She has attained fourteen Billboard Hot 100 number ones thus far and is the second Barbadian artist to win a Grammy Award. She is also a cultural ambassador for Barbados. In 2021 Rihanna was named a "National Hero" in her home country, earning her the title "The Right Excellent."
Rihanna was born in Saint Michael, Barbados to Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor, and Monica Fenty, an accountant. Her mother, a native of Guyana, is Afro-Guyanese and her father is Bajan and Irish. She is the oldest of three siblings; two younger brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty. She began singing at around the age of seven. Her childhood was deeply affected by her father's addiction to crack cocaine and parent's rocky marriage, which ended when she was fourteen years old. Rihanna attended Charles F. Broome Memorial School, a primary school in Barbados, and then the Combermere School, where she formed a musical trio with two of her classmates at the age of fifteen. In 2004 she won the Miss Combermere Beauty Pageant. She was an army cadet in a sub-military programme that trained with the military of Barbados and Shontelle was her drill sergeant.
At the age of 15, she formed a girl group with two of her classmates. In 2003, friends introduced Rihanna and her two bandmates to record producer Evan Rogers, who was vacationing in Barbados with his wife. The group auditioned for Rogers, who said that "the minute Rihanna walked into the room, it was like the other two girls didn't exist." While auditioning for Rogers, Rihanna sang Destiny's Child's cover of "Emotion". Over the next year, Rihanna and her mom shuttled back and forth to Rogers home in Stamford, Connecticut. Then, shortly after turning 16, she relocated in the United States and moved in with Rogers and his wife. Carl Sturken helped Rihanna record a four-song demo, which included the ballad "The Last Time," a cover of Whitney Houston’s hit "For the Love of You" and what would become her first hit, "Pon de Replay" to send to various recording companies. It took a year to record the demos, because she was going to school and would only record during summer and Christmas school breaks. Rihanna's demo made its way to Def Jam, which invited her to audition for the label's then-president, Jay-Z, who quickly signed her.
Rihanna broke into the recording industry in 2005 with the release of her debut album Music of the Sun, which features the number 2 hit single "Pon de Replay". Less than a year later, Rihanna released album artist=Rihanna]A Girl Like Me and earned her first number-one single, "SOS, which sampled the popular 80s track "Tainted Love". "Unfaithful" was also released and was fairly successful.
Rihanna released her third album Good Girl Gone Bad in June 2007. Prior to the release of the album, she spent the week of the Grammys writing songs for the album with Ne-Yo. She adopted a more sexual image while recording the album, eventually dying her hair black and cutting it short. Rihanna worked with Timbaland and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, as well as previous musical collaborators such as Stargate, Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers to re-imagine her album compositions with uptempo dance tracks. Rihanna commented, "I want to keep people dancing but still be soulful at the same time. You feel different every album, and [at] this stage I feel like I want to do a lot of uptempo [songs]."
The album topped the charts in countries like the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Brazil, Russia and Ireland, and peaked at number two in the United States and Australia. Unlike previous work, the album featured a more dance-pop sound instead of the dancehall, reggae and ballad styles. The album received positive reviews by critics, becoming her most critically acclaimed album at that time compared to her previous efforts.
It yielded eight hit singles - "Umbrella" "Shut Up and Drive", "Don't Stop The Music" "Hate That I Love You" "Rehab" "Disturbia" "Take A Bow" "If I Never See Your Face Again" - all singles reaching the top twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 — including the worldwide number-one hit "Umbrella," featuring Jay-Z.
In addition to reaching number one in various countries, "Umbrella" was the number one single in the United Kingdom for ten consecutive weeks, making it the longest-running number-one single since Wet Wet Wet's single "Love Is All Around" spent fifteen weeks at the top in 1994. The song is listed number three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007 published by Rolling Stone magazine. In 2008, "Umbrella" earned Rihanna and Jay-Z a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in addition to receiving nominations for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It managed to stay at number one in the United Kingdom for 10 weeks, the longest time spent by a female and in the 21st century, on this chart.
