Actually, scratch that. Rihanna‘s new record, Talk That Talk, is the dirtiest “pop” record we have ever heard. We listened to the entirety of the 11-song album, which will hit stores on Monday, November 21, earlier this afternoon here at our Times Square headquarters and can confirm that everyone in attendance left the room with flushed cheeks after experiencing extensive periods of blushing.

Now, this is not to say that Rihanna has gone out and recorded the female As Nasty As They Wanna Be; it’s not simply a sexually-explicit affair (although, at one point during The-Dream produced track “Birthday Cake,” she does proclaim “I wanna f*** you right now”). Rather, Talk That Talk continues the conversation that Rihanna began with her single “S&M” (off Loud) and, if you’ll pardon the Spinal Tap reference, turns it up to 11. Rihanna and her chief partner-in-crime, songwriter Esther Dean (who either wrote or co-wrote at least five songs on the LP), have put together a record that not only oozes sex, but also revolves almost exclusively around it.

Take the album’s fifth track, “Cockiness,” for example. The Bangladesh-produced banger, which sounds like a vintage-era Neptunes jam, begins with Rihanna telling her lover that “I want you to be my sex slave” and contains the refrain “I love it when you eat it.” It doesn’t stop there; in perhaps the album’s most memorable line, Rihanna demands her subject to “Suck my cockiness / Lick my persuasion.” This line, which got all of the attendees in the room we were in to nervously chuckle, is the kind of line that would’ve got Rihanna called in front of Congress if Tipper Gore were still running the PMRC, and the kind of song that would make even Prince‘s famed protagonist “Darling Nikki” squeal.

It’s not just that track, either. On the Stargate-produced “Roc Me Out,” RiRi complains that “You’re taking too long to get my head on the ground / And my feet in the clouds,” before cooing, “I’ve been a bad girl, daddy.” And during “Watch And Learn,” produced by up-and-comer Hit-Boy, she goes to great lengths to detail how she wants it on the bed, the floor, and the couch, before turning the tables and not-so-subtly instructing that “It’s your turn now / Watch and learn now / Watch and learn how.” Trust us, the things she’s teaching in this song certainly aren’t taught in schools (at least not without a permission slip signed by your parents).

All that being said, this album sounds positively MAMMOTH and will no doubt continue Rihanna’s dominance on the pop charts for at least the next year and change. “Where Have You Been,” which was written by Top 40 formula crackers Dr. Luke and Esther Dean and produced by the hit maker du jour Calvin Harris, will almost certainly be Rihanna’s biggest club smash since “Don’t Stop The Music.” The chorus features a sweeping, trance-ish transition that will bowl over dancefloor denizens in clubs all over the world, and the bass in the song is so monstrous (in a good way!) that it will make you want to trade in your factory-installed car speakers for a top-of-the-line sound system. And we’ve gotten six paragraphs deep into this preview without even mentioning Jay-Z’s guest vocals on the album’s fourth song and title track, “Talk That Talk,” which isn’t quite on the level of “Umbrella,” but is a lock for the Billboard Top Ten whenever Def Jam decides to release it as a single.

And “Drunk On Love”? Oh boy, this one is going to please Williamsburg hipsters to their core. It’s built on a foundation of The XX‘s “Intro,” which gives it instant indie cred, but Stargate smartly takes Jamie XX‘s melody line and transforms the beat into something so massive that your iPod earbuds are almost guaranteed to explode.

While Rihanna’s Talk That Talk isn’t a record that you’re going to want to listen to with the kiddies in the room (at least not sans EARMUFFS!), it’s far and away the most cohesive album that she’s recorded to date. It’s not a concept record, per se, but the thematic consistency of this album’s lyrical content—shout out to Esther Dean, a true freak if we’ve ever heard one!— and the epic soundscapes that Stargate, Calvin Harris and crew have created make this, from start to finish, the most aurally satisfying record of the six full-length albums she has released. It’s got at least five or six singles that have a shot at making a huge impact on the charts (“We Found Love” has already hit #1), and when it’s all said and done, should put Rihanna neck-and-neck in the running with Beyoncé for the most successful female solo artist of her era (not to mention, earning her a plaque next to Madonna in the Hall of Fame for All-Time Most Sexually Provocative Female Solo artists).

