I thought that I'd enjoy a song and video with Slash and Travis Barker in it and after several months "Rude Boy" has finally grown on me. However, this "Rockstar 101" song? Meh.
It's exactly what I've come to expect from Rihanna. The same old, same old. I was turned off by it when I heard the "I never play the victim" line set to images of her writhing around a snow-blanketed forest in black. Not that I should be surprised. Her album is titled Rated R and her last two hits are all about (more or less) graphic violence, graphic sex or a combination of both.
You're sexy. You're tough. We get it. Give us a break. Chick is smack in the middle of a musical identity crisis. She's trying to prove over and over again that Chris Brown's physical assault did not make her a "victim" and it most certainly didn't effect her artistry. Instead it made her a badass. A "rockstar, babyyy."
I'm not buying it. It's the same thing she's been selling since last fall, simply repackaged in grayscale. I'm not even going to give my two cents about the occult symbolism (Way to put those Illuminati rumors to death). The song alone doesn't have the club banger quality of "Disturbia" or the radio-friendly vibe that made "Don't Stop The Music" and "Shut Up and Drive" hits. I think the public is getting tired of her non-stop bondage party and wants to hear and see something different.
Labels: music video, Press Stop, Rihanna, Rockstar 101, Slash, Travis Barker