoots a man. He praised the song saying that Rihanna is surprisingly agile in this genre and is one of her finest, most confident vocal performances to date.
Chart at number eighty-four for the week of April 9, 2011 and reached a top ten peak of number nine. For the week of June 11, 2011 the song debuted at number ninety-four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number fifty-nine. The single also managed to reach sixty-three on the Canadian Hot 100
. "Man Down" also charted in other countries due to its release as a single in certain European territories in July 2011. Having debuted on the French Singles Chart at number sixty-five on the issue dated June 4, 2011, the single was released digitally and reached a peak of number one on July 25, 2011. Where it stayed at number one for five weeks. It marks Rihanna's eighth single to reach the top five in the country, following other singles from Loud
, "Only Girl (In the World)
" and "S&M
". In Switzerland, it has gradually risen into the top ten, reaching nine, and it reached the number-one spot in the Swiss Romandie chart (French part of Switzerland). The single started off slowly but in the fourth week it jumped from thirteen to four on the Dutch Top 40
. With the release of the video, the song managed to reach number fifty-four on the UK Singles Chart
and inside the top twenty on the UK R&B Chart
at number fifteen, despite the song not receiving an official release in the country. The song also reached the top twenty in Norway at number seventeen and Belgium (Wallonia) at nineteen, both with no official releases in each territory. In Poland, the song debuted at number five, eventually peaking at number four on the official Polish Airplay Chart
. In Romania
it peaked at number-five on the Romanian Top 100
, marking Rihanna's fifteenth top-ten there.
for "Man Down" was shot in Jamaica
in April 2011, and was directed by Anthony Mandler
, who worked with Rihanna for most of her music videos, including "Take a Bow
" and "Rehab
". On May 1, 2011, Rihanna posted three images from the shoot via Twitter
. One of the images showed her on a beach wearing a white Dolce & Gabbana
dress, while another image showed her riding a bike in Portland Parish. The video premiered on 106 & Park
on May 31, 2011. In an interview with MTV News
on May 16, 2011, Mandler discussed the music video more in depth:
The video begins when Rihanna shoots a man making his way through a busy train station. After committing the crime, the camera focuses on the shot man and later Rihanna flees the scene. To create a timeline of events leading up to the crime, the video travels back in time to the previous day, when the singer is seen riding her bike and meeting with people in Kingston
, Jamaica
. There are also scenes of Rihanna alone inside a bedroom at dusk. Then at a nightclub, Rihanna begins to dance and flirt with another club-goer, who's actually the man that she shoots at the beginning. After she leaves the club, the singer's dance-floor partner follows her outside and begins to get violent. The video then cuts straight to the scene of a disheveled Rihanna crying in the street, after what appears to have been a sexual assault
. The video concludes with the singer running to her home where she grabs a gun hidden in a dresser drawer, then that's when they replay the beginning when she shoots him.
(PTC), a non-profit organization that advocates what it considers responsible entertainment, criticized Rihanna for "cold, calculated execution of murder" in the video. The council disagreed with Rihanna's suggestion that killing a rapist is a proper form of justice and her rationale that it "sends a very strong underlying message 4 girls like me." They also stated "If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET
premiered it, the world would stop. Rihanna should not get a pass." PTC also criticized BET for airing the video. However, other commentators argued that the PTC's reaction to Rihanna's video is an example of double standard
, with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of AlterNet
arguing that the PTC did not condemn Kanye West
s video for "Monster" which featured deceased women hanging from the ceiling and West holding a woman's decapitated head. Shepherd also noted that the PTC did not criticize Eminem
s video "Love the Way You Lie
", which, according to Shepherd, "glorified and romanticized" domestic violence
. In response to the PTC, Rihanna stated:
The director of the video, Anthony Mandler, also responded to the news in an interview with Hollywood Reporter, stating that:
Source:
Barbadian people
Barbadians are people originating on the Caribbean island of Barbados whether they live there or in the Barbadian diaspora.Rihanna is by far the most popular Barbadian on the planet.-Diaspora:...
recording artist Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. 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...
, taken from her fifth studio album Loud
Loud (Rihanna album)
Loud is the fifth studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, first released on November 12, 2010 by Def Jam Recordings. The album was recorded between February and August 2010, predominantly during Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth Tour and filming for her first feature film Battleship...
(2010). The song was sent to US rhythmic
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
and urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
radios on May 3, 2011 and was released as the album's sixth overall single in the United States as well as in certain countries internationally on July 11, 2011. The song was written by Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph, Timothy & Theron Thomas, and Shontelle Layne
Shontelle
Shontelle Layne , known professionally as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer, and songwriter. She released her debut album Shontelligence in November 2008. Her sophomore album, No Gravity, was released in September 2010...
, with production completed by Joseph.
