Monday, July 29, 2013

4th Story Coming Together & Miscellany

My 4th story, "The Sword of Coke 'N Whores" is in the middle of nearing Act I completion. Normally, I'd be slaving away at Act II Part I...however:

1. I brainstormed this story for once. The other stories just came to me w/o any type of plan and I got done at freakishly break neck paces.

2. Twitter is a bit of a distraction. I'll admit it openly.

3. I also give some distraction credit to having to take inspiration from YouTube. I've been watching "Soul Calibur III" videos ["Tales of the Soul" mode] just to est. a new groove for this story.


Although, I do like the chances of Act II completion once Act I is done.

Act I just needs 9 more pages and then I will be done with that.

Thought I'd let you all know that.


Also, the list thing for the blog? I'll get to one soon, I promise.

Keep in mind there is Post 10 for the W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I. Series [regarding the "One Woman Army" of Ci, Herself and She] on the way.

Thursday, July 18, 2013

The Voice U.S. S5 "MUST HAPPENS"

Inspired by a 10 "life lessons" of S4 from Idolator, these are things that I feel need to happen for S5 of the show...

First, Blake Shelton must lose at any cost. As a friend on Twitter (@ImageFighter13) put it, "1 win was alright with me, 2 wins pissed me off, 3 wins almost blew my frikin head off, I will not see Blake win 4 times!!!" Especially with the S3 and S4 winners under his belt buckle, the coaches must unite together and pick diverse artists that can overshadow Blake's bland taste...or take an easy way out and hope Blake royally screws up. But for this to happen...

Second, Country music must be treated like the fucking plague. I'm talking "Miranda Lambert" or hardcore country music (Where you can feel the fans' sympathy to the Confederates of the Civil War type of Country music). Pop/Country like Taylor Swift is bearable for these shows [For the record, Carrie Underwood songs are fine as well but not this season. Too many of them were performed on S4 and frankly I got sick of it by the finale]; but hardcore Country must be banished or must result in early eliminations for any contestant that dare perform any hardcore Country song [except for these 3 songs below...]

1. "The Way You Love Me" by Faith Hill

2. "That Don't Impress Me Much" by Shania Twain

3. "I'm Not Ready To Make Nice" by The Dixie Chicks

Any hardcore Country artist that performs any song that isn't on this shortlist? "Bye bitch!"

Third, an openly gay male must reach the final 4. The Voice has been as open as the LGBT contestants on, but as with the other show (The one where for 9 seasons a cantankerous British man read contestants down the house and into the cement for sounding bloody fucking awful? The one where Adam Levine chastised it for being repressive of its LGBT contestants?) gay men have never gotten a fair deal on The Voice.
Openly lesbian contestants such as Beverly McClellan, Vicci Martinez and Michelle "Amazing Human" Chamuel have reached the final 4; openly gay contestants Nakia and Cody Belew reached the top 8 ("But Cody never confirmed that!" watch his performances of "The Best", "Crazy In Love" and "Somebody To Love" again and figure the rest out). For the love of God voting public...let a gay man get to the final 4 for once.
Keep in mind; all of the LGBT contestants that have ever been on the show should be commended for having nerve to put themselves out there to this capacity...

To S1's Tyler Robinson, Tje Austin, Frenchie Davis, Nakia, Vicci Martinez and Beverly McClellan.

To S3's De'Borah and Cody Belew.

To S4's Karina Iglesias and Michelle "Amazing Human" Chamuel.

You are a brave and fearless collective; continue to be proud of yourselves as any of your fans have already.

[*DIS...IS A CLAIMER* S2's Erin Martin may or may not qualify as VoteForTheWorst reminded hardcore TV addicts that she was "Lyanna" on Rock of Love II...also Cody Belew of S3 might just be secure with his manhood as the shade before reminds, he never did verbally confirm or deny -_- <-------------ignore that sarcastic "face" in the disclaimer. Also, did S4's Luke Edgemon ever confirm or deny?]

Finally, NO. MORE. GODDAMN. MONTAGES. Those things suck out loud and no one likes them.

This is mainly my perspective on what should happen for S5.

