Top 10 Rihanna Deep Cuts

"Let me cover your shit in glitter, I can make it go-oold"

RIHANNA IS BACK!!! For the upcoming Smurfs soundtrack, yes - but a new Rihanna song is a new Rihanna song. While Rihanna Navy streams “Friend of Mine” and patiently awaits popular music’s greatest chameleon to drop R9, let’s take a trip down memory lane and recall what I consider Rihanna’s Best Deep Cuts.*

*Several of these songs are massive on streaming services, but I’m categorizing a ‘deep cut’ as a song that did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S.

10. Song: We Ride

Album: A Girl Like Me

Year: 2006

“We Ride” was the official 3rd single from Rihanna’s sophomore effort, A Girl Like Me. This soft and breezy tune did not match the success of its predecessors - the explosive “SOS” and the infidelity anthem “Unfaithful” - but it should have. Rihanna’s voice glides over the chorus as the lyrics capture the end of a promising teenage love. Somehow, she makes the bitter sound so sweet.

9. Song: We All Want Love

Album: Talk That Talk

Year: 2011

Isn’t it really that simple? “We all want someone there to hold…we all want to be warm when it’s cold, no one wants to be left scared and lonely.” She gets it :’) This song will make you feel fuzzy inside, and maybe a just twinge of yearning. Rih made this one for the hopeful romantics.

8. Song: There’s A Thug In My Life

Album: Music of the Sun

Year: 2005

A classic tale of good-girl-meets-bad-boy-but-wants-to-stay-good, this song is innocent and full of emotion. Rihanna’s sound has changed a lot over the course of her astounding career, but this song is a relic of a pop star just beginning to find her shine.

7. Song: Fool In Love

Album: Talk That Talk (Deluxe)

Year: 2011

“Fool In Love” depicts the protagonist’s defiance to remain committed in a relationship with a person their family and friends detest. Rihanna delivers an icy and evocative vocal performance here, one of her best. This stormy song offers the perspective of a troubled relationship without glamour, without redemption.

6. Song: Do Ya Thang

Album: Talk That Talk (Deluxe)

Year: 2011

Another song taken from the deluxe edition of Talk That Talk, this song is basically the polar opposite of “Fool In Love.” “Do Ya Thang” finds Rihanna sounding more carefree than ever, unambiguously unwilling to tie herself or her partner down to a bunch of rules about their relationship. Let’s just have a good time, ya know?

5. Song: Woo

Album: Anti

Year: 2016

Absolutely gargantuan and imposing, “Woo” sounds much like Godzilla stomping through your city, mad as hell. Rihanna slices through this song like the machete of a star she is, leaving the listener excited and a bit scared. She never has to convince you of her cool, and her performance on “Woo” proves it. “I bet she could never make you cry/Because the scars on your heart are still mine.” I bet you’re right.

4. Song: Breakin’ Dishes

Album: Good Girl Gone Bad

Year: 2007

Earlier this year, this song had a global viral resurgence on streaming services, and for good reason - Rihanna’s attitude and energy here are unmatched. She is spiraling with paranoia about her boyfriend’s whereabouts - so much so that she’s taken to bleaching and burning his clothes, and of course, breaking all of their precious dinnerware. Back in 2007, when listening to the Good Girl Gone Bad album, I always wished she would make a video for this song. Maybe someday she still will?

3. Song: Consideration

Album: Anti

Year: 2016

SZA and Rihanna team up for the opening track of Rihanna’s latest full-length album, Anti. Glitchy and instantly gripping, Rihanna and SZA trade bars about artistry and freedom. Their musical chemistry is so apparent here that I am holding out hope for them to make more music together, and maybe even a a joint album. I know I sound delusional, but let a boy dream.

2. Song: G4L

Album: Rated R

Year: 2009

“I lick the gun when I’m done because I know that revenge is sweet” may possibly be the most engrossing opening lyric to a song in history. “G4L” is Rihanna angry, prepared, and no longer a target. Rihanna dips into her dark side and makes sure her enemies know that she does not walk alone. She has an army - better yet, a Navy - behind her at all times.

1. Song: Drunk On Love

Album: Talk That Talk

Year: 2011

Rihanna was ahead of her time. Diving into alternative and using a sample from The xx’s “Intro” was a different sound from dance hits like “Only Girl (In The World)” and “S&M,” but it was a great foreshadowing for where pop music was heading in a few years. Sleek and dark with a bustling chorus, formidable vocals, and captivating lyrics, Rihanna created not only her best deep cut, but one of the best songs of her record-breaking career.

Honorable Mention

Song: No Love Allowed

Album: Unapologetic

Year: 2012

I couldn’t resist talking about this song. It hurt me to leave off the list, but if you don’t know this song, I suggest you give it a stream. Rihanna’s always in her element when relishing in reggae, and “No Love Allowed” is a great example of her being absolutely at home in the genre.