To say that Rihanna is back again is an overstatement because she’s not back with a whole new album, but a remix of her album, Rated R that was released in 2009 and was her 3rd consecutive platinum album in America.

The original Rated R was created based on the whole Chris Brown saga featuring lyrics that she wrote herself, getting inspiration from her abusive relationship with him. This winning formula proved to be so successful that 10 of its songs has just gotten remixed by Chew Fu Phat, the man who has built himself a successful career, having worked with Her Majesty Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas, to name a few.

While it may come across like a feeble attempt to conquer the mainstream music industry which is currently dominated by Queen Lady Gaga at the moment, the newly remixed tracks could be good news to fans who couldn’t get enough of her fast-paced, dancing tracks like “Pon De Replay”, “S.O.S”, “Umbrella”, and “Disturbia”.

There are songs that are generally worth  listening to in this album, which may be unnecessary if you have the original Remix R album. Songs like “Russian Roulette” and “Rude Boy” sounded better remixed, so kudos to Chew Fu.

“Russian Roulette” was remixed from a slow ballad to a track that has dancey-upbeat elements, making it highly addictive.

According to Pitchfork, “Rude Boy” peaked at number 1 in America, making it Rihanna’s 6th single to hit number 1 on the Hot 100. The remixed version of “Rude Boy” is fresh and refreshing, quite different from the original one, with an infectious melody and electro-beats that gets stuck in your head.

Don’t get me wrong. Remixes are interesting because of the twist they give to the original music. However, this remixed album could be potentially a miss on Chew Fu’s part because the tracks sound so consistent it’s almost identical to one another with no distinct feature. It’s good if you want a song to dance to in the club, but not good if you just want a song to listen to.

Chew Fu is a good remixer. Rihanna is a talented singer. However, fusing these two together may not be the best thing that Def Jam Recordings, which has in its stable Kanye West and Ludacris, has done.

The UrbanWire gives Rated R /// Remixed 2/5 stars.

Artist: Rihanna

Language: English
Record Label: Def Jam
Release Date: 25 May 2010

Track list:

  1. Mad House (Chew Fu Straight Jacket Fix)
  2. Russian Roulette (Chew Fu Black Russian Fix)
  3. ROCKSTAR 101 (Chew Fu Teachers Pet Fix)
  4. Wait Your Turn (Chew Fu Can’t Wait No More Fix)
  5. Photographs feat. will.i.am (Chew Fu 35mm Fix)
  6. Rude Boy (Chew Fu Bumbaclot Fix)
  7. Hard feat. Jeezy (Chew Fu Granite Fix)
  8. G4L (Chew Fu Guns In The Air Fix)
  9. Fire Bomb (Chew Fu Molotov Fix)
  10. Stupid In Love (Chew Fu Small Room Fix)