When Rihanna’s debut album came out, she produced the infamous ‘Pon de Replay’, but unfortunately as big of a hit it was it never topped the Hot 100. Her first number 1 was on this album. (And just as a side note, the cover of this album makes it look like all the years between now and then never passed. She could pose the exact same way now, and the album cover would be recreated with minimal change.)

1. SOS (single) – her first-ever number one single. And deservingly so. It’s such a catchy song, a bop, that makes you wanna move. The lyrics are hilarious to me. Her crush has taken an aggressive turn, she’s obsessed and can’t get the guy out of her head. Originally the song was meant for Christina Milan, but she rejected it and here we are. Surprisingly so, this is Rihanna’s first pure pop dance song. There’s no reggae influences, no r&b, no island music. That being said, its easily a song that if played more than 4 or 5 times turns into something you don’t wanna hear again.Overall – 6/10
2. Kisses Don’t Lie – back to the reggae. I like this but don’t love it, for the lyrics and the production. Its a song about how nothing is trustworthy these days, no emotion is permanent, but you can always trust a kiss. The way someone kisses, you can tell if they’re really into you or not. The man in question finally kisses her, and she’s sure of it. This is going to be a rollercoaster, she’s trying to slow down her emotions, but there’s no stopping it, she can’t hide from the reality. Shes heard enough of the sweet-talking, she’s not as naive anymore, she has a new protocol on how to decide if someone is telling the truth. Production-wise, nothing exceptional but I still like the song.Overall – 6.5/10
3. Unfaithful (single) – Are you truly a Rihanna fan if this song doesn’t play at least once a month in your life. The ultimate cheating song for me: describes every emotion, describes every reality. Neyo wrote the song, and this is the beginning of a lot of future songs the two worked on together. The significant other always knows what’s going on, but we choose to mask it so many times, just hoping its a fleeting inconvenience and things will pass and be better. The piano, the production, the soft percussion hinting at her island influences, everything about the song is beautiful and perfect. * Full disclosure: while writing this review, I had to take a break because I somehow found myself on an ‘unfaithful’ loop. Overall – 10/10 (perfect)

4. We Ride (single) – ah more r&b influences, hints to what her future works are going to sound like. Its a song about a play on the phrase ‘ride or die’. Her significant other told her ‘we ride till the day we die’, she believed every word, she believed how much he loved her. And then she finds out he’s been cheating on her, every word, every memory comes rushing back to her. Every time he used to tell her she was his everything. Unfaithful was her being the cheater, We Ride is about her being cheated on. The last bridge in the song is what really gets to me. She knows he cheated on her, she feels devastated, and what she really wishes is that he was there for during her time of tragedy like he told her he would be. But he can’t be there for her, because he’s the origin of her heartbreak.Overall – 8/10
5. Dem Haters – I’m not a fan of the song, the lyrics are a little too juvenile, the production is more of the same kind of reggae/island we’ve heard before, nothing special. A song about the leeches in the world, backstabbers that only mooch off her riches. It’s gotta nice message, but the production and word choice ruins it for me. It’s a song I heard once when the album came out, and I never came back to it again.Overall – 5/10
6. Final Goodbye – ‘i never should’ve waited so long to say, what I’ve always known since the very first day’. I have no way to describe this, it’s a heartbreaking song. The soft production, the r&b ballad, the feeling of every emotion. The lyrics hit way to close to home for me, so I’m going to just skip on analyzing them. But its a breathless song, if that makes any sense.Overall – 9/10
7. Break It Off (single) – good ol’ Sean Paul makes an appearance, and man does it work here. This is a pure reggae-pop song, the lyrics are repetitive and don’t have much depth. But it’s not meant to be an emotional rollercoaster, its an ‘on the surface’ kinda song. Essentially the synopsis is: you turn me on. Again another number that makes your hips sway involuntarily. Overall – 7/10

8. Crazy Little Thing Called Love – more of her music of the sun type of sound. The reggae, percussion, it’s her version of a love song. She didn’t think she was the person it would happen to, but then she met this person and he opened her eyes and it was like the colors were finally filled in her colorless coloring book of life. J- status has a short verse and it falls in with the flow of the song.Overall – 6.5/10
9. Selfish Girl – hate it. Hate the production and the high school-esque feel to the song. The lyrics shine in some places, how she wants to monopolize all the time of her man, she’s obsessed with him. But overall I don’t like it. Don’t have much else to say about it.Overall – 4/10
10. P.S (I’m Still Not Over You) – what a beautiful song. Its a letter written to her love. The lyrics are so gorgeously written. She starts the song off by saying she was going to put her feelings in the letter since its easier, they haven’t talked in a while but she never stopped thinking about him. She makes initial small talk and eventually delves into the deeper topics, the moments they shared together, how she wishes she could go back to her days with him. She’s tried to get over him, but alas: ‘hope to hear from you soon, p.s I’m still not over you’. Simple instrumentals fitting for the song. Overall – 9.5/10
11. A Girl Like Me – simple and cute. A song describing how she’s different than the masses, and how she holds how shes treated to a higher standard. Do the men deserve to be with a girl like her? Prove to her you’re worth it. Shes not second best, she wants to be treated like the queen she knows she it. Overall – 6/10
12. A Million Miles Away – what a perfect ending to a much more cohesive album. Another ballad, which has been a recurrent theme on this album. She’s laying next to her man, yet there’s still so much distance between them. ‘Silence cuts through like a knife’, but despite them both knowing its the end, they prolong the distance and try to make it work. Ignoring the issues, the differences, the gradual distance just keeps growing and growing. ‘Boy our song has played its last note, and we both know for sure’ ‘its time to close the door’. It’s not a tragic ending, it’s an ending that is necessary and therefore ends up complimenting the relief. Overall – 8.5/10

A much more cohesive album, Rihanna experiments with what becomes her future signature: ballads. Man all the ballads on this album are beautiful, her own experiences shine throughout. After Music of the Sun, she had moved to the states and it shows in her music style/influence. The r&b is more prominent than before, but it’s still not the only one present. Great album, one that I come back to often to this day. There are some fillers, and I realize a lot of my songs are rated up there, but I really feel like they’re deserving, with my personal bias included of course.

Album review – 7.5/10