I still remember the day Rihanna dropped what was singlehandedly one of the greatest albums of all time. It was my Sophomore year of college and I was sitting in my dorm room setting the ambience (if you catch my drift) to stream the much anticipated project. Borrowed Beats headphones in hand, I pushed play on what would soon become the soundtrack of my college career. As I laid back, the soothing sounds of “Consideration,” drifted me to a place of sonic ecstasy. Five years later, this album produces that same exact feeling in me.
On Friday (Jan. 29) Rihanna celebrated the iconic album with some throwback pics from the ANTI period, including several in which she wears nothing but fishnet stockings and a molded breastplate. In posts across her social channels, the singer said, “thank you navy! #5yearsofANTI #ANTIversary,” along with a video to the soundtrack of “Work” and snippets from each single with current numbers for them. The video noted that ANTI peaked at No. 1 song on Billboard Hot 200 Albums in its first week, and it has more than 15 billion streams worldwide. The song ‘Work’, which emerged as the hit single, sold 32.5 million singles worldwide.
Her other songs also recorded impressive numbers with ‘Needed Me’ selling 17 million copies, ‘Kiss it Better’ 5.5 million, ‘Love on the Brain’ 15 million, ‘Sex with me’ 4.5 million, and ‘Desperado’ 3.5 million, all singles sold worldwide to Rihanna’s diverse fan base.
ANTI was Rihanna’s last album, and fans (myself included — sorry Rih) have consistently trolled her for new music. In spite of not being on the music scene, Rihanna has still managed to accomplish quite a few major victories with the ANTI album as it is among the most streamed in the United States. Of the 16 track album, “Work” and “Needed Me” has been streamed more than 2.4 Billion times. Rihanna is also among the most streamed female artists globally and is the first woman artist to surpass 2 billion streams on Apple Music.
Now, I know what you’re probably thinking. Since her musical. hiatus, she launched several billion-dollar fashion and beauty companies- Savage x Fenty, and Fenty Beauty, which probably means she will never return to music. But, she has teased that she is working on a dancehall-inspired studio album that involves a range of voices in the genre, but she has not offered a date for when it is going to be dropped.
It is safe to say that ANTI was a welcomed cultural reset in 2016 that is still making waves in 2021. And, though we have no word on what the Barbadian songstress will offer us next, we will always cherish the feeling ANTI birthed in us all.
Stream ANTI below to travel back to whatever moment this album transports you to!