"Umbrella" has also been recognised in various forms of accolades by the music press. The song is listed number three on the 100 Best Songs of 2007, published by the music magazine Rolling Stone. Time magazine also listed the song number three on their Top 10 Songs of 2007. The song is listed number one on Entertainment Weekly magazine's list of the 10 Best Singles of 2007, while topping the magazine's poll for the best single of 2007. Blender magazine awarded the song Song of the Year in their Readers' Poll 2007. The music press has considered "Umbrella" as 2007's Song of the Summer, while The New York Times writer Kelefa Sanneh regarded it as "arguably 2007's signature slow jam".
In August 2009, Rihanna collaborated with Jay-Z and Kanye West on "Run This Town." The song peaked at number two on Billboard Hot 100 and also reached the top ten in five other countries. She appeared on the cover of Vogue Italia for the September 2009 Issue. The shoot was influenced by Rihanna's hair, which she had cut for the shoot into a mohawk-like style. The style of the shoot was Extreme Couture and very dark, and in one shot she appeared semi-nude. Rihanna performed "Run This Town" along with Jay-Z and West for the "Answer the Call" concert at Madison Square Garden in September 2009, making it her first musical performance since the altercation with Brown. The trio also performed "Run This Town," on the premiere of The Jay Leno Show on September 14, 2009.
In November of 2009, Rated R was released in the wake of a physical altercation with romantic interest Chris Brown, who pled guilty to felony assault. The album's lead single, "Russian Roulette" -- written with Ne-Yo - was one of the year's most controversial singles. The album also includes collaborations with Tricky, The-Dream, Stargate, and SRP.
One year later, Rihanna released her fifth studio album called Loud. It's lead single, "Only Girl (In the World)", reached number one in more than ten countries. The song also won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording.
Talk That Talk was released one year after Loud. With the song "We Found Love", Rihanna became the fastest solo artist in the chart's history to achieve twenty Hot 100 top-ten singles, breaking the previous record set by Madonna. The song later became her eleventh number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100. "You Da One" became the second single from the album but was not as successful as "We Found Love". The third single from the album, "Talk That Talk" featuring Jay-Z, was announced on Rihanna's Twitter. The fourth single, "Where Have You Been", peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot 100.
On February 20, 2012, Rihanna and Chris Brown released 2 remixes, one featuring the "Talk That Talk" album track "Birthday Cake" and the other featuring Chris Brown's "Turn Up The Music"
In April 2012, the singer appeared in the movie "Battleship", which is based on the game of the same name.
Rihanna's seventh album Unapologetic was released on November 19, 2012; it was preceded by the lead single Diamonds, which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 becoming Rihanna's twelfth number one single on the chart and tying her with Madonna and The Supremes for the fourth-most number ones in the chart's history.
On January 28, 2016, Rihanna released her eighth studio album ANTI exclusively through streaming service Tidal. The album peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming Rihanna's second number one and eighth top ten album on the chart. The album was supported by the release of four singles including the lead single "Work" featuring Drake, which topped the Billboard Hot 100. Further platinum singles "Needed Me" and "Love on the Brain" both peaked inside the top ten of the Hot 100. In 2016, Rihanna was featured on several singles. The first collaboration was Calvin Harris' "This Is What You Came For," which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two in the United Kingdom. Rihanna was also featured on Drake's "Too Good" from his album Views and Mike Will Made It's single, "Nothing Is Promised". On June 27, 2016, Rihanna released "Sledgehammer", the lead single from the Star Trek Beyond soundtrack. On August 28, Rihanna was honored with the MTV Video Vanguard Award at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards. Rihanna was elected artist of the decade of 2010 by Pitchfork, Insider, Lofficiel among other major music magazines.
In October 2022, Rihanna released "Lift Me Up" from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, marking her first solo single since 2016's "Love On The Brain". It reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #3 in the UK. The song was nominated for a Golden Globe and Academy Award, making it Rihanna's first nomination in both awards. On February 12, 2023, she performed at the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show, marking her first performance since the 2018 Grammy Awards. Her Halftime show became the second most watched Halftime show of all time with 118.7 million viewers, just after Lady Gaga’s (117.5 million), but behind Katy Perry’s (121 million).
Live Ya Life
Rihanna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All my all my soldiers over there in Iraq
Everybody right here,
What you need to do is be thankful
For the life you got, you know what I'm sayin?
