03igup: Rihanna Man Down

##title##

"Man Down" received positive reviews from music critics, with many calling it a comeback of Rihanna's Caribbean-tinged rhythm. In the US, despite only being released to rhythmic and urban radios, the song peaked at number 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. In France, the song went number one, whilst reaching the top twenty in Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and on the UK R&B Chart. The music video, directed by long time collaborator Anthony Mandler, sees Rihanna shooting a man after being attacked, singing how she regrets her actions. Due to the violent nature of the video, The Parents Television Council criticized the singer and attempted to ban the video with no success. "Man Down" is included on the set-list of Rihanna's 2011 Loud Tour.
Man Down is gangsta mixed with reggae. It comes from me trying to achieve that [vibe]," Rihanna told about the saucy song. "I'm super inspired by reggae music [and it] has been a part of me since I was born, and I grew up listening to it. I grew up loving it. My favorite artists are all reggae artists. The special thing in that song is the fact that it's a female singing those lyrics, then you have that reggae thing and the chant; the overall energy in that song is so gangsta." She added later "It's got a lot of swagger. I really enjoy it.
"Man Down" was written by Shama "Sak Pase" Joseph, Timothy & Theron Thomas, and Shontelle Layne, with production completed by Joseph. The song draws heavily on the musical genre of reggae. According to the digital music sheet published at musicnotes.com, the song is written in the key of C major and is set in common time with a moderate reggae feel of 77 beats per minute. Rihanna's vocal range in the song spans from the low note of F3 to the high note of E♭5.

Lyrics for Rihanna – Man Down

of "Man Down". The Rihanna

Does Rihanna\x26#39;s Man Down Video

rihanna man down artwork 01

Rihanna – MAN DOWN Music Video

"Man Down" received generally positive reviews from critics, with Jon Pareles of The New York Times commenting that Rihanna plays up her West Indian accent in the reggae of "Man Down" about shooting a man in Central Station. August Brown of Los Angeles Times commented, "Man Down reasserts her Caribbean lilt with a swaggering murder ballad that one can't help but hear as a warning shot across the radio dial to Chris Brown's Deuces. Entertainment Weekly writer Leah Greenblatt said that "the rum-pa-pum ragga "Man Down" burrows neck-deep in island rhythms." Emily Mackay of NME commented that the album's experiments feel more organic, its tone better paced because of the Caribbean-tinged anthem for doomed youth of "Man Down". James Skinner of BBC Online viewed "Man Down" as a Caribbean rhythm, where Rihanna relays a break-up as murder metaphor in thick Barbadian patois. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine named the song the album's biggest highlight, a full-fledged reggae tune about a woman who shoots a man. He praised the song saying that Rihanna is surprisingly agile in this genre and is one of her finest, most confident vocal performances to date.

Rihanna Man Down

Rihanna\x26#39;s Man Down video has

Rihanna-man-down-room_large

Rihanna\x26#39;s Man Down video under

her video for Man Down.

Before becoming a single, "Man Down" debuted on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart at number eighty-four for the week of April 9, 2011 and reached a top ten peak of number nine. For the week of June 11, 2011 the song debuted at number ninety-four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number fifty-nine. The single also managed to reach sixty-three on the Canadian Hot 100. "Man Down" also charted in other countries due to its release as a single in certain European territories in July 2011. Having debuted on the French Singles Chart at number sixty-five on the issue dated June 4, 2011, the single was released digitally and reached a peak of number one on July 25, 2011. Where it stayed at number one for five weeks. It marks Rihanna's eighth single to reach the top five in the country, following other singles from Loud, "Only Girl (In the World)" and "S&M". In Switzerland, it has gradually risen into the top twenty, reaching eighteen. The single started off slowly but in the fourth week it jumped from thirteen to four on the Dutch Top 40. With the release of the video, the song managed to reach number fifty-four on the UK Singles Chart and inside the top twenty on the UK R&B Chart at number fifteen, despite the song not receiving an official release in the country. The song also reached the top twenty in Norway at number seventeen and Belgium (Wallonia) at nineteen, both with no official releases in each territory. In Poland, the song debuted at number five, eventually peaking at number four on the official Polish Airplay Chart.
The music video for "Man Down" was shot in Jamaica in April 2011, and was directed by Anthony Mandler, who worked with Rihanna for most of her music videos, including "Take a Bow" and "Rehab". On May 1, 2011, Rihanna posted three images from the shoot via Twitter. One of the images showed her on a beach wearing a white Dolce & Gabbana dress, while another image showed her riding a bike in Portland Parish. The video premiered on 106 & Park on May 31, 2011. In an interview with MTV News on May 16, 2011, Mandler discussed the music video more in depth:

Rihanna\x26#39;s \x26quot;Man Down\x26quot; Music

Rihanna\x26#39;s Man Down Video Draws

"Man Down" is the fifth single

VIDEO: Rihanna\x26#39;s Violent \x26quot;Man

Peep This: Rihanna\x26#39;s \x26#39;Man

We shot the video last month in Jamaica and it's my favorite song she's ever recorded, so I was really excited to get involved. And it's just one of those songs that demands a strong narrative and visual, and let's just say she let me go all the way. So I think you can expect something that's dramatic and shocking and intense and emotional and uplifting and enlightening. The video begins when Rihanna shoots a man making his way through a busy train station. After committing the crime, the camera focuses on the shot man and later Rihanna flees the scene. To create a timeline of events leading up to the crime, the video travels back in time to the previous day, when the singer is seen riding her bike and meeting with people in Kingston, Jamaica. There are also scenes of Rihanna alone inside a bedroom at dusk. Then at a nightclub, Rihanna begins to dance and flirt with another club-goer, who's actually the man that she shoots at the beginning. After she leaves the club, the singer's dance-floor partner follows her outside and begins to get violent. The video then cuts straight to the scene of a disheveled Rihanna crying in the street, after what appears to have been a sexual assault. The video concludes with the singer running to her home where she grabs a gun hidden in a dresser drawer, then that's when they replay the beginning when she shoots him. The Parents Television Council (PTC), a non-profit organization that advocates responsible entertainment, criticized Rihanna for "cold, calculated execution of murder" in the video. The council disagreed with Rihanna's suggestion that killing a rapist is a proper form of justice and her rationale that it "sends a very strong underlying message 4 [sic] girls like me." They also stated "If Chris Brown shot a woman in his new video and BET premiered it, the world would stop. Rihanna should not get a pass." PTC also criticized BET for airing the video. However, other commentators argued that the PTC's reaction to Rihanna's video is an example of double standard, with Julianne Escobedo Shepherd of AlterNet arguing that the PTC did not condemn Kanye West's video for "Monster" which featured deceased women hanging from the ceiling and West holding a woman's decapitated head. Shepherd also noted that the PTC did not criticize Eminem's video "Love the Way You Lie", which, according to Shepherd, "glorified and romanticized" domestic violence. In response to the PTC, Rihanna stated: