She’s a tiny human but Blue Ivy can definitely use her words – she features on mum Beyoncé's track, Blue, singing 'hold on, Mommy' in an eerily British accent. But it's not only Bey's music she listens to, as a recent Instagram post shows. If you look closely enough, you can see Blue is listening to Loud-era Rihanna on an iPhone*. Now, at a logical level, it’s not that weird; Rihanna is on Jay's Roc Nation label, and the pair have collaborated. (Beyoncé and Rihanna haven't, though. You'd know about it if they did, because the world would implode under the pressure of their greatness.)
[ASSETHERE=image]
At a moral level, however, it's a bit iffy. Aren't Rihanna's lyrics all about sex? Perhaps not... we take a look at some cuts from the Loud album and what they really mean.
What’s My Name 'Hey boy I really wanna see if you can go downtown with a girl like me' isn't actually about oral sex, it's about going on a date with a man who's nice enough to walk you to the tube station and then text you to make sure you've got home safely.
Rude Boy ‘I like the way you pull my hair’ is simply referring to a visit to the salon, where you have to get your hair pulled, whether it's to be braided, arranged into cornrows so a fabulous weave can be attached, or combed out to make it into a beautiful Afro the size of a manhole cover.
S&M ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but chains and whips excite me’ is about a little girl who, bullied in school, finds acceptance and solace at her local stables. She rides horses every day, chaining them up in the stables and whipping them, but only when they’re being lazy, chomping on carrots instead of galloping her into a happy sunset.
Skin When Rihanna sings ‘I’ma throw it at you, can you catch it? Don't hold back, you know I like it rough,’ she’s talking about how much she loves to play American football when she’s not working. She’s all about equal representation in violent sports. How good of her!
Only Girl (In The World) In ‘Baby I'll tell you all my secrets that I'm keepin', you can come inside/And when you enter, you ain't leavin', be my prisoner for the night,’ she’s just asking her friend to come over to her house for a slumber party. They’ll spend the night braiding each other’s hair and watch The Green Mile (there's the prison reference) until they heave-cry snotty rivers.
Complicated You know how kids are scared of the dark so need someone or something around to make sure there are no monsters around? well, that’s what Rihanna means when she sings: ‘I'ma stick around just a little while longer, just to make sure that you're really sure you like sleeping alone.’ She’s like a nightlight, really.
*fingers crossed it was Bey's iPhone, babydaddy Jay Z has a lucrative Samsung deal, after all
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.