Rhianna’s new album Anti has already held the number one spot on Billboard 200 for the last two weeks, and this chart number does not include the free downloads of the album Rhianna released when it was first available. This is Rhianna’s second number one album. While some say Rhianna is famous for her singles, not her albums, all eight of her studio albums have made the top ten.
Even though the album is number one there is still mixed response to the music on the album. Many say they were disappointed. Looking at the big picture, you see there are major differences now. Rhianna is no longer with Def Jam, she is with Universal’s Roc Nation and her own newly created imprint Westbury Road Entertainment. She has more than enough money and income coming in through other business and artistic ventures to where she isn’t reliant on money from the album and the concerts behind it. She is Rhianna, people will still come. And as stated, she gave out free downloads of the album through her own streaming service Tidal, again proving the money earned from album sales plays little to no factor in her larger than life budget. She is doing something she wants to do the way she wants to do it. And considering her track record, she deserves that.
Rhianna has truly come into her own and does not need to meet the expectations of what the labels, or even her fans, expect. She can truly do what she wants to do—she is truly Anti! While the songs are less than what most expect compared to past albums, you have to admire that she ditched the popular and at times fake pop machine generated sound for something simple, something from her, something perfect in its anti-perfection.
