“I got to do things my own way darling,” Rihanna announces in the opening track and she did just that in her eighth studio  album. Anti is divided into four sections: the soft intro, the trap-inspired, the stoner’s section and the vocalized section- making it a timeless album.

Tracks such as “Consideration”, “James Joint”, “Kiss it Better” and “Work” all took on a splash of Caribbean flavour as her Bajan accent held the tunes.  One may say that these tracks were deliberately placed as they seemed to be the ‘easy stuff’. In other words, ‘radio friendly’. However, these radio friendly tracks are coupled with Rihanna’s love for joints and love.

“Desperado” launches the dark side of Anti. The trap inspired song showcased ‘BadgyalRiri’ in every essence. This song is another dose of #BBHMM. It is quite evident that Travis had influence in this whole section. The Weeknd co-penned “Woo”, which doesn’t credit Travis as a feature, but contains his distorted vocals in the chorus.  “Needed Me” gives us the Rihanna we have come to love and know, the one who goes on social Media to clap back:  “But baby, don’t get it twisted/Didn’t they tell you that I was a savage.”

“Yeah, I said it” is smothered in R&B and clocks in under two and half minutes.  The song contains lyrics that is reminiscent to “Birthday Cake” without the innuendo.  “Same Ol’ Mistakes” finds Rihanna covering an Australian band’s song verbatim, a first for the singer. Nonetheless, it shows a different side of Rihanna vocally, with a dark, but soft and sultry sound.  “Never Ending” finds Rihanna in her own feelings, just as she did on “Stay.”

The last three songs on Anti are gems that find Rihanna accentuating her best vocals ever.  “Love on the Brain” is a track that anyone would feel good listening. It’s a glimpse of the past in the future, seeing it’s a sparse of the 60’s doo-wop production. “Higher” is a violin soaked anthem with crazy vocals filled with emotions.  “Close to you” closes the album with a simple piano accompaniment.  Rihanna is seen basking in her emotions as she sings – “you are pulling our connection, expecting me to let you go, but I won’t/No you don’t need my protection/But I’m in love, ant blame me for checking/ I look in your direction, hoping that the message goes somewhere close to you.”

Something about the album made it clear that she wasn’t quite finished finding what she exactly wanted on it, but all the same,  Rihanna has earned the right to make an album like this. Let’s prep ourselves for Anti on the road tours and the The Deluxe Album version which features three new songs – “Goodnight Gotham”, “Pose” and “Sex with Me.”