Stop lookin' at what you ain't got
And start being thankful for what you do got
Let's give it to 'em baby girl
You're gonna be, a shinin' star
In fancy clothes, and fancy cars
And then you'll see, you're gonna go far
'Cause everyone knows, just who ya are
So live your life (Hey! Ay ay ay)
You steady chasin' that paper, just live your life
(Oh! Ay ay ay)
Ain't got no time for no haters, just live your life
(Hey! Ay ay ay)
No tellin' where it'll take ya, just live your life
(Oh! Ay ay ay)
'Cause I'm a paper chaser, just livin' my life
(Ay) my life (Oh) My life (Ay) my life (Oh)
Just livin' my life (Ay) my life (Oh)
My life (Ay) my life (Oh) just livin' my life
Hey, never mind what haters say
Ignore 'em 'til they fade away
Amazin' they ungrateful
After all the game I gave away
Safe to say I paved the way
For you cats to get paid today
You'd still be wastin' days away
Now had I never saved the day
Consider them my protege
Homage I think they should pay
Instead of bein' gracious
They violate in a major way
I never been a hater
Still I love 'em in a crazy way
Some say they sold the yay'
You know they couldn't get work on Labor Day
It ain't that black and white
It has an area the shade of gray
I'm Westside anyway
Even if I left today and stayed away
Some move away to make a way
Not move away 'cause they afraid
I brought back to the hood
And all you ever did was take away
I pray for patience
But they make me wanna melt they face away
Like I once made 'em spray
Now I could make 'em put the K's away
Been thuggin' all my life
Can't say I don't deserve to take a break
You'd rather see me catch a case and watch my future fade away
You're gonna be, a shinin' star
In fancy clothes, and fancy cars
And then you'll see, you're gonna go far
'Cause everyone knows, just who ya are
So live your life (Hey! Ay ay ay)
You steady chasin' that paper, just live your life
(Oh! Ay ay ay)
Ain't got no time for no haters, just live your life
(Hey! Ay ay ay)
No tellin' where it'll take ya, just live your life
(Oh! Ay ay ay)
'Cause I'm a paper chaser, just livin' my life
(Ay) my life (Oh) My life (Ay) my life (Oh)
Just livin' my life (Ay) my life (Oh)
My life (Ay) my life (Oh) just livin' my life
I'm the opposite of moderate
Immaculately polished with
The spirit of a hustler
And the swagger of a college kid
Allergic to the counterfeit
Impartial to the politics
Articulate
But still'll grab a nigga by the collar quick
Whoever havin' problems
With their record sales just holler TIP
If that don't work and all else fails
Then turn around and follow TIP
I got love for the game
But ay I'm not in love with all of it
Could do without the fame
And rappers nowadays are comedy
The hootin' and the hollerin'
Back and forth with the arguin'
Where you from, who you know
What you make and what kind of car you in
Seems as though you lost sight
Of what's important when depositin'
Them checks into your bank account
And you up out of poverty
Your values is a disarray, prioritizin' horribly
Unhappy with the riches
'Cause you're piss poor morally
Ignorin' all prior advice and forewarnin'
And we mighty full of ourselves all of a sudden, aren't we?
You're gonna be, a shinin' star
In fancy clothes, and fancy cars
And then you'll see, you're gonna go far
'Cause everyone knows, just who ya are
So live your life (Hey! Ay ay ay)
You steady chasin' that paper, just live your life
(Oh! Ay ay ay)
Ain't got no time for no haters, just live your life
(Hey! Ay ay ay)
No tellin' where it'll take ya, just live your life
(Oh! Ay ay ay)
'Cause I'm a paper chaser, just livin' my life
(Ay) my life (Oh) My life (Ay) my life (Oh)
Just livin' my life (Ay) my life (Oh)
My life (Ay) my life (Oh)
Got everybody watchin' what I do
Come walk in my shoes
And see the way I'm livin' if you really want to
Got my mind on my money
And I'm not goin' away
So keep on gettin' your paper, and keep on climbin'
Look in the mirror, and keep on shinin' (Shinin')
Until the game ends, 'til the clock stop
We gon' post up on the top spot
Livin' the life, the life
In the Windmill City got my whole team with me
The life, my life
I do it how I wanna do
I'm livin' my life, my life
I will never lose
I'm livin' my life, my life
And I'll never stop it
(So live your life)
The lyrics to Rihanna's song "Live Your Life" encourages listeners to embrace and appreciate what they have in life, instead of constantly striving for more. The song begins with a shout-out to soldiers fighting in Iraq, reminding listeners to be grateful for their life and privileges. The lyrics advise listeners to ignore haters and focus on their goals instead of worrying about what others might say.