TALK THAT TALK TRACKLIST (and partial list of credits)
1. “U The One” (produced by Dr. Luke)
2. “Where Have You Been?” (produced by Calvin Harris, written by Dr. Luke & Esther Dean, )
3. “We Found Love” (produced by Calvin Harris)
4. “Talk That Talk (featuring Jay-Z)” (produced by Stargate, written by Esther Dean)
5. “Cockiness” (produced by Bangladesh)
6. “Birthday Cake” (produced by The-Dream)
7. “We All Want Love” (written by Esther Dean)
8. “Drunk On Love” (produced by Stargate, written by Esther Dean)
9. “Roc Me Out” (produced by Stargate, written by Esther Dean)
10. “Watch And Learn” (produced by Hit-Boy, written by Priscilla Renea)
11. “Farewell” (produced by Big Juice, written by Esther Dean)

http://www.vh1.com/music/...s-erotica/

Erotica is not even that dirty, WTF are they talking about? I've heard dirtier.

I'm curious about the production of this album, I wouldn't be surprised if it went to #1 this time, I can tell already the hype is huge. Too bad it's coming out on the same day as Immortal, whih I wish would go to #1 instead.

Sounds like somebody was paid to write a bunch of hype about the album...as usual.

On Madonna..."Erotica" was not a dirty pop record overall other than the title track.

Sounds to me like the writer was in diapers when Erotica came out and never heard the album itself.

Rihanna has been saying for years she wants to be the black Madonna and suddenly all these comparisons are coming out, so I think that's how they are trying to promote her.

Yeah, Erotica wasn't nearly as much of a sex filled project as the image it was attached with was.

Either way the idea of Rihanna sampling the XX has me super excited for this project!

No-talent chicks selling sex; that's new.

Alright. Sure. Erotica will probably still remain 100X better though.

BlaqueKnight said:

No-talent chicks selling sex; that's new.

Whatever Rihanna does on this record is not even going to match Rain, Bad Girl or any of those videos, or the messages of Words and Why's It So Hard.

RKJCNE said:

BlaqueKnight said:

No-talent chicks selling sex; that's new.

Not at all. Being mad implies that I care. I actually respect and appreciate developed music. Children's loops don't phase me as much as they do pop listeners.

This paragraph is too funny. She's a pop star. Risqué shit is no big deal these days. Its a different industry now. She wouldn't get anything on a record that the labels wouldn't allow nowadays. Its so funny that they try to manipulate it as if she's some big risk-taker. Female pop stars selling sex is THE MOST FORMULATED MOVE MADE THESE DAYS. That shit she's saying is tame. You hear worse on the CW channel during prime-time hours.

HAPPYPERSON said:

Take the album’s fifth track, “Cockiness,” for example. The Bangladesh-produced banger, which sounds like a vintage-era Neptunes jam, begins with Rihanna telling her lover that “I want you to be my sex slave” and contains the refrain “I love it when you eat it.” It doesn’t stop there; in perhaps the album’s most memorable line, Rihanna demands her subject to “Suck my cockiness / Lick my persuasion.” This line, which got all of the attendees in the room we were in to nervously chuckle, is the kind of line that would’ve got Rihanna called in front of Congress if Tipper Gore were still running the PMRC, and the kind of song that would make even Prince‘s famed protagonist “Darling Nikki” squeal.

BlaqueKnight said:

This paragraph is too funny. She's a pop star. Risqué shit is no big deal these days. Its a different industry now. She wouldn't get anything on a record that the labels wouldn't allow nowadays. Its so funny that they try to manipulate it as if she's some big risk-taker. Female pop stars selling sex is THE MOST FORMULATED MOVE MADE THESE DAYS. That shit she's saying is tame. You hear worse on the CW channel during prime-time hours.

HAPPYPERSON said:

Take the album’s fifth track, “Cockiness,” for example. The Bangladesh-produced banger, which sounds like a vintage-era Neptunes jam, begins with Rihanna telling her lover that “I want you to be my sex slave” and contains the refrain “I love it when you eat it.” It doesn’t stop there; in perhaps the album’s most memorable line, Rihanna demands her subject to “Suck my cockiness / Lick my persuasion.” This line, which got all of the attendees in the room we were in to nervously chuckle, is the kind of line that would’ve got Rihanna called in front of Congress if Tipper Gore were still running the PMRC, and the kind of song that would make even Prince‘s famed protagonist “Darling Nikki” squeal.

