And on the wall of the first "room" in the Samsung-sponsored series of "ANTIdiary" videos - a room filled with white sand that would match the beaches in Rihanna's home country - is a crayoned map of the world with Barbados, indicated in big letters, clearly between America and Africa. It's hard not to see this as a direct reference to the trident on the Barbadian flag. These roots in the Caribbean, however, are arguably front and centre on Anti, and it's not just because there's a cover of a 20-year-old dancehall reggae riddim that's the foundation for the first single, "Work."įeatured prominently as part of the album art - and featured in much of Rihanna's recent self portraiture - is the crown of Neptune.
Rihanna shouts out Barbados at awards shows, features her island home in videos, makes sure she's always back home for the annual Crop Over Carnival, and soundtracks perfume launches with local soca. Russell, co-editor of Rihanna: Barbados World-Gurl in Global Popular Culture a 2015 book of scholarly essays on the phenomenon that is Robyn Rihanna Fenty, the most famous Bajan on the planet. "Rihanna wants to remind us of those Caribbean, Barbadian roots," says Heather D. To understand Barbados and the Caribbean is central to understanding Rihanna. 1 album - but she is also from Westbury Road, Bridgetown, Barbados. Yes, she's super popular worldwide - despite the bumpy release of Anti, the album sold 124,000 copies last week, making it Rihanna's second No. But could it not be that Rihanna's aesthetic project might be consistently committed to representing Barbados and the Caribbean? As Rihanna's fame grows, there seems to be less and less of a reference to the relevance of her Bajan roots. "That all these songs exist side by side reaffirm that Rihanna is our least aesthetically consistent - least aesthetically committed? - major pop star", wrote Jon Caramanica in The New York Times. Or it was on purpose? The album is " adrift," " confused," " not what we expected at all." What's Rihanna doing anyhow? Review after review has seemed to struggle with the Barbadian superstar - the coolest girl in the world is being just plain frustrating. The release of Rihanna's much anticipated Anti was a mistake. Rihanna in October 2015, in front of the cover art for her album, Anti.