Talk That Talk is the sixth studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, released on November 18, 2011 through Def Jam Recordings. The album was recorded from February 2011 to November 2011. It was re-released on July 18, 2012 on all streaming services with a remixed version of "We Found Love ft. Calvin Harris" As the executive producer of the album, Rihanna enlisted a variety of producers to collaborate with including Alex da Kid, Mr. Bangladesh, Calvin Harris, Dr. Luke, Stargate and The-Dream. Sonically, the album is rooted in pop, dance-pop and R&B, but also incorporates a variety of other genres such as hip hop, and electro house. The album is also noted for its use of dubstep in tracks such as "You da One" and "Red Lipstick".
Talk That Talk combines a variety of musical genres such as hip hop, R&B, electro house, electro, dancehall and dubstep, a genre first incorporated on Rihanna's fourth studio album, Rated R (2009).[1] The album differed from Rihanna's previous release, Loud (2010), which featured a prominently up-tempo and pop genres, ranging from dance-pop to electro-R&B, and marked her return to her dancehall roots. Talk That Talk foreboding and angry tone with dark themes and incorporated elements of hip hop, rock, and dubstep music genres, which was prominent on her 2009 release Rated R. Talk That Talk did incorporate dancehall themes as seen in her earlier albums Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006).
Upon its release, Talk That Talk received generally positive reviews from music critics, who commended its musical direction and dance tracks, but were ambivalent towards its composition and lyrics. The album debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200, with first week sales of 198,000 copies in the United States. As of June 2012, the album has sold 909,360 copies in the United States.[2][3] The album peaked at number one in Austria, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling more than 163,000 copies in its first week. As of December 2011, the album has been certified two-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 600,000 copies.

Six singles have been released from the album.
The lead, "We Found Love" features Calvin Harris and premiered on October 21, 2011, and quickly became Rihanna's eleventh number one hit in the US, placing her in third place alongside Whitney Houston for the female artist with the most number-one singles on the chart, behind only Madonna and Mariah Carey. The song remained atop the chart for ten non-consecutive weeks, surpassing "Umbrella" as Rihanna's most successful run on the Hot 100 to date. The track also topped the charts in 26 additional countries.
The second single, "You da One" was released on November 14, 2011 and was moderately successful both in the United States and internationally, peaking at numbers 14 and 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart, respectively. It was highly praised for being radio friendly and catchy.
The eponymous "Talk That Talk", featuring rapper Jay-Z, and a remix of "Birthday Cake" featuring singer, Chris Brown, were released as the album's third and fourth US singles on January 17, 2012 and March 6, 2016 respectively, to moderate success. Despite no official release of the remix or a music video, the latter managed a peak of 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number two on the US Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. They both received mixed to positive reviews. The critics for the first track praising the catchy hip-hop influences of the song by Rihanna and the feature of Jay-Z, and the latter song's catchy aspects in the hook (but criticised its sexual lyrics)
"Where Have You Been" was released as the fifth US and third international single from the album on May 8, 2012, it reached the top ten of ten countries around the world, including at number six on the UK Singles Chart, and number 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song garnered rave reviews from critics, who praised its resemblence to the lead single, "We Found Love". It incorporates dance-pop, electro-house and techno influences; and contains an instrumental chorus with a breakdown.