So if it's standard fair why do you care?

Actually, "Erotica" (the song) was quite a sensual way of singing about S&M, while RiRi's own "S&M" was simply ridiculous and stupid.

BlaqueKnight said:

No-talent chicks selling sex; that's new.

Right on! Who gives a shit about this talentless chick??

There's no way to shock people anymore.There's no more ground to break.Rihanna made a nasty album filled with songs about sex.Wow...what a unique concept! This would have been big news in 1987 but nowadays,it's actually predictable.

Listen to Talk That Talk album snippets here.

RKJCNE said:

BlaqueKnight said:

This paragraph is too funny. She's a pop star. Risqué shit is no big deal these days. Its a different industry now. She wouldn't get anything on a record that the labels wouldn't allow nowadays. Its so funny that they try to manipulate it as if she's some big risk-taker. Female pop stars selling sex is THE MOST FORMULATED MOVE MADE THESE DAYS. That shit she's saying is tame. You hear worse on the CW channel during prime-time hours.

So if it's standard fair why do you care?

Why do you get easily offended any time someone doesnt praise your beloved pop tarts? EVERYONE in the universe doesnt have to like her music and everyone doesnt....

mjscarousal said:

RKJCNE said:

So if it's standard fair why do you care?

Why do you get easily offended any time someone doesnt praise your beloved pop tarts? EVERYONE in the universe doesnt have to like her music and everyone doesnt....

This photo pose looks ridiculous and desperately contrived.

Cover for "You Da One", the follow-up single to "We Found Love".

Identity said:

This photo pose looks ridiculous and desperately contrived.

I believe it's from one of her shows, that's how she entered the stage. Crotch first

But it certainly doesn't make for a great photo.

Whores will be whores.

RKJCNE said:

This photo pose looks ridiculous and desperately contrived.

I believe it's from one of her shows, that's how she entered the stage. Crotch first.

Can we agree that this is a fine example of someone trying too hard to be controversial?

Identity said:

RKJCNE said:

I believe it's from one of her shows, that's how she entered the stage. Crotch first.

Can we agree that this is a fine example of someone trying too hard to be controversial?

Hell Yeah! I know you weren't talking to me but I just had to agree. It's been this way with her since they (DefJam/Jay-Z) stumbled on success with revamping her image. Every since then, its been about pushing the proverbial "envelope". As if that shit hasn't been pushed off the table years ago by others.

Musicslave said:

Identity said:

Can we agree that this is a fine example of someone trying too hard to be controversial?

Hell Yeah! I know you weren't talking to me but I just had to agree. It's been this way with her since they (DefJam/Jay-Z) stumbled on success with revamping her image. Every since then, its been about pushing the proverbial "envelope". As if that shit hasn't been pushed off the table years ago by others.

Well you know this generation likes to think of themselves as innovators and the FIRST to do things.. I guess it makes them feel good but the irony is most of this mess has been going on for over 5 decades... youngins what do they know?? LOL

Identity said:

RKJCNE said:

I believe it's from one of her shows, that's how she entered the stage. Crotch first.

Can we agree that this is a fine example of someone trying too hard to be controversial?

I would like to think Rihanna and Ester Dean (her main writter) just want to write and sing about sex in a way that pushes boundaries, but certainly there is an element of sensationalism added for hype. But trying hard to be controversial is kind of the goal, one set by Madonna and even somewhat Cher before her. It's an element I like in my music.

Just Jared loves it and has a review posted. I may have to check this disc out.

http://justjared.buzznet....e-preview/

Hey Rihanna here is a tip, get a better photographer if you want to show us your new sexy image

lazycrockett said:

Just Jared loves it and has a review posted. I may have to check this disc out.

Have you listened to the snippets?

This album might be even more bland and less interesting than her last project, impossible as that might sound.

Talk That Talk audio

She really seems to like ''Darling Nikki''