English-Speaking Caribbean ~ Rihanna's Global Influence

Central Artist: Robyn "Rihanna" Fenty

Description:

In this playlist, we will look at the music of the Barbadian superstar Robyn Rihanna Fenty, better known as just Rihanna, one of the most influential figures to rise from the English-speaking Caribbean. Born on February 20, 1988 in Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados, a country known for its deep musical roots in tuk, calypso, and spouge, Rihanna blends her culture with pop, R&B, and dancehall to create something entirely her own. Through her music and image, she had paved the way for a new generation of artists to channel emotion, style, and cultural rhythm in bold ways. Each track here is either by her or shows her influence, proving that a Caribbean voice can shape the sound of the world.

Playlist: Bold like Rihanna

Pon de Replay by Rihanna

First, we will look at where it all started. Pon de Replay was Rihanna’s big debut, and she came in with a track that had Caribbean energy from the jump. The title itself uses Caribbean English, “pon de” which basically means “on the.” The beat is fast, clearly made for dancing, and the whole vibe screams dancehall club scene. It is wild how she managed to stay true to her roots while also giving the world something new and fun. You could tell from then that she was repping Barbados in her own way.

Liability by Lorde

Lorde’s Liability is a raw, emotional track about feeling like you are “too much” for people to handle. It is connected to Rihanna because it was heavily influenced by one of Rihanna’s songs. Lorde shared that the idea for this song came to her after she listened to Rihanna’s Higher in an Uber, crying after an emotional walk in New Zealand. The song had hit her so hard with its messy, soulful vocals and unapologetic vibe that it inspired her to write something just as honest. That emotional depth which was delivered with no filters, came straight from Rihanna’s Barbadian style of singing with soul and weight. Caribbean music, especially from Barbados, is not always about perfection, but it is about feeling. And Rihanna brought that to the world, giving artists like Lorde permission to be just as bold and broken in their music.

Confident by Demi Lovato

Confident was Demi Lovato's way of stepping into her 'power'. It was not directly influenced by Rihanna, but the energy behind it? That fearless vibe had Rihanna’s fingerprints all over it. Demi said in an interview on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that she looked up to Rihanna, especially for how bold and stylish she is. While the song is pop-rock, the vocal style and don’t-mess-with-me attitude had the same energy Rihanna brought out in songs like Needed Me. And behind Rihanna’s confidence is something deeper, her Bajan roots, where Caribbean genres like calypso and dancehall often celebrate self-worth and pride. Rihanna brought that cultural vibe into mainstream music, and artists like Demi picked up on it.

The Weekend by SZA

SZA’s The Weekend was said to have 'cool confidence' and pure honesty. Again, not a direct influence, but SZA had openly said she admires how Rihanna makes music that feels real and free, without needing to follow rules. That sense of freedom is something Rihanna brought from her roots, from the same genres like dancehall and calypso. In the song, SZA’s take on modern relationships shows the same kind of careless storytelling Rihanna is famous for. Plus, their connection runs deep because SZA actually wrote Consideration which Rihanna recorded for ANTI. Even though they are stylistically different, SZA summons a type of Bajan confidence and control over her song, showing how Rihanna’s influence was shaping R&B’s future.

Havana by Camila Cabello (feat. Young Thug)

Camila Cabello’s Havana shows her Cuban heritage while using a mix of salsa rhythms, Latin beats, and a laid-back sound all together. The mix of Latin, pop and R&B was entirely influenced by Rihanna. Rihanna’s music, like songs like Rude Boy opened the door for Caribbean and regional styles to mix with pop and R&B. This track has a mid-tempo beat and blends a lot of cultural sounds which mimic Rihanna's style. While Cabello draws inspiration from her Cuban roots, she was also walking a path Rihanna paved which was mixing regional identity with global pop appeal. Plus, producer Frank Dukes, who worked on this song had collaborated with Rihanna, which helped shape this shared vibe we see. Rihanna’s Caribbean upbringing, where music is about both celebration and soul, gave her the blueprint to be both playful and powerful, an approach Camilla took on here with style.

Distraction by Kehlani

Distraction was that balance between smooth R&B and emotional openness which was something Rihanna had mastered throughout her career. Kehlani brought a similar energy here. She layered softness over a confident, rhythmic beat. It is the kind of song that makes you feel something and want to move, just like Rihanna’s Needed Me or Love on the Brain. Kehlani’s storytelling style, vocals, and the song’s catchiness was influenced by Rihanna’s signature style of music. Kehlani's ability to be both bold and sensitive is straight from the Caribbean school of emotional realness that Rihanna used be recognized globally.

Man Down by Rihanna

Lastly, let us look at Man Down which was Rihanna’s most direct nod to her Caribbean roots. It was more than just a reggae-styled song, it was telling a story. From the first couple of lyrics, the song pulls from traditional reggae with a slow, skanking beat and haunting melodies echoing Jamaican legends like Bob Marley and Gregory Isaacs. But this was not just imitation, it was reinterpretation. Rihanna sings in patois, a linguistic connection to her upbringing in Barbados and the wider Anglophone Caribbean, giving the song a regional authenticity that global audiences rarely hear in mainstream pop. Man Down pulls from a long-standing tradition in Caribbean music of using song to explore real-world pain and justice. Much like how calypso and reggae artists have historically commented on crime, guilt, and survival, Rihanna tells a fictional story of a woman pushed to violence. It is gritty, emotional and offering no easy answers. That kind of narrative depth is rooted in Caribbean folk storytelling, where women’s voices often confront societal double standards. The song’s music video was filmed in Jamaica and extends this cultural reach, placing Rihanna in a community space and using visual cues that reflect life in the Caribbean like with the market scenes, spiraling alleys, and island architecture. It was bold for Rihanna to push this track as a single, especially in an industry that expected Black women to perform sexually and not with complexity. This song broke the mold. It is unapologetically Bajan, unapologetically female, and unapologetically emotional, all at once. (Trigger warning: shooting, blood)

Bibliography

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Gangelhoff, C., & LeGrand, C. (2013). Art Music by Caribbean Composers: Barbados. International Journal of Bahamian Studies, 19(2), 11–50. https://doi.org/10.15362/ijbs.v19i2.203

Gorman, Michael. “Kehlani Brings Sweet and Sexy, Lacks Savage on ‘SweetSexySavage’.” The Black and White, 17 Apr. 2017, https://theblackandwhite.net/55267/opinion/kehlani-brings-sweet-and-sexy-lacks-savage-on-sweetsexysavage/. Accessed 21 May 2025.

“Havana (Camila Cabello Song).” Wikipedia,https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_(Camila_Cabello_song). Accessed 21 May 2025.

Leight, Elias. “SZA’s Debut Album: How Rihanna, Rick Rubin & Sleepaway Camp Influenced It.” Billboard, 23 Jan. 2017, www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/sza-debut-album-rihanna-rick-rubin-interview-7669800/. Accessed 21 May 2025.

Mahadevan, Tara. “Demi Lovato Discusses Her Love for Rihanna, Says 'Controlling' Team Contributed to Relapse.” Complex, 5 Mar. 2020, www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/2020/03/demi-lovato-rihanna-relapse. Accessed 20 May 2025.

"Rihanna – Biography." IMDb, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1982597/bio/. Accessed 20 May 2025