Music / Rated R (Rihanna Album)

The Wait Is Over

Released in 2009, Rated R is Rihanna's fourth album.

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Tracklist:

1. "Welcome To The Madhouse"
2. "Wait Your Turn"
3. "Hard"
4. "Stupid In Love"
5. "Rockstar 101"
6. "Russian Roulette"
7. "Fire Bomb"
8. "Rude Boy"
9. "Photographs"
10. "G4L"
11. "Te Amo"
12. "Cold Case Love"
13. "The Last Song

"I'm a Trope Star, yeah baby I'm a trope star":

• Added Alliterative Appeal: The title and "Russian Roulette"
• Album Intro Track: "Welcome To The Madhouse," which is a warning about the content and a dare for those listeners who can take it.
• And Starring:
  • Jeezy on "Wait Your Turn"
  • Slash on "Rockstar 101"
  • will.i.am on "Photographs"
• Badass Boast: "Hard" is all about how successful she is and how great her life is as a result.
• Break-Up Song: "Stupid In Love," about trying to avert Love Makes You Dumb
• Censor Box: The pages for "Hard" in the CD booklet have a color photo of her nude holding a big "CENSORED" sign in front of her.
• Cluster F-Bomb: There are Precision F Strikes in several songs, with "G4L" having the most, throwing in N-Word Privileges as well.
• Concept Album: Well, as the titled of it is Rated R, she and producers introduced elements found in Rated R films (gunplay, violence, sex, swearing, etc.)
• Darker and Edgier: This is Rihanna's first album with the "Parental Advisory" label and boy does it ever earn it. "Rude Boy" is one of the only songs that could be considered lively.
• Deliberately Monochrome: The cover and much of the CD booklet. The back cover of the CD is in color.
• Flipping the Bird: From "Rockstar 101":
  "Got my middle finger up, I don't really give a fuck"
• Hand-or-Object Underwear: Several pictures in the CD booklet. Some pictures combine this with Of Corsets Sexy or Hot as Hell, with her hair done up to look like devil's horns.
• Incompatible Orientation: "Te Amo" is about Rihanna dancing with another woman (Laetitia Casta in the music video). The woman confesses that she is falling in love with Rihanna, who does not feel the same.
• Intercourse with You: "Rude Boy"
  "Tell me Rude Boy boy can you get it up?
  Tell me Rude Boy boy is it big enough?"
• Last Note Nightmare: The gunshot at the end of "Russian Roulette"
• Letters 2 Numbers: "G4L" is short for "Gangsta 4 Life"
• Paparazzi: The photographers on the pages for "Hard" in the CD booklet.
• Rock Star Song: "Rockstar 101"
• Russian Roulette: Take a guess.
• Sanity Slippage Song: "Russian Roulette", about someone playing the game for the first time.
• Silly Love Songs: "Fire Bomb" and "Photographs" play this straight.
• Singer Namedrop: From "Hard"
  "That Rihanna reign won't let up"
• The Something Song: "The Last Song," which doubles as Self-Demonstrating Song and Hymn to Music. It is the last song on the album, and discusses singing someone's song and "the perfect song will be the last song you ever hear."
• A Wild Rapper Appears!: As mentioned above, Jeezy and will.i.am.
• Woman Scorned: "Cold Case Love," about her broken relationship with Chris Brown. The title and lyrics, with references to investigations, appears to be a Shout-Out to the show.

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