https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvBfHwUxHIk Britney Spears reputedly turned Umbrella down as her comeback single. But despite the success of Toxic she didnt have the vocal chops or sass to carry this. Jay Zs songwriting and production would have suffered association with the fevered media surrounding the Spearsmobile. Although he did get a slap from Beyoncés sister Solange about Rhianna recently, but lets leave that to the tabloids. This is the first of three appearances that Jay Z makes here. Always in the company of amazingly talented women, he seems almost relaxed to portray Rhianna as the most sexualised of his troupe of leading ladies. I cant imagine he would write a lyric for his wife that included the line Oh baby it's raining, raining, you can always come here to me, come here to me. And hearing this makes you think perhaps he should. As a song that shows how far women had come in pop, this is totally on the money. This is all about the fact that it is more often than not women who provide the protection and direction in the world of modern relationships. Despite all the objectification in the video, with Rhianna in a range of traditionally titillating submissive and domineering roles, Umbrella is a triumph. Nonchalantly shrugging off what the boys think a woman should be, theres only one person in control here. And her name is Rhianna.
What makes music fantastic? Star quality, amazing music, breathtaking lyrics and the ability to bring something new to the table, even if that means a new take on the classics. That's what I love to listen to and write about.
As well as writing for What Culture, I occasionally write a blog http://tedney.blogspot.co.uk and sometimes use Twitter, but sparingly @TedneyNash