Rihanna's Back...

...as a featured artist.

Apparently Saturday was the day that "Run This Town" was released to the hip-hop and R&B stations, because I heard it several times. The blogs are already off and running about who owned which verse, Jay-Z or Kanye. But, after getting over the surprise of hearing a new Rihanna song, even if she was adding hot female flavor, I noticed that her section is similar in tone to her last "single", T.I.'s "Live Your Life".

In "Live Your Life", she sings of just livin' your life, being ambitious, and basically, being true to yourself (though that is implied). T.I. raps about haters and the game, criticizing the scene for being artificial (which Kanye does as well throughout his oerve), and Rihanna's vocals underscore the theme of the track. On "Run This Town", she is hardened (or at least it seems that way, especially with her recent history looming in the background), but she has the courage of her convictions and does her thing. She's earned it. Her successes have proved that she is at the top of her game and can run with the big boys, that she does indeed "Run This Town".