Anti Afk Bot

[Eddie Boyum]

Antiis the eighth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on 28 January 2016 by Roc Nation and Westbury Road. Rihanna started recording in 2014 after departing from Def Jam Recordings, who had released all of her albums since her 2005 debut. As executive producer, Rihanna recorded Anti with producers including Jeff Bhasker, Boi-1da, DJ Mustard, Hit-Boy, Brian Kennedy, Timbaland and No I.D., at studios in Canada, the United States and France. SZA and Drake contribute guest vocals.

Conceived in the midst of creative struggles and emotional turmoil, Anti is characterized by atmospheric production incorporating lo-fi beats, distorted vocals and downtempo arrangements. The first half consists of bass-heavy tracks, while the second is characterised by textured minimalism. Compared to the radio-friendly dance songs which had characterised Rihanna's prior discography, Anti is more muted and soulful. Primarily a pop, dancehall, psychedelic soul and alternative R&B record, Anti also incorporates an array of eclectic influences spanning from dancehall, hip hop, soul, industrial, psychedelic, doo-wop, country, synth-rock and trap. The lyrics are about the emotions ensued from love and relationships, from endearment and desire to betrayal and liberation, with references to sex, drugs and alcohol.

The promotional campaign for Anti from summer 2014 comprised prolonged release delays and a $25 million deal with Samsung. Rihanna announced the cover art and title at the MAMA Gallery on 7 October 2015. The Anti World Tour ran from March to November 2016, and four songs were released as singles, including the US Billboard Hot 100 number one "Work". In the United States, Anti is Rihanna's second number-one album and the first album by a black woman to spend 300 weeks on the Billboard 200; it was certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album topped charts in Canada and Norway, and it received multi-platinum certifications in Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, New Zealand, and Poland.

Upon its release, critics commended the album's emotional honesty but were divided on the production; praise mainly centered on Rihanna's newfound musical freedom. Some took issue with the lack of radio-friendly songs and the unfocused tracklist, but others noted the musical shift marked Rihanna's artistic maturity and regarded it as one of her best albums. At the 2017 Grammy Awards, the album and its singles received six nominations, including one for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Anti featured on 2010s decade-end lists by such publications as Billboard, NME and Pitchfork. It ranked 230th on Rolling Stone's 2020 edition of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and 55th on Apple Music 100 Best Albums. As of March 2024, Anti is the fourth-longest charting female album in Billboard 200 history.

Rihanna's seventh studio album, Unapologetic, was released on 19 November 2012, by Def Jam Recordings.[1] Unapologetic combines urban and R&B with radio-friendly pop tunes and dubstep influences, and its lyrics are about Rihanna's sexual autonomy and emotional struggles.[2][3] Critics likened the sound and themes of Unapologetic's to those of her previous albums, namely Rated R (2009), Loud (2010) and Talk that Talk (2011).[4][5] She embarked on the Diamonds World Tour to promote the album in 2013, and co-headlined the Monster Tour with American rapper Eminem in 2014.[6] After touring, Rihanna intended to take a year off to "just do whatever [she wanted] artistically, creatively", but reportedly started recording new music as soon as October 2014.[7][8]

Unapologetic was Rihanna's last album under Def Jam, who had released all of her discography since her first album, Music of the Sun (2005).[9] In March 2014, she signed with American rapper Jay-Z's Roc Nation after leaving Def Jam and gaining the right to her album masters;[9] Jay-Z was her mentor when she first moved from Barbados to the United States.[10][11] Up to that point, Rihanna had released one studio album each year from 2005 to 2012 (with the exception of 2008), totalling seven.[12]

In an interview with MTV News in March 2015, Rihanna said she wanted her eighth album to be "soulful" and "timeless", having found the "really, really big songs" on her past albums had fallen out of her taste; "I wanted an album that I could perform in 15 years. ... Not any songs that were burnt out."[13] By January 2015, the album was to be executive-produced by rapper-producer Kanye West, who had produced and co-performed on its intended lead single, "FourFiveSeconds" alongside English musician Paul McCartney, however West stepped down from the project in January 2016.[14][15] Although Rihanna wanted the record to represent her authentic self, feeling "numb" and disconnected from her emotions, she experienced an emotional turmoil.[16] Speaking with Sarah Paulson for the October 2019 issue of Interview, Rihanna talked about her spiritual wellbeing while making Anti: "I have been in a place where I felt like maybe I had disappointed god so much that we weren't as close."[17]

