Pop sensation Rihanna recently released her eighth studio album entitled "Anti" on Jan. 28, 2016. Reaching the number one spot on the Billboard and iTunes charts, "Anti" was, as expected, an instant success due to it's catchy pop and R&B rhythms, dope featured artists (including Travi$ Scott, Drake, SZA, Tame Impala, etc.), and intriguing lyrics. And these lyrics, I've found, are especially applicable to college students -- check out why with these RiRi lines.
1. "Consideration": “I come fluttering in from Neverland, time could never stop me, no, no, no, no.” This line is for those mornings of struggle when you, by some miracle, manage to peel yourself out of bed and stumble into class. Yes, you’re slightly late, but you deserve points just for making it that far.
2. "James Joint": “I’d rather be breaking things, ‘cause we can’t see.” This one applies to those class periods in which you somehow end up sitting behind the person with A) the ridiculously tall person with torso for days, or B) the person with the vertically-advanced hairdo. The board has become unviewable, taking notes has become practically impossible, so you pretty much just give up in general. It's like that sometimes.
3. "Kiss It Better": “Do what you gotta do, keep me up all night. Hurting vibe, man, and it hurts inside.” This one goes out to all those instances when your procrastination finally corners you into a long, painful, deep-into-the-night cramming session.
4. "Work": "I hope that you see this true. What can I say? Please recognize I’m tryin’ babe. I have to work, work, work, work, work, work.” This line applies to those moments of desperation when your professor won't round your 49 to an A and you sort of, just, internally crumble.
5. "Desperado": “There ain’t nothing here for me, there ain’t nothing here for me anymore.” When the novelty of college wears off and the torture that is actually it settles in, this lyric comes to mind. Those moments when dropping out and pursuing a rap career / turning into a stripper / becoming a nomad in a random country all begin to look alluring.
6. "Woo": “I don’t even really care about you no more, I don’t even really care about you no more, I don’t even really care about you no more.” I'm pretty sure Rihanna herself wrote this lyric in regards to those tests you hopelessly study for so long that you honestly just surrender all motivation at a certain point in.
7. "Yeah, I Said It": “Get a little bit, come a little close now. Take it home on your camera phone.” This line is very special to the average college kid because it refers to that real MVP in your class that sends you pictures of the assignments you forgot to/honestly just didn’t feel like doing.
8. "Same Ol' Mistakes": “I can just hear them now: ‘how could you let us down?’ But they don’t know what I found, or see it from this way around.” This one, shamefully, is for when you totally blow off your part in the group project because the newest season of your favorite show came out on Netflix.
9. "Never Ending": “Ghost in the mirror, I knew your face once but now it’s unclear, and I can’t feel my body now.” Two words: finals week. That hell-resembling period of time in which you haven’t seen sunlight in days, your stress breakouts have reached an all-time high, and you’ve gone numb from sitting at a desk for copious numbers of hours. The suffering seems never ending, all puns intended.
10. "Love on the Brain": “You love when I fell apart, so you can put me together.” Essentially, this line perfect sums up what it feels like college does to us. Four (or more; you do you) years of agonizing classes, endless studying, and through-the-roof stress levels -- but it will all (hopefully) pay off when you finally get that diploma and make your way to success in the real world.
11. "Close to You": “Nothing but a tear, that’s all for breakfast.” Shout-out to those 8 a.m. courses that you’re too exhausted to fully function in and the only thought you can process is, “Why on earth did I get out of bed?”
So in conclusion, thanks Rihanna for not only an album that we can all bump to, but also the relatable words of wisdom. Anti-up.
