Rihanna: Music of the Sun (2LP) [DEF JAM RECORDINGS]

Why you'll love it

This 2LP set spreads her debut over four sides, closing with the "Pon de Replay" remix. The album went platinum in the US, and "Pon de Replay" reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart.

This edition

• 2LP set

About the album

Rihanna's lucky break arrived courtesy of somebody else's holiday. Producer Evan Rogers was vacationing in Barbados in December 2003 when mutual friends introduced him to a teenager who sang him Destiny's Child and Mariah Carey in his hotel room. He brought her to New York to cut demos, and when Jay-Z heard "Pon de Replay" he called her in to audition for him and L.A. Reid. She signed the same day; Jay-Z joked that the alternatives were the door or the window.

Rogers and his partner Carl Sturken stayed on as producers, joined by Poke and Tone, Supa Dups and Stargate, and the record mixes dance-pop and R&B with the dancehall, reggae and soca she grew up on. "Pon de Replay" is pure island bounce, "If It's Lovin' That You Want" glides, and "There's a Thug in My Life" and "Music of the Sun" show her softer side. Toronto's own Kardinal Offishall drops in, along with J-Status and Vybz Kartel.

The album debuted at No. 10 on the Billboard 200. She recorded those first demos in the school holidays, which is a good deal more productive than most of our summer jobs.

Also at Kops: more Rihanna on vinyl · browse Hip Hop / R&B

Tracklist

Listen

On SRP / Def Jam (cat# 00602557083958-01D), a reissue of the 2005 album.