"Desperado" was written by Mick Shultz and Rook Monroe. After visiting Rihanna's home, Shultz was contacted a week later by the singer's team who stated that she really liked the record. Rihanna, Fauntleroy and Kuk Harrell, were all later involved in the song's development, production and recording.[21] In the summer of 2015, songwriter and producer Rupert Thomas together with Allen Ritter and Boi-1da among others, stayed at Canadian rapper's Drake house in Los Angeles for several days. During the time, the lead single, "Work" was conceived.[22] Thomas created the beat and played it for Boi-1da to which he positively responded. Boi-1da came up with the idea for sampling an "old school dancehall rhythm" after the chords were made. When the song's music was finished, Boi-1da sent it to PartyNextDoor who wrote the lyrics.[22]

Two songs each were recorded at Jungle City Studios in New York City and Windmark Recording Studios in Los Angeles.[18] The studio sessions at Jungle City produced the opening track "Consideration" and "Kiss It Better". Rihanna stated when recording "Consideration", she felt a connection to it, stating the song captured the sound and attitude she was aiming for.[16] The recording sessions at Windmark Recording Studios produced the songs "Never Ending" and "Love on the Brain". The former was written by Chad Sabo during his time in California, where Sabo was playing with the band Basic Vacation. Sabo was in the band's van and began to write the intro riff that would become "Never Ending". Shortly after, he took the song home and attempted to bring the song together using a digital 8-track studio. He later worked on the song's lyrics and posted it onto the internet. The writing process of "Never Ending" began in November 2013, and started again in April 2014 at which time Rihanna became interested in the track and wanted to record it. English singer-songwriter Dido is also credited as a writer on the track due to a similarity in the melody of "Never Ending" and Dido's 1999 song "Thank You."[23]

The only song which was recorded outside of the United States was "Same Ol' Mistakes"; the track was recorded at the Twin Studios in Paris.[18] Rihanna's team contacted Tame Impala's management and informed them that Rihanna loved the band's song "New Person, Same Old Mistakes" and asked if she could re-record the track for Anti. The song's writer, Kevin Parker, agreed and gave Rihanna permission to record the song. After hearing Rihanna's version, Parker stated, "We're all really happy with how the song turned out, love it!".[24]

American vocal producer Kuk Harrell, who has been working with Rihanna since 2007, stated that for Anti, Rihanna was creatively more involved in the making process. Harrell stated that she aimed to push the album in the direction she envisioned. The producer stated his attempt to move away from mainstream pop music when producing the album's vocals, "Every record... is a record that somebody else could've done... It's so awesome that she... was courageous enough to... do that."[25]

Harrell noted that with the production of Anti Rihanna was far more meticulous about what she wanted each individual line to sound like. He stated that he attempted to work quickly when producing the album, however Rihanna wanted to constantly improve the album's quality stating, "let's up the quality level. Let's make sure... it's a masterpiece." Harrell stated that when he and Rihanna had previously worked together they aimed to make a great body of work, however on Anti they aimed to create a "masterpiece".[25]

Speaking of the album's production and style, Harrell stated that artists such as Rihanna have been taking a stance and stepping away from the popular music of the time and the expectations of her label, directors, and radio, stating, "I don't want to make what everybody else is making... I know my fans will love it... if everybody else loves it, great. If they don't, at least I know... I've done what I want to do."[25] Anti was engineered by Nathaniel Alford, Chris Godbey, Harrell, Blake Mares, Daniela Rivera and Marcos Tovar. The album was finally mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound, in New York City.[18]

On Anti... the focus is on that voice and her... personality, singing... as if her life depends on it.... what she has come up with is atmospheric, sexy and strangely disturbed, tapping into the kind of distorted beats and chilled tempos that burble through progressive hip hop.

During the album's recording Rihanna aimed to create a record to have "soulful" and "aggressive" sounds in the musical, lyrical and vocal context.[27] During a press conference in early 2014, Rihanna told MTV News that she aimed to depart from the musical style of her previous releases, which she described as being "big songs". Rihanna continued to state that with Anti she wanted to focus on music that "felt real" and soulful and would be timeless.[28] She also stated that she wanted to record songs that are "timeless" and that she could perform 15 years later. "Not any songs that were burnt out. I find that when I get on stage now, I don't want to perform a lot of my songs. They don't feel like me."[28]

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