Rihanna 2000s 4 Items

“Rated R” is the fourth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 2009 by Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album began in April 2009 and took place at several recording studios throughout United States and Europe. Rihanna together with Antonio "L.A." Reid and The Carter Administration was the executive producer of the album and worked with many record producers, including Chase & Status, StarGate, The-Dream, Ne-Yo, and Brian Kennedy. The record featured several vocalists and instrumentalists, including Young Jeezy, will.i.am, Justin Timberlake and Slash who played the guitars in "Rockstar 101".

Musically, the album represents a departure from her 2007 effort “Good Girl Gone Bad”, which contained up-tempo and ballad-oriented songs. Conceived after Rihanna's assault by her then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, “Rated R” features a foreboding and atmospheric tone in terms of musical and lyrical direction. It incorporated elements of hip hop, rock, and dubstep. It also explores other genres, such as dancehall in "Rude Boy" and Latin in "Te Amo". In the United States, the album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 181,000 copies in its first week. It also attained top ten positions in over twelve other countries.

“A Girl like Me” is the second studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on April 2006 by Def Jam Recordings. For the production of the album, Rihanna worked with Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken, Stargate, and J. R. Rotem with label-mate Ne-Yo who wrote the album's second single. “A Girl like Me” is a pop, reggae and R&B album influenced by Rihanna's Caribbean roots. It also incorporates dancehall and rock elements and ballads, which music critics were ambivalent towards.

It peaked at number five on the US Billboard 200 album chart and on the UK Albums Chart. The album was successful in other countries, entering the top ten in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Japan while topping the charts in Canada on the Canadian Albums Chart.

“Music of the Sun” is the debut studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on August 2005 by Def Jam Recordings. Prior to signing with Def Jam, Rihanna was discovered by record producer Evan Rogers in Barbados, who helped Rihanna record demo tapes to send out to several record labels. Jay-Z, the former chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Def Jam, was given Rihanna's demo by Jay Brown, his A&R at Def Jam, and invited her to audition for the label after hearing what turned out to be her first single, "Pon de Replay". She auditioned for Jay-Z and L.A. Reid, the former CEO and president of record label group The Island Def Jam Music Group, and was signed on the spot to prevent her from signing with another record label.

After Rihanna was signed by Jay-Z, she continued to work with Rogers and his production partner Carl Sturken, as well as other music producers such as, Poke & Tone, D. "Supa Dups" Chin-quee, and StarGate. “Music of the Sun” features vocals from Canadian rapper Kardinal Offishall, music group J-Status, and Jamaican singer Vybz Kartel. Its music incorporates Caribbean music such as dancehall and reggae, as well as dance-pop and R&B ballads.

The album debuted at number 10 on the United States Billboard 200. “Music of the Sun” was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of over 500,000 copies.

“Good Girl Gone Bad” is the third studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on May 2007, by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Rihanna worked with various producers on the album, including Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Terius "Dream" Nash, Neo da Matrix, Timbaland, Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers and StarGate. Inspired by Brandy Norwood's fourth studio album Afrodisiac (2004), “Good Girl Gone Bad” is a pop, dance-pop and R&B album with 1980s music influences. Described as a turning point in Rihanna's career, it represents a departure from the Caribbean sound of her previous releases, “Music of the Sun” (2005) and” A Girl like Me” (2006). Apart from the sound, she also endorsed a new image for the release going from an innocent girl to an edgier and more sexual look.

The album received seven Grammy Award nominations and one win in the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration category for "Umbrella" at the 2008 ceremony. The album debuted also at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart. Certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), it sold more than 2.8 million copies in the United States. As of 2009, the album had sold over 7 million copies worldwide.