"Cockiness (Love It)" is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, from her sixth studio album Talk That Talk (2011). The song was written by Rihanna, Candice Pillay, D. Loernathy and Shondrae Crawford, with production helmed by Mr. Bangladesh. Conceptualized by Mr. Bangladesh, the producer revealed in an interview with MTV that the song had undergone many different versions before the final cut was included on the album. He stated that while he was writing and developing the song, Rihanna was the principal artist whom he wanted to record it.
"Cockiness (Love It)" is a dubstep and dancehall track. Instrumentation is provided by vocal whoops, drums and horns. The lyrics of the song revolve around declaring the singer's desire for sex. "Cockiness (Love It)" received mixed reviews from music critics. Whilst some praised the song's memorability and compositional structure, others criticized its overtly sexual lyrical content. Upon the release of Talk That Talk, the song charted in lower regions on the singles charts in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Background and release[]
"Cockiness (Love It)" was written by Candice Pillay, D. Loernathy, Shondrae Crawford and Rihanna herself, with production helmed by Crawford under his stage name Mr. Bangladesh. The producer declared to MTV that Rihanna was eager to record the song, that the song underwent several cuts and that her lyrics were revisited several times, saying:
“ | I was in Los Angeles, and I had just taken it out, chopped it up, made it into a beat. My artist Candice Pillay, my other writers, Dem Jointz, wrote the song. It wasn't 'Cockiness' at first, it was something else. They had the 'I love it' part. [They] came up with that part first and it wasn't even on that track. It was just an idea. I was going to make a new beat from that, what they had written up to that point wasn't quite complete. A couple of days later, they revisited it and came up with 'Cockiness'. | ” |
After revealing that the song was finished, Mr. Bangladesh said he wanted to wait for the right artist to record the song. He later decided it would be Rihanna, saying "she loved her, and that's what I wanted."
Composition and lyrical interpretation[]
As a dubstep and dancehall song, "Cockiness (Love It)" features stylized dancehall vocals and a boasts a rap bridge. Claire Suddath of Time Entertainment noted that the speed with which Rihanna delivers her vocals is so fast that it blends into the composition, which she wrote "becomes the basis for the beat". The instrumentation of "Cheekiness (Love It)" consists of vocal whoops, drums and horns.
During the song, Rihanna sings in a taunting nature, taking pleasure in being able to tease the listener. T'Cha Dunlevy of Montreal The Gazette compares it to "If U Seek Amy", Britney Spears' 2009 single from the album Circus (2008).
Critical reception[]
The song received mixed reviews from music critics.
Andy Kellman of Allmusic praised the track and its memorability, writing that "Cockiness (Love It)" is "one of the most hypnotic and wicked bars of the last decade".
NME's Priya Elan described the song's lyrics "Suck my cockiness,/lick my persuasion" as "funny", but complimented the song's compositional structure, writing that it provides a "real elastic thrill, twisting it in all sorts of astonishing musical forms."
Eandell Roberts of the Los Angeles Times described "Cockiness (Love It)" and another track from the album "Birthday Cake" as the "breasts and booty" of Talk That Talk, but noted that they failed to capture the objective they aim to achieve.
Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Cockiness (Love It)" and "Birthday Cake" are among the album's most provocative tracks, describing them "as rough tracks that I like", but criticized the two songs for "failing to to keep the listener away from the bed, on the dance floor."
Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that Rihanna appeared to be channeling Swedish rapper-singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry on "Cockiness (Love It)" in a "pseudo-melodic" rendition. Although concerns were raised for younger audiences regarding the song's sexually explicit lyrics, a reviewer for Flavor magazine praised Mr. Bangladesh's production on "Cockiness (Love It)."
Pip Ellwood of Focus Show observed that "Cockines (Love It)", along with "Birthday Cake", "leave no misunderstanding about Rihanna's sexual career".
Arwa Haider of Metro wrote that the song is "predictably dirty". Nathan S. of DJ Booth noted that "Cockiness (Love It)" is "by far the album's most explicit offering" and listed the track, along with "Watch n' Learn", as his top two songs from Talk That Talk.
Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork criticizes the song, writing that "Rihanna has always sung about sex but never shown such an unfortunate tendency for cheesy, metaphorical lyrics", although she praised Mr. Bangladesh's production.
Tuyet Nguyen of The A.V. Club commented that although Rihanna evokes a vulgar appeal during her verses, she criticizes her "stone-like, deadpan voice."
Simon Price of The Independent shared the same opinion as Nguyen regarding Rihanna's vocal performance, writing: "It's a shame that Cockiness (Love It), like every Rihanna song, is delivered with a voice that sounds like a sex worker in the act of filing his nails." Thrills Adrian of the Daily Mail labeled the song "hardly subtle" because Rihanna asks the listener to be her "sex slave."
Live remix[]
Rihanna performed "Cockiness (Love It) Remix" and "We Found Love" on stage at the 2012 VMAs with rapper A$AP Rocky. The remix was released as the last single from Talk That Talk, but no video was made for it.
Lyrics[]
Suck my cockiness
Lick my persuasion
Eat my words and then
Swallow your pride down, down
Place my wants and needs
Over your resistance
And then you come around
You come around
You come around
I want you to be my sex slave
Anything that I desire
Be one with my femin-ay
Set my whole body on fire
Fair maiden Rihanna Gate
Taking over your empire
She may be the queen of hearts
But I'm'a be the queen of your body parts
No one can do you
The way that I do
Boy I want you
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
Suck my cockiness
Lick my persuasion
Eat my words and then
Swallow your pride down, down
Place my wants and needs
Over your resistance
And then you come around
You come around
You come around
I can be your dominatrix
Just submit to my every order
Enter my diamond matrix
If you want my golden flower
Make me your priority
There's nothing above my pleasure
She may be the queen of hearts
But I'm'a be the queen of your body parts
No one can do you
The way that I do
Boy I want you
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
Homie don't beat it like a bullet
Beat my drum drum
Like a drum line boogie
(I love it when you)
Dive head first if you wanna
Sing to my body
Hold me tight mister lover
(I love it when you)
Do it like I do it
Like I said
Keep it up, boy
We can do this all day
Be my Harlem
And me St. Tropez
Never found nobody
That will do it this way
No one can do you
The way that I do
Boy I want you
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it, I love it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it
I love it when you eat it