The last time Harmony Korine directed a music video, it was The Black Keys’ “Gold on the Ceiling.” This time, the Gummo and Spring Breakers director channels Rihanna’s femme fatale vibes with a very NSFW video for her latest single from her album “ANTI,” Needed Me. “But baby, don’t get it twisted/You was just another nigga on the hit list,” Rihanna sings as she struts inside a strip club with a pistol. The video has tatted men throwing money at strippers, gun shots, and roaring motorcycles, but it’s a lot more revenge fantasy than your run-of-the-mill gangster music video.
Take a look here (just a warning, though, it’s incredibly NSFW):
“ANTI,” as Pitchfork describes in their review, is about disappointment—and apparently disappointment of all the people in Rihanna’s life. Rihanna uses that feeling, that lack, as fuel to put her into a position of power. Rihanna is the same good-girl-gone-bad in the visual, but this time her sultry and dangerous persona is bathed in honest grit rather than poppy flair.
A series of grimy vignettes don’t form much of a narrative, but it’s cohesive enough to invoke a mood that supports Rihanna’s personality. A DJ Mustard-assisted piece with raw lyrics deserves an equally raw video, and there’s no doubt that Harmony Korine and Rihanna sounds like a good matchup (here’s to hoping that Harmony Korine releases more work.)
I’d wager that this video is better Bitch Better Have My Money. No idea why Rihanna released it on 4/20, but I don’t really mind if there’s a connection or not. Rihanna is Rihanna. She can do whatever the fuck she wants.
Photo from Tell Tales