Sunday, July 14, 2013

W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I. Post 9: Azealia Banks

This is a series dedicated to women who despite success in the U.S. Music Industry, have est. a very complicated image for themselves.


Round 9 of this series goes to Harlem, NY "witch-hop" rapper/singer sensation and lightning rod of controversy, Azealia Banks. This post is a little hard for me to deeply analyze because her debut LP effort, Broke With Expensive Taste, has yet to be released.

Then after watching the "Liquorice" music video on YouTube again I decided to at least measure her image thus far through her EP, 1991, along with everything she's known for through my frame of reference.
Azealia's place in the world fits in with a lot of artists [let alone rappers]. A shitty childhood with an interest in music that would later turn into a career path.

Cut past her failed deal with XL Recordings to her initial breakout phase of c. early 2012. Her EP, 1991, and its lead single "212" ft. Lazy Jay were met with critical acclaim and YouTube viral status respectively. The main reason, Banks' song was met with such acclaim on YouTube are [for better or worse] these lines with text shown in the music video for the song...

"I GUESS THAT CUNT GETTIN EATEN"

and

"IMA RUIN YOU CUNT"


(It isn't bad of me to type the "C" word out as I realize for 2 reasons...if I'm quoting these lines from "212" or making reference to Ann Coulter.)


The song initially didn't capture me into Banks' world. It actually took the EP title track the day it was being streamed on certain sites. "1991" although not released as a single, has always been my favorite single from her to date. The video for this song is essentially an nostalgia orgasm for 90s House Music buffs as every image and visage Banks is in pays tribute to some 90s music videos. The song "Van Vogue" did get a music video and as far as I know got YouTube circulation mainly through a channel I swear is called Hunger Games TV [Please correct me if I'm wrong with the YouTube channel name].

However, controversy bit #1 musically came with the 2nd song released from the EP, "Liquorice". The controversy didn't stem from her Ol' Glory nails and other Ol' Glory accessories; not even her gunfight against herself; not even her surrounded by a ring of fire drew controversy. What pissed some people off was the accusation that she plagiarized lines from talentless giant ass haver Nicki Minaj's mixtape song "Kill Da DJ" [The part from 2:17 to 2:32 or so as the music video plays out].
Even if she did have that as an interpolation of the song [according to her Wikipedia page RE: "Liquorice"] it falls under the "Takeover Principle" [reference to the song "Takeover" by Jay-Z AKA the famed takedown of Nas when they had beef over each other for existing (Which any true rap fan will tell you that if its over songs, the beef is just a way for both to sell records)...

"You made it a hot line, I made it a hot song."

Meaning that Azealia made it FAAAAAAAAR better than Nicki. (Cue the "No Shit, Sherlock" sign)

1991 set the way for the mixtape Fantasea, and like its predecessor Fantasea was met with critical acclaim. The songs known off of the mixtape [to my knowledge] weren't released for mass radio consumption. Through means of online outlets like YouTube and SoundCloud, the songs did help Banks' claim that she was no fluke off of "212". "Jumanji" at the time of its online circulation didn't totally get my attention but it took recent footage of her performing the song at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival for me to understand how much this song really kicks ass (In fact...her Glastonbury performance will be mentioned again later. So fucking pay attention to everything else!)

"Fierce" has special qualities; most notably when viewing the Franklin Fuentes mix [AZEALIA BANKS feat. FRANKLIN FUENTES 'FIERCE' vs. Paris Is Burning] as it features apropos tribute to the legendary queens of Paris Is Burning (Which if you must know is one of the most critically acclaimed documentaries ever made and considered the LGBT equivalent of Citizen Kane). "Luxury" and "Atlantis" would be lucky enough to have full fledged music videos.
"Luxury" was posted to her official [non-VEVO] YouTube channel, AzealiaBanks, on September 27, 2012. The video was directed by Clarence Fuller and showed off her singing side along with her rap skills. Fashion wise this marked the 2nd time a black hat had made an appearance in one of her videos [the other being for "Liquorice"].

"Atlantis" brought about needless controversy through its video, directed by Fafi. The video made bigger waves than it ever anticipated when uploaded on November 11, 2012. Around the time Rihanna's performance of "Diamonds" on SNL was being reviewed, the performance video and Banks' "Atlantis" were the subject of some unneeded criticism of "artistic plagiarism". In a BuzzFeed article by Matthew Perpetua, he chronicles the bitching and moaning of web artists of "Seapunk". "Seapunk" is apparently a noun of added sea creature effect for a music video; it works with a green screen and aforementioned visuals.
To be clear, most of the hate was directed to Rihanna as JeromeLOL fans (Believe me when I say I can't make shit that ridiculous up on the spot) got all pissed as their stupid outlet of "creativity" was being the victim of "swagger jacking"*
*"Swagger Jacking" ; n.- The supposing of a person or group taking something most likely not copyrighted by an accuser and reveling in some level of success from said noun the accuser is claiming they "stole" (AKA falling victim to the Takeover Principal mentioned earlier.) I say to these people what I said about Bey's critics of "Countdown" and jaded fuckwads claiming Gaga is a Madonna knockoff...shut the fuck up! Be glad someone is giving some type of validity to the stupid shit you like. Yes, that sounds really mean, but leave Gaga, BeyoncĂ©, Rihanna and Azealia alone *Ok, I'm done bitching about that for now*

Cut to the current era of her yet to be released debut LP, Broke With Expensive Taste. Kicking off the era was a cover of "Barely Legal" by The Strokes, a SoundCloud post made in early March of this year. This is the first song by Banks to not have any rapping on it as it is all singing. O_O The impact of the song has kind of a personal connection.
One day out walking to the mall, I stop in the Apple store and decide to look up the song again for enjoyment. After trying to calibrate the volume so that I can listen w/o disturbing everyone else, an employee approaches me and wonders about the song. I explain all about Azealia and he seems intrigued; he then whips out his phone and using some Shazam type tracking device discovers that the cover is even Shazam recognizable; he posts his find to Facebook and thanks me for the find (You see, internet people and actual people? THIS is how you shamelessly pimp music).
As of now, the public can't figure out if the cover is going to be on BWET.

The next song of the era/confirmed single/lead single, "Yung Rapunxel" was posted to SoundCloud before being released with its music video. The difference now being is that it was taken down off of SoundCloud and its video is found under her VEVO channel AzealiaBanksVEVO *Belated Fun fact: VEVO managed to misspell her first name when "Liquorice" was released and all members of the "Kunt Brigade" {her fans; one of them being a Twitter follower of mine, @WotAustin who's lucky enough to be followed by Azealia herself...and got nicknamed "Cinnamon Spring" by the budding legend herself} were pissed. The error had been corrected within the week or so but robbed "Liquorice" of about 2 million + views* "YR" is her angriest song to date and it totally works for her hardcore aura.
"YR" is her freakiest video to date and I loved every goddamn second of it; all that can be said is this...she breaks a champagne bottle over a police officer's head. That to me is art : P

The second most recently released confirmed song from BWET is "ATM Jam". Produced by Pharrell (Who give or take the "Blurred Lines" controversy alongside success with his Daft Punk collaboration "Get Lucky" is having a goddamn awesome year) the song is one of her most dance friendly efforts to date and the beat is more hardcore than good pornography [you better quote me on that].

Most recently, Azealia just completed a gig at the 2013 Glastonbury Festival performing the songs below [All time points are from the YouTube version of it on the YouTube channel RIKY] while serving "Harlem Rapper/Singer Reptar Realness".

Out of Space / Neptune (00:07)
Atlantis (02:11)
F**k Up The Fun (04:35)
Van Vogue (06:50)
Fierce (09:53)
No Problems (12:08)
Cosmo Scratch (14:50)
Bambi (16:18)
1991 (18:48)
Jumanji (21:41)
Harlem Shake (24:16)
Bad Bitches Do It (27:56)
Luxury (31:20)
Liquorice (34:12)
Esta Noche (37:12)
ATM Jam Tease (40:50)
212 (42:56)
Yung Rapunxel (46:53)

The Guardian (a UK publication) gave the performance a 4 out of 5.

As to what makes Azealia Banks one of many W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I.? Apart from being accused of being illuminati trash like at least half of the artists I've covered or so, the following is taken from her Wikipedia page under "Controversies"...


"On January 4, 2013, Banks engaged in a feud on Twitter with blogger Perez Hilton. The feud – initially between Banks and fellow rapper Angel Haze – escalated in nature after Hilton sided with the latter, who had just previously referred to Banks as a "charcoal skinned bitch."[63] This support for Haze resulted in Banks to begin feuding with Hilton, with one tweet by Banks reading, "what a messy faggot you are." The tweet – among other tweets to Hilton in a similar tone – was met with an immediate backlash, after which Banks wrote "A faggot is not a homosexual male. A faggot is any male who acts like a female. There's a BIG difference." Banks apologized shortly after to those who were offended by her post, excluding Hilton.[64] Banks' comments triggered a statement from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) that read "Regardless of her intent or her personal definition, what matters is the meaning given to that word by those who hear it, and the damage it causes when they do."[65] Banks condemned GLAAD's statement and said the organization was "fucking complete bullshit." She compared the public's reaction to usage of the word "nigger" in hip-hop music against usage of "faggot" and said, "Why are all these other things like murder and sex and violence and all these other things accepted, but as soon as I call one gay white man a faggot, his feelings are more important..."[66] Banks noted her own bisexuality, stating "I knew what I meant when I used that word".[65]

The following month, Banks was involved in a feud with producers Baauer and Diplo after Banks posted a remix of Baauer's song "Harlem Shake." The remix, featuring Banks' vocals, was removed at Baauer's request,[67] although she posted emails sent by Baauer stating that he liked her version of the song.[68] Baauer responded that he didn't like Banks' vocals and previously requested her not to post the remix.[69] Banks reposted her remix and denied Baauer's claims, saying she was informed Baauer did not wish to officially release Banks' version because he wished to feature Juicy J instead.[70] After the feud, which included a tweet directed toward Baauer where Banks stated "may you drown in faggotry," LGBT publication The Advocate informed its readers that Banks' music sales had increased since her previous feud with Hilton.[71]

Banks has also taken part in feuds with fellow musicians T.I., The Stone Roses, Iggy Azalea, Kreayshawn, ASAP Rocky, Rita Ora, Shystie, Jim Jones,[72][73][74] Lil' Kim, Nicki Minaj, Funkmaster Flex, Lily Allen, and Dominique Young Unique, past managers such as Troy Carter and Dave Holmes, and novelist Amanda Brunker.[75]"


(She's already a goddamn legend in my book if her shit-list is this long with NO debut LP released as of yet.)


Bitch loves controversy, but this is what gets me about her "f****t" controversy. It started out as a beef between her and some nobody named Angel Haze (Apparently she's a rapper from Detroit) over Haze trying to claim some NYC credit; this upset Banks and she felt the need to call her out as her Detroit roots don't make her a true blue New Yorker. Gossipy bitch, Perez Hilton, sided with Haze and Banks stood up for herself. However, even I thought she shouldn't have called him that word. Yet as she was being raked over the coals for using the word...

1. Perez used the word against will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas after a scuffle in Toronto, Canada. will.i.am is straight and Perez fucked up royally. Even if he didn't deserve getting punched out for that, he lost all rights scolding others for using that word because he used it against a straight man.

2. Porn star/NewNowNext sexpert/Writer Conner Habib and I got into this brief exchange when he was scolding Azealia...

Me: "@ConnerHabib you better be vilifying Perez Hilton too. He had NO place to scold her on using the word. #BrokenRecord #Whatever

Him: "@MrSwearword faggots can say faggots all they want but I'm not a fan of bullying on either end."

By then I had been in brief scuffles with another Twitter user, @futurescoundrel. Our scuffle was actually before the exchange with Conner. *Remember, I name names on this blog*.

That aside, Banks early on had been compared to Nicki Minaj. That upset me because Nicki is a god-awful excuse for a rapper let alone a female rapper. Also, let it be known Minaj lied about her being bisexual. Azealia never lied about her being bisexual and she got raked over the coals for the Perez thing even though he's a reviled gay man in the gay community!
She's also been read to filth needless times on the E! show Fashion Police, as her Coachella stage outfit was named worst of the week as opposed to former Pussycat Doll Melody Thornton, whose look was actually worse than Banks' outfit was [the only reason Banks was named worst of the week was because Thornton had the balls (And Domino's Pizza areolas O_O) to be there with slightly better hair and in the same outfit]. Also, her look at the Life Ball in Vienna was read to filth even though...IT'S A FUCKING STAGE OUTFIT. I swear that show has pissed me off more than I fully realize.

So all in all, it's a mix of bravado, profanity and her existence that makes Azealia one of many W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I. I can't wait until Broke With Expensive Taste is either released or delayed again. Either way, still a fan.


Next up; her "Goodies" kind of went stale on one bad Fantasy Ride.

Friday, July 12, 2013

New Content in the Works

Well, good news those that read...I'm working on some new content for the blog.


Confirmed

- A new story titled "The Sword of Coke 'N Whores"


- Entry 9 for the W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I. [which I'm sort of reluctant to start only because the debut effort of this artist has yet to be released]


I admit list forming is a bit of a bitch to even contemplate, but if something comes up it will come up.


Just thought I'd hint towards 2 confirmed works in progress.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I. Post 8: Rihanna

This is a series dedicated to women who despite success in the U.S. Music Industry, have est. a very complicated image for themselves.

[First thing's first, I apologize for not providing content since the Voice U.S. S4 finale recap. I just didn't know what I felt like posting next.]

Round 8 of this series goes to Barbados raised and now constantly blazed Pop sensation, Rihanna.
She grew up in Barbados' capital, Bridgetown, and eventually broke through to the U.S. market by way of Jay-Z signing her to Def Jam Records.

Cut to her initial debut effort, Music of the Sun, released in 2005. The album was an "Urban Dance-Pop" effort ("Urban" being pseudo racist code for black.) that played up Rihanna's island flair. Even though one single would go on to be recognizable from that album, it would be one of the biggest "earworms" of 00s music. "Pon de Replay" would be one of many successful singles she would unleash [peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100]. Although the song is annoying, in retrospect it sets the stage for Rihanna's eventual bitchslapping of the industry.

Her next effort, A Girl like Me, went more pop than its predecessor and it paid off; even if only 2 singles would be remembered from the album. The lead single from the album is the song that I sensed would make Rihanna's career lasting; "SOS". The song is the second major cover/remake of "Tainted Love" by Gloria Gaynor and sampled the background music of Soft Cell's version of "Tainted Love". All that adding some scintillating video work, and "SOS" became her first #1 single on the Hot 100.
The next [and last recognizable] song from the album, "Unfaithful" was an effort co-written by Ne-Yo that while admittedly pleasing lyrically, never really did anything to justify her singing voice. Despite that, it became another top 10 song for her.

Somewhere along the line between the end of A Girl like Me and her next effort Good Girl Gone Bad, Rihanna embraced a standard move for pop singers in the U.S. Music Industry; reinventing the image. If you've ever been confused by this term, all this amounts to is tweaking the selling points of a music act [solo or group] for future albums after the first 2 or so efforts. In Rihanna's case, it involved adding sex appeal to her repertoire and a haircut.
The lead single from the album is one of the most successful and annoying "earworms" released to date. "Umbrella" ft. Jay-Z went to #1 on the Hot 100; had some admittedly nice video elements (That silver paint must've been a bitch to wash off) but still highlighted that the song is annoying as hell. However, the album would have 4 recognizable singles total [her highest by then].
The next single released is the wonderful (And blunt as hell innuendo wise) song "Shut Up and Drive". Kickass singing along with the least subtle "Drivers Ed." course (Over fucking!) alongside a video showing off her "Adorably Slutty yet Efficient Lady Mechanic" realness had it land #1 on the Hot Dance Club charts.
"Hate That I Love You" ft. Ne-Yo would continue the success of Good Girl Gone Bad. One of the better collaborative efforts of the 00s, the song reached #7 on the Hot 100. Then came one of Rihanna's most overrated efforts.
"Don't Stop the Music" kissed a little Michael Jackson fandom ass; it sampled the "Mama-say, mama-sa, ma-ma-ko-ssa" line from "Wanna Be Startin' Something" and I'll be honest. I hated this song when released because I found it to be entirely mindless lyrically and the instrumental drowned her vocals. Anthology wise, it had been her most dance friendly track. It eventually peaked at #3 on the Hot 100.
Technically, her last song from the album, "Rehab" did have some success as it circulated on the music video circuit. However, the song isn't entirely memorable unless you or someone you know is a die-hard Rihanna fan.

After a "bonus follow-up" album, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded and 2 more recognizable singles; "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia" ["Disturbia" being the better song of the 2], the GGGB era came to a close. By then her career had been at its highest point commercially. Her love life seemed like a stable and boring one when she and singer Chris Brown started dating.
Then one of the most sensationalizing and borderline tragic events happened in modern American pop culture; Chris assaulted Rihanna whilst leaving the pre-party for the Grammy Awards for that year. The photo TMZ released would be something of unwanted legendary status. The event displayed an ugly side to Chris that he hasn't been entirely able to shake off.

The dark aura around her lead to her most daring effort to date, Rated R. Another makeover of sorts happened as her look shifted to coincide with the dark aura of her personal life. The lead single released from the album, "Russian Roulette" and its music video was met with divisive reviews. Personally, I think it's one of Rihanna's best vocals on a song and the video was done masterfully. Despite the mixed reviews, the song peaked at #9 on the Hot 100.
That lead the charge of 4 recognizable songs from the album total. Next, "Hard" ft. Young Jeezy highlighted the grittier sex appeal Rihanna managed to fuse into her music at that point. Song wise, she had done much better up to then, but in retrospect it's a bright spot in her singles anthology. It would later peak at #8 on the Hot 100.
Her third major single from the album, "Rude Boy" would be her first #1 hit in years, but it was met with a little deserved derision. Lyrically, the song was praised for its honesty but also acted as reason to critique it; e.g. ...

"You like it boy,
I want want want
What you want want want.
Give it to me baby
Like boom boom boom."

(Holy eloquence, Sarcasta-man!)

The music video was also a little to reminiscent of "Boyz" by M.I.A. which had come out not that long ago at the time of release.
Finally, "Rockstar 101" would close out the Rated R era. Having guitar work from former Guns 'N Roses member Slash, the song would be another bright spot for her video and song wise but chart wise...while peaking at #2 on the Hot Dance Club charts, the song did dismal on the Hot 100, peaking at #64.

Cut to around late 2010, a hair dye to a vibrant cherry red and her effort, Loud. The album spawned 6 recognizable songs. The lead single, "Only Girl (in the World)" would be molded in the same style as "Don't Stop the Music" though the former dropkicks the latter down a fucking flight of stairs. Its music video was also a sight to behold (Especially when you spotted the O'Keefe sized flower and noticed all the hills were pink...O_O). The song would be another #1 single on the Hot 100.
Next, the song "What's My Name?" ft. Drake would also go to #1 on the Hot 100, but personally this song is just horrible. Although someone gets credit for a lyric most critics misinterpret...

"The square root of 69 is ate something, right?"

In its correctly written form, the lyric is just a crude reference to the oral act of 69; most critics write out the lyric like this...

"The square root of 69 is 8 something, right?"

Written like this, the lyric suggests oral sex but also that someone doesn't know how to use a fucking calculator.

Moving right along, the next major song released would be "S&M". The song would be another #1 song from the album, though this song was asking for a bit of shit when released.
First it is called "S&M"; meaning sadism and masochism ["S&M" named after French pervert, Marquis de Sade] and is a part of BDSM [Bondage Discipline and Sado Masochism]. Censors were sweating like Jan Brewer at a LULAC convention.
Second, the video was too raunchy to last forever on YouTube [it lives on VEVO where all the other good stuff resides] because Rihanna at one point in the video fellates a banana [meaning she pretends like she's sucking a dick] and is tied up in some wacky bullshit apparatus. Bonus points for her humiliating famed gossipy bitch, Perez Hilton and a cameo by future RuPaul's Drag Race first disqualified contestant and NewNowNext whorespondent, Willam.
However, despite the confession to slut-hood that is the song, it's actually meant to confront every aspect that makes her one of many W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I. but more on that later.

After that came the song "Man Down". It's memorable only because of needless controversy that stemmed from it [at one point a guy gets shot in the video]. It went to #9 on the R&B/Hip-Hop charts.
After that was the tacky ballad, "California King Bed". Recognizable? Kind of, but the song kind of did dismal peaking at #37 on the Hot 100. Finally, "Cheers (Drink to That)" closed out the Loud era. It peaked at #7 on the Hot 100 and annoyed me only because this is an example of Rihanna not trying.

Cut to her next effort, Talk That Talk. The album was more dance-friendly as opposed to the pop-friendly sounds of her past albums GGGB onward but before this effort. The lead single, "We Found Love" went to #1 on the Hot 100 and in a way made Calvin Harris a bigger noun in the music industry than he had been before. The video for it was met with derision regarding the drug use and the gritty sex parlayed in a bad way.
Then, "You da One" was released and peaked at #14 on the Hot 100. The video for the song was kind of...what's the term...crotch grabby? Yeah, she grabbed herself and had A Clockwork Orange realness going on makeup wise. O_O
Next, a collaborative effort with Jay-Z and title track "Talk That Talk" was released to mediocre chart success. It's an OK song, but she's done much better.
Finally her last recognizable song from the album, "Where Have You Been" was the other Calvin Harris produced song for Talk That Talk. Peaking at #5 on the Hot 100 was more than enough to say it ended on high note.

Cut past her much maligned acting debut in the much maligned movie Battleship, to her most recent effort the apropos Unapologetic. By now Rihanna has been living up to her lovable bad girl image [on and off relationship with Chris Brown; very blatant affection to weed and bitchslapping people on social media] and anything she did next was up for fifteen times the scrutiny.

The lead single from the album, "Diamonds" is a mid-tempo electronic pop ballad co-written by Sia [the one who sang on "Wild Ones" by Flo Rida and who's like an Australian version of Robyn.] I think it's one of her best songs ever, but the song was read to filth for its cover art and inferred meaning. The cover art is weed paper with tiny little diamonds in it; the inferred meaning is that she's high whilst smoking said joint with ecstasy [the inferred "diamonds"]. Considering Rihanna didn't write the song, I call bullshit on the inferred meaning theory of the song. The song peaked at #1 on the Hot 100.

The next major song released was "Stay" ft. Mikky Ekko. While one of her better showcases of singing ability, Ekko ruins the song for me. Still, it made history when this became her 24th Top 10 single beating Whitney Houston's record 23. The song peaked at #3 on the Hot 100 but went to #1 on the Pop Songs chart. By the way; the video for the song is pretty much Rihanna being vulnerable in a tub showing off her neck/upper back tattoo.

So after 7 albums, 10 number 1 singles and doing the "reinvent your image to be successful" thing what makes Rihanna one of many W.W.C.I.T.M.I.? Well, this is when I remind you of "S&M" and its actual intent to take on the elements of her complicated image. Like Beyoncé, Rihanna has been accused of being part of the illuminati [mainly 'cause of her connections to Bey and Jay-Z] something that was sprawled across the backdrop of her video for "S&M" [along with other headlines as "Red-headed slut who can't sing" along with other bullshit laden things]. The video also highlights her just as volatile relationship with the press and social media sites; e.g. an actual exchange between gossip site CELEBUZZ and her...

C: "Dear Rihanna, you've gone a little too far with this 'outfit' [link to their site RE: this] May be time to class it up and put some clothes on?"

R: "@CELEBUZZ your pussy is way too dry to be riding my dick like this."

*Fun fact! She also uses the words "bitch" and "c**t" very freely on Twitter (Remember; I don't use the word unless I'm talking about Ann Coulter)*

Her general aesthetic from her debut to now has also been under fire, but it is rather subjective. Pop stars are sort of expected to keep things interesting and for all the flaws Rihanna seems to have...bitch is self aware of these and has a cheeky sense of humor about it. Keep in mind; this is the only artist I've covered to have 7 real albums to her name (Sorry Christina Aguilera; no Christmas album or Spanish language album counts).

All in all, needless criticism of an image she perpetuates to fuck with people and sell albums with, justifies Rihanna's place as one of many W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I.

Next up, there's at least 1991 reasons this woman is one of many W.W.C.I.I.T.M.I.