The second verse highlights the artist's own position in the rap game, acknowledging that he loves the hustle but not the fame that comes along with it. The lyrics encourage listeners to stay focused on their own values and priorities, even when others might try and push them off track.
Line by Line Meaning
Ey, this is special what's happenin' to all my
Addressing soldiers in Iraq and acknowledging their sacrifice
All my all my soldiers over there in Iraq
Recognizing and honoring the soldiers serving overseas
Everybody right here,
Referencing the listeners who are present
What you need to do is be thankful
Encouraging gratitude for what one has
For the life you got, you know what I'm sayin?
Emphasizing gratitude for one's life
Stop lookin' at what you ain't got
Encouraging a focus on what one has rather than what one lacks
And start being thankful for what you do got
Encouraging gratitude for what one has
You're gonna be, a shinin' star
Predicting success and stardom
In fancy clothes, and fancy cars
Describing the material success that may come with success
And then you'll see, you're gonna go far
Encouraging the listener to believe in their future success
'Cause everyone knows, just who ya are
Suggesting that with success, one's identity will become well-known
So live your life (Hey! Ay ay ay)
Encouraging the listener to live their life to the fullest
You steady chasin' that paper, just live your life
Encouraging the listener to prioritize living their life over chasing money
(Oh! Ay ay ay)
Exclamatory interjection
Ain't got no time for no haters, just live your life
Encouraging the listener to ignore negativity
(Hey! Ay ay ay)
Exclamatory interjection
No tellin' where it'll take ya, just live your life
Encouraging the listener to embrace the uncertainty of life
'Cause I'm a paper chaser, just livin' my life
Acknowledging the pursuit of financial success while also living life to the fullest
(Ay) my life (Oh) My life (Ay) my life (Oh)
Exclamatory interjection
Just livin' my life (Ay) my life (Oh)
Reiterating the theme of living life to the fullest
My life (Ay) my life (Oh) just livin' my life
Reiterating the theme of living life to the fullest
Hey, never mind what haters say
Encouraging the listener to ignore negativity
Ignore 'em 'til they fade away
Encouraging the listener to let negativity fade away over time
Amazin' they ungrateful
Expressing disappointment in ungrateful people
After all the game I gave away
Acknowledging the support and help given to others
Safe to say I paved the way
Acknowledging influence or leadership
For you cats to get paid today
Acknowledging the success of others who were influenced or helped
You'd still be wastin' days away
Suggesting others would not have succeeded without help
Now had I never saved the day
Imagining an alternate reality without help or support provided
Consider them my protege
Acknowledging the influence on others as a mentor or teacher
Homage I think they should pay
Suggesting gratitude and respect is owed
Instead of bein' gracious
Expressing disappointment in a lack of gratitude or respect
They violate in a major way
Suggesting disrespect or negativity
I never been a hater
Stating a position of positivity and respect
Still I love 'em in a crazy way
Expressing love or respect despite negative feelings or actions
Some say they sold the yay'
Referencing drug dealers
You know they couldn't get work on Labor Day
Suggesting a lack of legitimate employment
It ain't that black and white
Suggesting complexity and nuance
It has an area the shade of gray
Suggesting complexity and nuance
I'm Westside anyway
Referencing a geographic location or cultural identity
Even if I left today and stayed away
Stating an identity and loyalty to a particular place
Some move away to make a way
Suggesting migration or mobility due to economic opportunity
Not move away 'cause they afraid
Dispelling the notion that migration is motivated by fear
I brought back to the hood
Returning to one's community or roots
And all you ever did was take away
Addressing the negative impact of others
I pray for patience
Expressing a desire for patience with negativity or adversity
But they make me wanna melt they face away
Expressing anger or frustration with negativity or adversity
Like I once made 'em spray
Referencing past violence or aggression
Now I could make 'em put the K's away
Suggesting the capacity to stop violence or aggression
Been thuggin' all my life
Referencing a history of struggle or adversity
