Rihanna‘s chart dominance has lasted all year, as she’s seen singles and her 8th studio album, ANTI, maintain top 10 success for much of 2016. That’s come despite the fact that ANTI was released back in February of this year, just days after its lead single, “Work,” with Drake, was premiered on TIDAL.
The song was an immediate success, and seamlessly shone a light on Rihanna’s West Indian heritage and penchant for dancehall-tinged music. (If you remember, Rihanna broke into the mainstream on the back of “Pon De Replay,” her first hit and a downright dancehall song.) Add Drake’s faux-island dialect and fringe knowledge of Jamaican culture–and their perceived secret romance–and you have a song that stays atop the Billboard Hot 100 for 9 consecutive weeks.
PARTYNEXTDOOR, who’s enjoyed a bit of a hot streak himself this year, wrote the song and has a demo version floating around the internet, but the final version nearly never made it to Rihanna. PND, the son of West Indian parents, nearly made the decision to give the song to Alicia Keys, which he tells The New York Times‘ Joe Coscarelli.
Even “Work” was not an immediate fit. Despite Rihanna’s Bajan heritage, “her label didn’t care for Caribbean music at the time,” PartyNextDoor said. He and Drake considered keeping the track, or giving it to Alicia Keys, but Rihanna’s team came around “when it was all that she could sing around the house,” he said.
This adds an interesting perspective to the year Keys has had so far. Just over three months after the release of “Work,” Keys dropped her comeback single, “In Common,” which was heavily influenced by dancehall music. The song fared well on Hip Hop radio, cracking the top 20 at #19, but wasn’t nearly the hit “Work” was, topping off at #104 on the Billboard singles chart.