"Man Down" received positive reviews from music critics, with many calling it a comeback of Rihanna's Caribbean-tinged rhythm. In the US, despite only being released to rhythmic and urban radios, the song peaked at number 59 on the US Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Hot 100 chart and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
chart. In France, the song went number one, whilst reaching the top twenty in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and on the UK R&B Chart. The music video, directed by long time collaborator Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director, who has written and directed music videos for several artists. His most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna...
, sees Rihanna shooting a man after being attacked, singing how she regrets her actions. Due to the violent nature of the video, The Parents Television Council
Parents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
criticized the singer and attempted to ban the video with no success. "Man Down" is included on the set-list of Rihanna's 2011 Loud Tour
Loud Tour
The Loud Tour is the fourth concert tour by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. Performing in over twenty countries in the Americas and Europe, the tour supports Rihanna’s fifth studio album, Loud...
.
Background and composition
At the beginning of March 2011, Rihanna asked fans to help her select her next single. Via TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
, fans were asked to choose from "Cheers (Drink to That)
Cheers (Drink to That)
"Cheers " is a song recorded by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her fifth studio album Loud . The song impacted US mainstream and rhythmic radio on August 2, 2011, as the seventh and final single released from Loud...
", "Man Down", "California King Bed
California King Bed
"California King Bed" is a song performed by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her fifth studio album, Loud . The song was released as the album's fifth single on May 13, 2011 through Def Jam. The song was written by Andrew Harr, Jermaine Jackson, Priscilla Renea and Alex Delicata, and was...
" or "Fading)
Fading (song)
"Fading" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her fifth studio album, Loud. The song was written by Jamal Jones and Ester Dean, whilst production of the song was completed by Jones under his production name, Polow da Don...
". The most popular choice would have its video filmed at the end of March 2011. On March 12, 2011 it was confirmed that fans had selected "California King Bed" as the next single from the album. In the US, "Man Down" was released to US rhythmic
Rhythmic Contemporary
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may...
and urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
radios on May 3, 2011. However internationally, "California King Bed" served as the fourth single. "Man Down" was released to digital outlets in Denmark, the Netherlands, France and Switzerland on July 11, 2011 as the fifth international single from Loud. Rihanna spoke about the song in November 2010 in an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
:
Man Down is gangsta mixed with reggae. It comes from me trying to achieve that [vibe]," Rihanna told about the saucy song. "I'm super inspired by reggae music [and it] has been a part of me since I was born, and I grew up listening to it. I grew up loving it. My favorite artists are all reggae artists. The special thing in that song is the fact that it's a female singing those lyrics, then you have that reggae thing and the chant; the overall energy in that song is so gangsta." She added later "It's got a lot of swagger. I really enjoy it.
"Man Down" was written by Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph, Timothy & Theron Thomas, and Shontelle Layne
Shontelle
Shontelle Layne , known professionally as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer, and songwriter. She released her debut album Shontelligence in November 2008. Her sophomore album, No Gravity, was released in September 2010...
, with production completed by Joseph. The song draws heavily on the musical genre of reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
. According to the digital music sheet published at musicnotes.com, the song is written in the key of C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
and is set in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
with a moderate reggae feel
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 77 beats per minute
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
. Rihanna's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of F
F (musical note)
F is a musical note, the fourth above C. It is also known as fa in fixed-do solfège.When calculated in equal temperament with a reference of A above middle C as 440 Hz, the frequency of Middle F is approximately 349.228 Hz. See pitch for a discussion of historical variations in...
3 to the high note of E♭5.
Critical reception
"Man Down" received generally positive reviews from critics, with Jon ParelesJon Pareles
Jon Pareles is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of the New York Times. He played jazz flute and piano, and graduated from Yale University with a degree in music. In the 1970s he was an associate editor of Crawdaddy!, and in the 1980s an associate...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
commenting that Rihanna plays up her West Indian accent in the reggae of “Man Down” about shooting a man in Central Station
Central Station
-Railway stations:A central station is generally the principal passenger railway station of major towns and cities which have multiple stations, or a station owned by a railway with "Central" in its name, such as the English Great Central Railway....
. August Brown of Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
commented, “Man Down reasserts her Caribbean lilt with a swaggering murder ballad that one can’t help but hear as a warning shot across the radio dial to Chris Brown’s Deuces
Deuces (song)
"Deuces" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown, taken from his mixtape Fan of a Fan . It was written by Brown, Tyga, and Kevin McCall, with the latter also producing the song. The R&B ballad also features guest vocal performances from Tyga and McCall. Lyrically, the song is about...
. Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
writer Leah Greenblatt said that "the rum-pa-pum ragga "Man Down" burrows neck-deep in island rhythms." Emily Mackay of NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
commented that the album's experiments feel more organic, its tone better paced because of the Caribbean-tinged anthem for doomed youth of "Man Down". James Skinner of BBC Online viewed "Man Down" as a Caribbean rhythm, where Rihanna relays a break-up as murder metaphor in thick Barbadian patois. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
named the song the album's biggest highlight, a full-fledged reggae tune about a woman who shoots a man. He praised the song saying that Rihanna is surprisingly agile in this genre and is one of her finest, most confident vocal performances to date.
Chart performance
Before becoming a single, "Man Down" debuted on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop SongsHot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
Chart at number eighty-four for the week of April 9, 2011 and reached a top ten peak of number nine. For the week of June 11, 2011 the song debuted at number ninety-four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number fifty-nine. The single also managed to reach sixty-three on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
. "Man Down" also charted in other countries due to its release as a single in certain European territories in July 2011. Having debuted on the French Singles Chart at number sixty-five on the issue dated June 4, 2011, the single was released digitally and reached a peak of number one on July 25, 2011. Where it stayed at number one for five weeks. It marks Rihanna's eighth single to reach the top five in the country, following other singles from Loud
Loud (Rihanna album)
Loud is the fifth studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, first released on November 12, 2010 by Def Jam Recordings. The album was recorded between February and August 2010, predominantly during Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth Tour and filming for her first feature film Battleship...
, "Only Girl (In the World)
Only Girl (In the World)
"Only Girl " is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her fifth studio album, Loud . The song was released as the album's lead single on September 10, 2010 through Def Jam. It was written by Crystal Johnson, Norwegian production duo Stargate and Sandy Vee, and produced by Stargate and Vee...
" and "S&M
S&M (song)
"S&M" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from her fifth studio album, Loud . The song was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Corey Jackson Carter, Sandy Wilhelm and Ester Dean, with production helmed by Eriksen and Hermansen of Stargate and Sandy Wilhelm under her...
". In Switzerland, it has gradually risen into the top ten, reaching nine, and it reached the number-one spot in the Swiss Romandie chart (French part of Switzerland). The single started off slowly but in the fourth week it jumped from thirteen to four on the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
. With the release of the video, the song managed to reach number fifty-four on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
and inside the top twenty on the UK R&B Chart
UK R&B Chart
The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...
at number fifteen, despite the song not receiving an official release in the country. The song also reached the top twenty in Norway at number seventeen and Belgium (Wallonia) at nineteen, both with no official releases in each territory. In Poland, the song debuted at number five, eventually peaking at number four on the official Polish Airplay Chart
Polish Music Charts
The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies...
. In Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
it peaked at number-five on the Romanian Top 100
Romanian Top 100
The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media....
, marking Rihanna's fifteenth top-ten there.
Background and synopsis
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Man Down" was shot in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in April 2011, and was directed by Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler
Anthony Mandler is a commercial and music video director, who has written and directed music videos for several artists. His most notable and frequent collaborator is Rihanna...
, who worked with Rihanna for most of her music videos, including "Take a Bow
Take a Bow (Rihanna song)
"Take a Bow" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, taken from the re-release, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded , of her third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad . The song was written and produced by Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel Eriksen and Shaffer Smith, under their stage names Stargate and Ne-Yo...
" and "Rehab
Rehab (Rihanna song)
"Rehab" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, released as the eighth and final single from her third studio album, Good Girl Gone Bad . Def Jam Recordings released the song to contemporary hit radio in the United States on October 6, 2008...
". On May 1, 2011, Rihanna posted three images from the shoot via Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
. One of the images showed her on a beach wearing a white Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana is an Italian luxury industry fashion house. The company was started by the Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana in Milan, Italy. By 2005 their turnover was €597 million....
dress, while another image showed her riding a bike in Portland Parish. The video premiered on 106 & Park
106 & Park
106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...
on May 31, 2011. In an interview with MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
on May 16, 2011, Mandler discussed the music video more in depth:
We shot the video last month in Jamaica and it's my favorite song she's ever recorded, so I was really excited to get involved. And it's just one of those songs that demands a strong narrative and visual, and let's just say she let me go all the way. So I think you can expect something that's dramatic and shocking and intense and emotional and uplifting and enlightening.
The video begins when Rihanna shoots a man making his way through a busy train station. After committing the crime, the camera focuses on the shot man and later Rihanna flees the scene. To create a timeline of events leading up to the crime, the video travels back in time to the previous day, when the singer is seen riding her bike and meeting with people in Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. There are also scenes of Rihanna alone inside a bedroom at dusk. Then at a nightclub, Rihanna begins to dance and flirt with another club-goer, who's actually the man that she shoots at the beginning. After she leaves the club, the singer's dance-floor partner follows her outside and begins to get violent. The video then cuts straight to the scene of a disheveled Rihanna crying in the street, after what appears to have been a sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
. The video concludes with the singer running to her home where she grabs a gun hidden in a dresser drawer, then that's when they replay the beginning when she shoots him.
Controversy
The Parents Television CouncilParents Television Council
The Parents Television Council is a U.S. based advocacy group founded by conservative activist L. Brent Bozell III in 1995 using the National Legion of Decency as a model...
(PTC), a non-profit organization that advocates what it considers responsible entertainment, criticized Rihanna for "cold, calculated execution of murder" in the video. The council disagreed with Rihanna's suggestion that killing a rapist is a proper form of justice and her rationale that it "sends a very strong underlying message 4 girls like me." They also stated "If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
premiered it, the world would stop. Rihanna should not get a pass." PTC also criticized BET for airing the video. However, other commentators argued that the PTC's reaction to Rihanna's video is an example of double standard
Double standard
A double standard is the unjust application of different sets of principles for similar situations. The concept implies that a single set of principles encompassing all situations is the desirable ideal. The term has been used in print since at least 1895...
, with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of AlterNet
AlterNet
AlterNet, a project of the non-profit Independent Media Institute, is a progressive/liberal activist news service. Launched in 1998, AlterNet now claims a readership of over 3 million visitors per month .AlterNet publishes original content as well as journalism from a wide variety of other sources...
arguing that the PTC did not condemn Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
s video for "Monster" which featured deceased women hanging from the ceiling and West holding a woman's decapitated head. Shepherd also noted that the PTC did not criticize Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
s video "Love the Way You Lie
Love the Way You Lie
"Love the Way You Lie" is a song by American rapper Eminem from his seventh studio album, Recovery . It was released as the album's second single on August 9, 2010, by Interscope-Geffen-A&M. The song features vocals by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. According to her, its theme...
", which, according to Shepherd, "glorified and romanticized" domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
. In response to the PTC, Rihanna stated:
I'm a 23 year old singer who doesn't have kids. What's up with everybody wanting me to be a parent [to their children]? I'm just a girl, I can only be our voice. We all know it's difficult and embarrassing to communicate touchy subject matters to anyone, especially our parents. The music industry isn't "Parent's 'R Us." We have the freedom to make art; let us! It's your job to make sure your children don't turn out like us. You can't hide your kids from society, or they'll never learn how to adapt. This is the real world!"
The director of the video, Anthony Mandler, also responded to the news in an interview with Hollywood Reporter, stating that:
It's (the video) doing exactly what Rihanna and I hoped it would do, which is shine a light on the very dark subject matter... This medium used to be a great medium of messages... I grew up in an era of Madonna releasing videos and sparking controversy. I think most people are wasting this medium... The fact that there's an argument to ban this because this will make girls retaliate from abuse with murder is skipping over the point. We obviously have a huge issue to deal with as a country.
Credits and personnel
- SongwritingSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
– Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph, Timothy Thomas, Theron Thomas, Shontelle LayneShontelleShontelle Layne , known professionally as Shontelle, is a Barbadian singer, and songwriter. She released her debut album Shontelligence in November 2008. Her sophomore album, No Gravity, was released in September 2010... - ProductionRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
– Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph - RecordingSound recording and reproductionSound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
– Cary Clark - Vocal production – Kuk HarrellKuk HarrellThaddis "Kuk" Harrell is an American songwriter, vocal producer, arranger and engineer. He is managed by RedZone Entertainment, and is a member of a songwriting–production team composed of himself, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Terius "The Dream" Nash...
, - Vocal recording – Kuk Harrell, Josh Gudwin, Marcos Tovar
- Assistant vocal recording – Bobby Campbell
- MixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
– Manny MarroquinManny MarroquinManny Marroquin, born 21 September 1971 in Guatemala, is a Grammy winning mixing engineer. His family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine due to the Guatemalan Civil War.... - Assistant mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
– Erik Madrid and Christian Plata
Source:
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Iceland (Lagalistinn Music of Iceland The music of Iceland includes vibrant folk and pop traditions. Well-known artists from Iceland include medieval music group Voces Thules, alternative rock band The Sugarcubes, singers Björk and Emiliana Torrini, and post-rock band Sigur Rós. Iceland's traditional music is related to Nordic music... ) |
25 |
| Poland (ZPAV Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... ) |
4 |
| Poland (Dance Top 50 Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... ) |
31 |
| Romania (Romanian Top 100 Romanian Top 100 The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media.... ) |
5 |
| South Korea (Gaon Chart Gaon Chart The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts... ) |
54 |
| Switzerland (Romandie Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... ) |
1 |
Radio and release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | May 3, 2011 | Rhythmic, Urban | Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group... |
| Denmark | July 11, 2011 | Digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
Universal Music |
| France | |||
| Netherlands | |||
| Switzerland | |||
| Italy | August 5, 2011 | Radio | |