Maps of Music

Music of the Sun (2005)

Where the lyrics of Music of the Sun take you, and where it was really made.

Rihanna signed with Def Jam on the same day as her audition, after Jay-Z made clear he would not let her leave without a deal.

Key places

Recording at Power Station at BerkleeNYC (2005)

Recording site Power Station Studio — This studio is listed among the recording locations for the album. The point marks the studio area in New York at city-block accuracy. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at The Loft in Bronxville (2005)

Recording site The Loft (Bronxville) — The album credits list The Loft in Bronxville as a recording location. The point marks the building itself. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at Avatar Recording Studios, New York (2005)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Avatar Recording Studios is listed as a recording location in New York. The point sits at the city centre, so the exact studio building is not shown. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Recording at RMP, Orlando (2005)

Recording site Parc Studios — RMP in Orlando, Florida is listed as a recording location for the album. The point sits at the city centre, so the exact studio building is not shown. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Music of the Sun: debut studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna
• Released August 29, 2005 by SRP Records and Def Jam Recordings
• Genres: dance-pop, dancehall and R&B, with elements of pop, hip hop, Latin-pop, reggae and soca
• Guest vocals from Kardinal Offishall, J-Status and Vybz Kartel
• Lead single Pon de Replay; second and final single If It's Lovin' that You Want

Background

• Evan Rogers discovered Rihanna in Barbados and met her in December 2003 through mutual friends
• Rogers and Carl Sturken helped her record demo tapes to send to several record labels
• Jay Brown, A&R at Def Jam, gave the demo to Jay-Z, who invited her to audition
• Rihanna was signed on the spot to keep her from signing with another label
• A six-album deal with Def Jam followed in February 2005, on the same day as the audition
• After signing, she left Barbados for New York City to live with Rogers and his wife
• Rihanna said the sun on the cover represents her Caribbean heritage and herself

Recording

• Worked with various producers, with Sturken and Rogers continuing from the demo stage
• Other producers included Poke and Tone, D. Supa Dups Chin-quee and Stargate
• Rihanna initially disliked Pon de Replay but came to like it by the end of recording
• Recording places include studios in New York, Bronxville and Orlando

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Career beginnings

• Robyn Rihanna Fenty, born February 20, 1988 in Saint Michael, Barbados
• Signed with Def Jam Recordings in 2005 after an audition for Jay-Z and Antonio "L.A." Reid
• Debut album Music of the Sun (2005) and A Girl Like Me (2006) both reached the US Billboard 200 top ten
• "SOS" became her first US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single

Peak pop era

• Good Girl Gone Bad (2007) marked a shift to dance-pop and R&B and is her best-selling album, with about nine million copies sold
• "Umbrella", "Take a Bow" and "Disturbia" each topped the Billboard Hot 100
• Rated R (2009), Loud (2010), Talk That Talk (2011) and Unapologetic (2012) followed
• Unapologetic was her first US Billboard 200 number-one album

Later career

• Moved from Def Jam to Roc Nation; Anti (2016) became her second US number-one album
• Headlined the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in February 2023, the most-watched halftime show in history
• Has released sporadic singles since 2016 and acted in films including Battleship (2012), Ocean's 8 (2018) and Smurfs (2025)
• Sales estimated above 250 million records

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Rolling Stone: Barry Walters found the album lacking in replay value, ingenuity and rhythm, with generic vocal hiccups and frills over her Caribbean charm
• The New York Times: Kelefa Sanneh called Pon de Replay one of the summer's biggest and most seductive club tracks, but felt Rihanna sounded stranded without a beat to sing along to
• Slant Magazine: Sal Cinquemani called the album a glut of teen R&B chanteuses
• Entertainment Weekly: Evan Serpick said her vibrant vocals lift some tracks, but the debut is filled with chintzy production and maudlin arrangements
• The Village Voice: Robert Christgau rated the album a dud
• AllMusic: Jason Birchmeier said Rihanna comes across as winsome rather than a wannabe and called the album one of the more engaging urban dance-pop albums of the year
• The Jamaica Observer: Chantal Jenoure praised the dancehall and hip hop composition of several songs

Records

• US Billboard 200: debuted and peaked at number ten, spending 35 weeks on the chart
• Sold 69,000 copies in its first US week
• US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums: debuted at number six, spending 44 weeks on the chart
• Top 40 in Germany, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United Kingdom
• UK Albums Chart: debuted and peaked at number 35
• Canadian Albums Chart: debuted and peaked at number seven
• RIAA: Gold on January 1, 2006; Platinum on August 28, 2020
• Had sold 539,000 copies by 2007 and 623,000 by June 2015 in the US
• BPI: Gold on May 12, 2006, for shipments of over 100,000 copies
• Music Canada: Platinum after four months of release

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Rihanna performed Pon de Replay at the MTV Video Music Awards pre-show in Miami on August 28, 2005, in Barbados flags and colorful carnival attire.
• Rihanna also performed the song at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in November 2005.
• If It's Lovin' that You Want contains interpolations from The Bridge Is Over, written by Scott La Rock and Lawrence Parker (KRS-One).
• A remix titled If It's Lovin' That You Want – Part 2, with rap by Cory Gunz, was included as a bonus track on her sophomore album A Girl like Me (2006).
• Jay-Z was initially skeptical about signing her, feeling Pon de Replay was too big for a new artist.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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