Desperado (Rihanna song)

"Desperado"
Promotional single by Rihanna
from the album Anti
Released June 9, 2017 (2017-06-09) (Remix EP)
Format
Studio
Length 3:06
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Anti track listing
"Work"
(4)		 "Desperado"
(5)		 "Woo"
(6)

"Desperado" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her eighth studio album, Anti (2016). It was written and produced by Mick Schultz with an additional writing by Krystin "Rook Monroe" Watkins, Rihanna, James Fauntleroy and Derrus Rachel.

Writing and recording

During the writing and recording process for Rihanna's eighth studio album, Anti, the singer was staying in a rented house in Malibu, California where she was accompanied by various musicians.[1] One of the songwriters in the house was Krystin "Rook Monroe" Watkins. He together with American producer Mick Schultz had previously worked on a track, so he invited him over to the house, as he thought that Rihanna might be interested in the song. In an interview for Billboard, Schultz recalled, "I hadn’t even heard anything she was doing so it was like completely a blind thing but my friend Rook who wrote the song he was over there and he invited me to come over so that was like a random chain of events that turned out to work but that’s not always the case. I don’t usually just bring in something like that randomly."[2]

"Desperado" was recorded at the Westlake Beverly Recording Studios in Los Angeles

Work on "Desperado" continued during Schultz and Monroe's stay in the house, where they were joined by Rihanna, James Fauntleroy and Derrus Rachel for the final result. For the developing process of the song, Schultz, who also produced it, commented, "One thing led to another and she cut it but I actually never really presented the record to her. Hey but if I did, I would’ve probably been like, ‘Hey, this is Rihanna. This is crazy."[2]

"Desperado" was recorded at the Westlake Beverly Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Rihanna's vocals were recorded by Marcos Tovar and Kuk Harrell; the later also did the vocal production of the song. The recording process was assisted by Thomas Warren. In addition to co-writing it, Watkins and Fauntleroy also provided additional vocal arrangement to "Desperado"; the latter also sang additional background vocals. The guitar in the track was played by Mick Schultz, while the bass guitar was provided by Brian Schultz. The mixing of Desperado was done by Manny Marroquin at the Larabee Studios in Universal City with Chris Galland and Ike Schultz serving as the mixing assistants. Chris Gehringer did the mastering at the Sterling Sound Studios in New York City.[3] On June 9, 2017, a dance remixes extended play was released via the iTunes Store for digital download and streaming on Apple Music and Spotify. The EP features four remixes of "Desperado" done by MK, 3LAU, Andrelli and Fairlane.[4][5]

Composition and lyrical interpretation

"Desperado" is a song with a length of three minutes and six seconds. It features a "mid-tempo groove, bell ringing and shuddering drums, along with deep synths and vocal samples."[6] Jordan Bassett of NME described the track as "brooding" and "tense" and according to him, it has "buzzy" bassline and "ghostly" background vocals.[7] Lyrically, it sees Rihanna running towards her love interest who although doesn't seem impressing, she still sings, "There ain’t nothing for me here any more / But I don’t wanna be alone."[7] Bianca Gracie of Idolator described the song as one of the more chilling tracks on the album and suggested that on it, Rihanna channels "her inner sinister Western anti-hero".[8] In his review of Anti, Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo! stated that the title of the song, "Desperado", has multiple meanings; firstly, it references American West movies with phrases like "saddle up" and second "Rihanna is obviously desperate to skip town".[9] Pitchfork's Amanda Petrusich analyzed the line "I can be a lone wolf" during which her vocals crack deeply. According to her, the song is about "self-isolation, and how being good at being on your own can become its own kind of albatross, a cage that bars from the inside."[10] Jason Lipshutz of Fuse wrote that in the song Rihanna is "swaying between the decision to stay and the impulse to leave".[11]

Formats and track listing

  1. "Desperado" (MK Remix) – 3:35
  2. "Desperado" (3LAU Remix) – 3:24
  3. "Desperado" (Andrelli Remix) – 3:03
  4. "Desperado" (Fairlane Remix) – 3:29

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Rihanna's official website.[3]

Locations
Personnel
  • Rihanna – vocals, writing
  • Krystin "Rook Monroe" Watkins – writing, additional vocal arrangement
  • Mick Schultz – writing, production, guitar
  • James Fauntleroy – writing, additional vocal arrangement, additional background vocals
  • Derrus Rachel – writing
  • Kuk Harrell – vocal production, vocal recording
  • Marcos Tovar – vocal recording
  • Kuk Harrell – vocal recording, vocal production
  • Thomas Warren – vocal recording assistant
  • Brian Schultz – bass guitar
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing
  • Ike Schultz – mixing assistant
  • Chris Galland – mixing assistant
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering

Charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
France (SNEP)[12] 109
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 51
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[14] 129
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[15] 7
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[16] 39
Chart (2017) Peak
position
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[17] 34

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Worldwide (Remixes)[4] June 9, 2017 Digital download

References

  1. ↑ Rabideau, Camryn (January 29, 2017). "Rihanna Gets Real About Her Struggles Recording ANTI". InStyle. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Platon, Adelle (February 1, 2016). "Mick Schultz Talks Producing Dark, Edgy Number 'Desperado' for Rihanna's 'Anti'". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Anti (Deluxe Edition) | Rihanna | Credits". Rihannanow.com. Retrieved February 11, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 "Desperado (Dance Remixes) – EP by Rihanna". Apple Music. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Desperado (Dance Remixes)". Spotify. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  6. ↑ McCormick, Neil (January 28, 2016). "Rihanna, Anti, track by track". The Telegraph. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  7. 1 2 Bassett, Jordan (January 28, 2016). "Rihanna’s Anti Is Here – Read Our Track-By-Track Review". NME. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ Gracie, Bianca (January 29, 2016). "Rihanna’s ‘ANTI’: A Track-By-Track Album Review". Idolator. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  9. ↑ Johnson Jr., Billy (January 28, 2016). "Rihanna’s ‘Anti’: Track-by-Track Album Review". Yahoo!. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
  10. ↑ Petrusich, Amanda (February 1, 2016). "Rihanna: ANTI | Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ Various (January 28, 2016). "Rihanna's Anti Album: Track-by-Track Review". Fuse. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Rihanna – Desperado" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Rihanna – Desperado". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  14. ↑ Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK - New Entries - 06.02.2016". Zobbel.de.
  15. ↑ "Rihanna – Chart history" Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 for Rihanna. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  16. ↑ "Rihanna – Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  17. ↑ "Rihanna – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Rihanna. Retrieved August 8, 2017.

See also

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