A remix of "Cockiness (Love It)" featuring rapper A$AP Rocky was released as the sixth and the final single from the album on September 7, 2012. It did not chart as high as the previous singles, due to little
Track listing[]
The standard edition is packaged in a jewel case and contains 11 tracks. The deluxe edition is packaged in an 8-panel Digipak and contains the standard 11 tracks as well as three bonus tracks, a 16-page booklet, a poster, two album cover cards, and a perfume sample–the perfume sample is only packaged with the US deluxe edition.[4][5]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "You da One" | Ester Dean, Robyn Fenty, Lukasz Gottwald, John Hill, Henry Walter | Dr. Luke, Cirkut | 3:20 | |
2. | "Where Have You Been" | Dean, Gottwald, Calvin Harris, Walter, Geoff Mack | Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Calvin Harris | 4:02 | |
3. | "We Found Love" (featuring Calvin Harris) | Harris | Calvin Harris | 3:35 | |
4. | "Talk That Talk" (featuring Jay-Z) | Dean, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor E. Hermansen, Shawn Carter, Anthony Best, Sean Combs, Carl Thompson, Christopher Wallace | StarGate | 3:29 | |
5. | "Cockiness (Love It)" | Candice Pillay, D. Loernathy, Shondrae Crawford, Fenty | Mr. Bangladesh | 2:58 | |
6. | "Birthday Cake" | Terius Nash, Marcos Palacios, Earnest Clark, Robyn Fenty | Da Internz, The-Dream | 1:18 | |
7. | "We All Want Love" | Dean, Ernest Wilson, Steve Wyreman, Kevin Randolph | No I.D. | 3:57 | |
8. | "Drunk on Love" | Dean, Eriksen, Hermansen, Baria Qureshi, Romy Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith | StarGate | 3:32 | |
9. | "Roc Me Out" | Dean, Eriksen, Hermansen, Swire, McGrillen | StarGate, Knife Party | 3:29 | |
10. | "Watch n' Learn" | Priscilla Renea, Chauncey Hollis, Fenty, Alja Jackson | Hit-Boy | 3:31 | |
11. | "Farewell" | Dean, Alexander Grant | Alex da Kid | 4:16 | |
Total length: |
37:29 |
Deluxe edition additional tracks | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | ||||||
12. | "Red Lipstick" | Nash, Fenty, James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Will Kennard, Saul Milton | Chase & Status | 3:37 | ||||||
13. | "Do Ya Thang" | Nash, Fenty | The-Dream | 3:43 | ||||||
14. | "Fool in Love" | Dean, Gottwald, Walter, Gonzales | Dr. Luke, Cirkut, Ester Dean | 4:16 | ||||||
Total length: |
49:02 |
iTunes Store bonus track | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length | ||||||
15. | "We Found Love (Calvin Harris Extended Mix)" (featuring Calvin Harris) (track 12 on standard edition) | Calvin Harris | Calvin Harris (remix and additional production by Calvin Harris) | 5:45 | ||||||
Total length: |
54:47 |
Talk That Talk Physical Deluxe Edition
- Standard 11 tracks along with 3 bonus tracks
- 16-page photobook
- Folded mini poster
- Two photo cards
- Perfume sample special card (for US deluxe packages only)
- Package 8-panel digipak
Notes
- Track listing and credits from album booklet.
- signifies a vocal producer
- signifies a co-producer
- Sample credits
- "Where Have You Been" contains elements from the composition "I've Been Everywhere" written by Geoff Mack.
- "Talk That Talk" contains samples from The Notorious B.I.G. recording "I Got a Story to Tell" written by Anthony Best, Sean Combs, Carl Thompson and Christopher Wallace.
- "Cockiness (Love It)" contains samples from Greg Kinnear's performance of "Summertime" in the 2003 film Stuck on You, originally performed by Billy Stewart, written by DuBose Heyward.
- "Drunk on Love" contains samples from the recording "Intro" as performed by The xx and written by Baria Qureshi, Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim and Jamie Smith.
- "Red Lipstick" contains a sample from the sound recording "Saxon" performed by Chase & Status and written by William Kennard and Saul Milton, which contains interpolations from the composition "Wherever I May Roam" as performed by Metallica and written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.
References[]
- ↑ Copsey, Robert (2011-11-10). "Rihanna's new album 'Talk That Talk': First listen – Music Blog – Digital Spy". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi (UK) Ltd.
- ↑ http://www.sohh.com/2012/05/tank_leads_the_charge_bob_floats_outside.html
- ↑ Langhorne, Cyrus (March 14, 2012). "Drake Takes Care Atop His Competition, Lil Wayne Returns To Top 10, Young Jeezy's Motivation Goes Gold". SOHH. 4CONTROL Media. http://www.sohh.com/2012/03/drake_takes_care_atop_his_competition_li.html. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
- ↑ "Buy Rihanna – Talk That Talk (CD & DVD Deluxe Edition)". Play.com. Retrieved 2011-11-16.
- ↑ "Talk That Talk (Deluxe Edition)". JB HI-FI. Retrieved 2011-11-16.