Four lengthy years after her last release, Rihanna‘s eighth album, ANTI, has finally been unveiled to rabid fans. Content wise, evaluations are still slowly trickling in. Thus far, ANTI appears to be a significant departure from Rihanna’s established pop banger material, swapping the electro leanings of Unapologetic for a far more languid, post-party sound, leaving many who had expected a record that channeled the brazen DGAF attitude of ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ throughout, nonplussed. Ri-Ri however, is the reigning queen of reinvention; more surprising than her choice to feature a Tame Impala cover on this latest project was the confused nature of the promotional campaign that preceded it, a problem that has recurred across the musical smorgasbord since Beyoncé revolutionized the process of album releases back in 2013.
The road to ANTI was potholed in the extreme. Last February came the first seemingly legitimate smattering of information concerning the then untitled album, following the surprise drop of Kanye West and Paul McCartney assisted acoustic single ‘FourFiveSeconds.’ At the 57th Grammy Awards, Ye told E! News he was “executive producing Rihanna’s album” and that ‘She couldn’t get past [FourFiveSeconds]. She had to have it on her album.” West’s assertion was to prove the beginning of an excruciatingly messy and frustrating series of unofficial and mostly inaccurate intel on the album that was delivered in a steady stream by all and sundry, augmented by the somehow even vaguer and fragmented details that actually carried the Ri-Ri stamp of authenticity.
Even when it became apparent that ANTI‘s proper promotional campaign was in full swing, the manner in which Rihanna and Roc Nation chose to conduct it was baffling. First came a lucrative deal with phone giants Samsung to the tune of $25million which resulted in the creation of a horribly corporate succession of videos titled ‘ANTIdiaRy,’ that hinged on the premise of symbolically representing Rihanna’s life and career while revealing a new clue about ANTI with every new visual. Sadly, the ANTIdiaRies couldn’t hide their true nature as a really, really expensive set of phone commercials. From most other artists, this wouldn’t be too jarring but Rihanna is an individual who has always managed to stamp even the most commercial of ventures with her own distinctive mark. Additionally, initially making the videos only available on Samsung phones was too naked a prizing of finance over fans, excluding those who didn’t have the right handset. Audiences are extremely willing to accept artists jumping into bed with giant conglomerates: if we were in the enviable position of being offered laughable sums just to pose with a tablet, we’d take it too. But what is harder to accept is when artists don’t make the faintest attempt to disguise their motivations; the ANTIdiaRies were too obviously a contractual obligation and lacked the creativity and style Rihanna had tried to attach to ANTI with her initial MAMA gallery unveiling of the album artwork.
Next followed a tour announcement on November 23rd; unarguably successful because it was Rihanna but surprising as the world was yet to receive so much as a release date for the record, essentially forcing people to buy tickets to a show before they had chance to check out the music. And so the bloated, unfocused and unegaging promo campaign dragged on for a further three months until January 27th when Rihanna unexpectedly premiered what she billed as the ‘first single’ from ANTI, despite the existence of three preceding tracks that had also been promoted as ANTI songs but apparently had now been removed from the final tracklist. Barely had the world managed to adjust to this surprise Drake duet then ANTI was accidentally uploaded to TIDAL and subsequently leaked, forcing the premature release of the album which, in the most perplexing turn of events, was given away for free to TIDAL and non-TIDAL users alike, therefore negating the exclusive aspect of the TIDAL deal and also heavily impacting possible sales. ANTI is similarly not available for streaming on any alternate sites thus far, almost certainly thanks to the contract Rihanna inked with TIDAL.
Bluntly put, the entire debacle has been embarrassing and disappointing, all the more so that it comes from the camp of an artist who had seemed to transcend the normal struggles of the pop sphere. The eventual reveal of the much plagued record came not with a bang but a sad little whimper. Yet the issue of how to handle album releases for maximum sales is one that has become a thorn in the side of the industry post-BEYONCÉ. The constant threat of a ‘surprise’ drop has caused far more scrutiny on the part of the masses, who now have ears pricked for any possible signs of preparation to unleash an unexpected project. This causes a huge upswing in the amount of rumours and falsities, to the point where the element of surprise no longer exists because every possible scenario has already been imagined. Artists are attempting to find bigger and better answers to launching their records but are ignoring the fact that sometimes the simplest solutions are the most effective. Take Taylor Swift whose traditional album campaign saw her hold the top spot for sales until Adele knocked her off through a combination of well… being Adele, and making 25 available for purchase only. Finding a way to sell audiences records they have the option to stream can be difficult, hence why Rihanna may have resorted to trying to recoup her predicted losses in the massive Samsung deal and say to hell with it in regards to retaining any illusion of creative control.
As for the album itself, time will tell whether it proves itself to be an understated classic as some are claiming or if it’s simply an underwhelming snoozefest. Sadly, this episode has been one of the few missteps Rihanna has made in her most recent incarnation of badass motherfucker and has somewhat tarnished the first days of ANTI‘s existence. With rumours of an ANTI part 2 abounding, let’s hope Ri-Ri can do what she’s best at and transform this tangled mess into a triumph.
Orpheus Speaks 