Rating:
Genre:
R&B
Release Date: 08/30/2005
Given the proliferation of young and beautiful
urban dance-pop divas dominating the radio and music video airwaves in 2005, it initially was tempting to discount
Rihanna as yet another
Beyoncé-
Ciara-
Ashanti cash-in. But like her
Def Jam labelmate
Teairra Mari -- another young and beautiful
urban dance-pop diva who emerged out of nowhere in 2005 --
Rihanna is winsome rather than wannabe, thanks in no small part to her producers. Just as
Teairra Mari benefited greatly from irresistibly shrewd beat-making on her debut album,
Rihanna benefits from the knowing production work of Syndicated Rhythm Productions, aka
Evan Rogers and
Carl Sturken, who together produced a laundry list of contemporary
teen pop sensations during the prior decade. What these guys do that's so irresistibly shrewd is synthesize Caribbean rhythms and beats with standard-issue
urban dance-pop: Caribbean-inflected
urban, if you will. So while a song like
"Pon de Replay" -- to pick the most obvious exhibit -- is driven by booming
dancehall-lite beats and a
reggae vocal cadence (and title spelling), it's a simple
dance-pop song at its core, with standard English-language singing as well as a can't-miss singalong hook (and a glitzy,
urban-style
MTV video to boot). The best songs on
Music of the Sun follow this appealing template, including the similarly catchy few songs that follow the aforementioned album-opening smash hit:
"Here I Go Again," "If It's Lovin' That You Want," and
"You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)." As with most albums of this ilk,
Music of the Sun descends into faceless slow jams after a while, overall consistency not being among its attributes, but thankfully it picks up the pace toward the end of its 13-song run and concludes on a fun note, with a remix of
"Pon de Replay" featuring
Elephant Man. The result is one of the more engaging
urban dance-pop albums of the year (and one of the most infectious summer jams, for sure), as well as a nice Caribbean primer for those not ready or willing to jump on the increasingly trendy
dancehall and
reggaeton bandwagons concurrently sweeping through America's more fashionable cities.
~Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide
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