Can't say I don't deserve to take a break
Acknowledging the right to rest or leisure
You'd rather see me catch a case and watch my future fade away
Addressing the negativity or adversity of others
I'm the opposite of moderate
Suggesting extremity or intensity
Immaculately polished with
Using polished language or presentation
The spirit of a hustler
Referencing a mentality of hard work and determination
And the swagger of a college kid
Merging two distinct identities
Allergic to the counterfeit
Rejecting inauthenticity or insincerity
Impartial to the politics
Rejecting political or social bias
Articulate
Describing communication or expression skills
But still'll grab a nigga by the collar quick
Describing capability for aggression or control
Whoever havin' problems
Addressing and offering guidance to those with struggles
With their record sales just holler TIP
Offering support and assistance to those in the music industry
If that don't work and all else fails
Highlighting potential difficulties or setbacks
Then turn around and follow TIP
Suggesting leadership and guidance
I got love for the game
Expressing attachment or fondness for one's profession
But ay I'm not in love with all of it
Acknowledging the negative aspects of one's profession
Could do without the fame
Suggesting a preference for privacy or anonymity
And rappers nowadays are comedy
Critiquing current trends in hip-hop
The hootin' and the hollerin'
Describing a lack of substance or authenticity in hip-hop
Back and forth with the arguin'
Highlighting disagreements or negativity in hip-hop
Where you from, who you know
Suggesting superficial criteria for success in hip-hop
What you make and what kind of car you in
Suggesting superficial criteria for success in hip-hop
Seems as though you lost sight
Highlighting a loss of perspective or values
Of what's important when depositin'
Suggesting that material success should not come at the expense of values or virtues
Them checks into your bank account
Referencing monetary gain
And you up out of poverty
Suggesting a rise in social or economic status
Your values is a disarray, prioritizin' horribly
Highlighting the potential conflict between material success and values
Unhappy with the riches
Suggesting that material success does not guarantee happiness or fulfillment
'Cause you're piss poor morally
Suggesting that greed or unethical behavior leads to misery or unhappiness
Ignoring all prior advice and forewarnin'
Suggesting a lack of heed to warnings or guidance from others
And we mighty full of ourselves all of a sudden, aren't we?
Suggesting that material success can lead to inflated egos or arrogance
Got everybody watchin' what I do
Acknowledging the attention brought by success
Come walk in my shoes
Challenging others to understand his experience or perspective
And see the way I'm livin' if you really want to
Offering insight into his life
Got my mind on my money
Emphasizing the importance of financial success
And I'm not goin' away
Suggesting persistence and perseverance
So keep on gettin' your paper, and keep on climbin'
Encouraging the listener to pursue their own financial success
Look in the mirror, and keep on shinin' (Shinin')
Encouraging the listener to embrace their own value and worthiness
Until the game ends, 'til the clock stop
Suggesting a commitment to success and perseverance
We gon' post up on the top spot
Anticipating success and dominance
Livin' the life, the life
Emphasizing the theme of living one's life to the fullest
In the Windmill City got my whole team with me
Referencing the artist's community or team
I do it how I wanna do
Asserting one's independence and autonomy
I'm livin' my life, my life
Reiterating the theme of living life to the fullest
I will never lose
Expressing determination and confidence
And I'll never stop it
Reiterating determination and persistence
(So live your life)
Reiterating the theme of living life to the fullest
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANNA CATHERINE MARY JOLLEY, MARK JOLLEY, DANNY SCHOGGER, YASMIN MARIE EVANS, BRIAN STEVEN HARRIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@chrisblack5585
Who’s here in 2024?!✨
@jhaber.2024..
This song is legendary
@sowerslatoya6246
Meee
@MercylynOduor-dl1yz
Me😁
@JasmineMershonMckinney
Yes
@orlandomoises4058
Meee
@Gisura
It's officially April 2024, let's see how many people are listening to this masterpiece 💕💕💕
@longupeterpaul9032
Here
@shorts4you429
Here
@marvinschroder6767
Here boy