ALBUM REVIEW - ANTI

ATTENTION! Calling all members of the Navy to the front line as we're about to debrief today's mission being Rih's much anticipated and longly awaited eighth studio album ANTI. 

I admit that this review is a bit late in it's coming considering the album dropped January 28th, 2016, which was about 2 weeks ago, but these things happen and it's the content that matters, so without further ado, let's "get ready to work work work work work work"! 

An overall assessment of the standard version of the album is that it definitely lives up to it's project's name being the complete opposite of what the Diamonds vocalist usually puts out by having more of a chill and undercooked vibe, but I suppose we should expect nothing less with the album taking a whopping total of 4 years in its creation by comparison to Rih's previous projects being released year after year. 

Unapologetic branded bad gal Riri aspired to create songs deemed timeless, rather than tiring, which is how she labeled all her previous feats to date. 

"I wanted songs that I could perform in 15 years; I wanted an album that I could perform in 15 years. 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. So I want to make songs that are timeless..."

Though timelessness is what Rih was aiming for, I'd say that the album was anything but. I mean, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this album because there are some amazing hits weaved into it, though I feel like nothing on the project will be able to stand the test of time (like Adele's 'Hello' or anything Adele for that matter), but then again none of her songs really manage to remain in the charts for very long anyhow.

Although, all negativity aside, there are some tracks that need special recognition off the jump. There's no point in me praising lead single Work or the Natalia Kills penned Kiss It Better because we all know that those tracks are mega hits indefinitely, though I'd like to call some attention to other smash hits off the album that could easily go unseen in the blink of an eye. For instance, the closing track on the standard edition of the album Close To You was by far my favorite song on the album (the standard version that is). It's hauntingly beautiful with heart wrenching sentiments like...

"nothing but a tear, that's all for breakfast, watching you pretend you're unaffected, you're pulling our connections, expecting me to let you go, but I won't".

The track's simplicity as a piano ballad highlights Rih's vocal ability and it overall just makes you feel some type of way. 

Another track that beckons for your attention is the insanely amazing urban track Needed Me. This track preys on the same feels as CTY though it takes it to the next level with some deep bass and melodic wonders of sorts that got you squealing alongside the Rude Boy preacher. Whomever she was addressing, she let them have Cake, and let them eat it too with lyrics...

"but baby, don't get it twisted, you was just another nigga on the hit list, tryna fix your inner issues with a bad bitch. Didn't they tell you that I was a savage, fuck your white horse and a carriage, bet you never could imagine, never told you you could have it".

Thanks Rih for always keeping it 100 with us and giving us only the best of your caliber that you have to offer.

Now that you've been given some good, it's time for you to inhale all the bad, which includes that really lame interlude track James Joint. I honestly could've saved my $1.29 from iTunes and had it go towards something more substantial like Bitch Better Have My Money, which sadly did not make any appearances on the project in standard or deluxe editions. Since I brought that up, what was the point in releasing BBHMM, FourFiveSeconds and American Oxygen when none of them could be found anywhere? Honestly this was the anticipated sound that I needed to hear from the project that could've replaced the few boring and tired tracks that did make the cut, which also included Love On The Brain and the extremely raspy and highly frequented number Higher. Her sounds felt too recycled from other songs that I've heard elsewhere in another time period (and not in the good recycled way like Natalie La Rose's 'Somebody') on these tracks and it took away all the highs that the first half of the album was giving me (thank the lord she saved it by finishing with CTY). 

Now a brief word on the deluxe edition of the album, which ultimately held more promise at a passing glance than the majority of the album, but regardless. Though I still love Goodnight Gotham, I strongly dislike the fact that it didn't manifest into a track of its own, but remained as another freaking interlude that sampled only what we were teased with in it's first appearance in the Dior commercial ad that the You Da One chanteuse donned last year.

However, nothing beats the music genius that is Pose. The track is sadly only 2 minutes in length, but it's the most bad-ass 2 minutes you'll ever experience musically. It's very reminiscent of Phresh Off The Runway and it honestly sounds broken half the time in terms of instrumentals by sounding off by a few seconds on certain notes, but I think that's what makes it all the more perfect. There's even the sound your iPhone makes when you send a message in there that's so weird, but so good all at once. Nothing makes you sound more like a badass with lines such as...

"Getting dope, so rich, ah smoke it and I ain't never liked a broke bitch, I don't never fuck with ya hoe bitch, quiet down"

Get ready photographers cause Rih just wrote your anthem for your next photoshoot. You're welcome. 

So that's about all I had to say about the project, aside from the betrayal that the beautifully directed, though long-winded journey that the AntiDiaRy took me on prior to the album's release. All in all, the album is pretty amazing and I'm honestly awaiting for my physical copy of it to arrive in the mail, so I highly suggest checking out the entire album yourselves, which you can actually stream for free on Spotify (and to be clear, I'm not endorsed by Spotify...sadly)

Get it Rih, and good luck on the ANTI Tour!

 

What were your thoughts on ANTI? Add a comment below telling us what you thought about the album and also tell us what albums you'd like to see reviewed next time.