Rihanna’s new album “Rated R” is scheduled to be released on November 23rd and already, there are lots of speculation and excitement about it. In this album, she is portraying herself in a tougher image, unlike her previous glamorous self. On the music video of her single “Wait Your Turn” shows a grainy, sexy clip of Rihanna that shows her as a tough renegade. This is the type of image she and her music-video collaborator, Anthony Mandler, were going for. The video was shot in the middle of October on a cold day in the Big Apple. The first video is just a preview of what’s to come. The two talked about creating something that’s a bit more raw and gritty, so they decided to create a more “Street” video than a classic beauty piece.

They reviewed early hip hop videos and liked how they weren’t created with few resources — they mostly used their environment and surroundings; the textures and shapes. In the video Rihanna is wearing an eye patch and heels, giving a hard-edge feel to he usual glam self. Some of the videos that inspired her featured artists like Wu-Tang, Mobb Deep and Nas. The words behind the song were carefully thought up in order to create the same image audio-wise: aggressive bravado. Rihanna is a young artist that is always pushing boundaries. She has changed her identity so many times, so you never know what she’ll come up with next. She is a true artist, someone that knows how to transform the picture and make it into anything she wants to portray.

There’s always been hype about the hip hop industry and how many of the rap artists that enter into the game come out hard and then go soft. One of the first rappers to do that was Ja-Rule. He rapped about women, money and cars with hardcore lyrics while rockin’ a bandana and hip hop jewelry; but a couple albums later, he had a love Jones. Many of the songs he released there after were love songs featuring singers like Lil’ Mo and Ashanti. A lot of his fans didn’t like the new Ja and he eventually fell off. Even other rappers took notice of the bad boy gone soft and started beef — remember when 50 Cents came out with that controversial hit?

Well, Ja Rule isn’t the only one that has “fallen off track”, but there’s a new buster in town. Kanye West is best known for his ill lyrics and old school approach, but his new album is definitely different than his hardcore self. Many fans are mad about his new R & B, techno-beat feel. You may have already heard a few of them, like “Love Lockdown” and “Coldest Winter”. Some congratulate his attempt to sample new waters while others are mad about another good rapper gone bad.

His new album has a more R & B sound and those that have heard it — well, some are a bit disappointed. There are a lot of heart broken songs on there, but it doesn’t really seem to be talking about a girl of interest. Some folks have speculated that he could be making this album for his late mother…who knows?

What do you think?

the game album LAX

KingIce.com is a huge fan of The Game. This page is created in support of his latest album, LAX. Click on the album cover page to visit the official website of The Game.

Our favorite songs are LAX Files, My Life with Lil Wayne, and Let Us Live with Chrisette Michele.

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