Bad Gyal Blues: Rihanna Pon The Reggae Tip

Words by Tasha Brown—

Rihanna is the bad girl everyone loves to hate, and hates to love. Regardless of how you feel about her, her album, Unapologetic, which dropped on November 19, has everybody talking. (And if it doesn’t, the topless outtakes from her new GQ cover—see above—probably does).

This week, RiRi’s first single, “Diamonds,” peaked at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100, making her the fastest female solo artist to accumulate 12 No. 1 singles. At 24, the Barbados native ties Madonna. And to keep us talking about RiRi, a reggae remix for the #1 single was released this week as well. The original cool and chill single is given new life and taken up a notch with reggae producer Jason (J-Vibe) Farmer’s version of the track. Stream it here:

[audio:http://largeup.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/RIHANNA-DIAMONDS-J-VIBE-REGGAE-REMIX-CYCLONE-J-VIBE-21ST.mp3|titles=RIHANNA – DIAMONDS – [J-VIBE REGGAE REMIX]

The unapologetic bad girl also brought some reggae riddim to the new album with her track “No Love Allowed,” produced by renowned hip hop and R&B producer No I.D., of Kanye, Common and Nas fame. Personally, I appreciate Rihanna staying true to her Bajan roots. It’s only right. (For more on Rihanna in full island gyal mode, see our “Rihanna’s Biggest Bashment Tunes” Toppa Top 10 list).

As with “Diamonds,” she’s anything but lackluster on the track, which feels like a sort of sequel to her last big bashment tune, the murderous “Man Down.” But are we surprised? J-Vibe and No I.D. know what they’re doing.

The two reggae tracks are like icing on the cake (no pun intended) for the new album. RiRi has all of the ammunition she needs for her navy. Who needs shining diamonds when you’re beaming spaceships?