Rihanna, please never stop rapping

Her gutsy verse on “Lemon” proves that she’s so damn good at it.

November 03, 2017
Rihanna, please never stop rapping Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images

Rihanna is the baddest. She could bat her eyelashes with her lids covered in Fenty Beauty or wear your grandma's kitchen curtains and we'd all be on our knees screaming, "Yassss come thru Rih!" She has a Midas touch, which is why we should not be surprised that whenever she switches it up and decides to rap on a track, it slaps. From deep cuts to exalted singles, Rihanna has explored sounds and flexed her skills. And she hasn't gone wrong yet.

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Check out a few of her standout moments as she bodies tracks as an MC.

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We can start in 2007 with Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad track "Lemme Get That."

Rihanna's been knowing she's hot for more than a decade — this is not new. On this truthful song, she starts off self-assured and in a slick rap verse, she acknowledges her allure but makes it clear that it's not for free. Basically, it's a message to her admirers that showing up empty-handed is not an option.

Two years later she didn't hold back on the resilient anthem "Hard" featuring Jeezy.

Sample lyric: "They can say whatever/ I'ma do whatever/ No pain is forever/ Yup ya know this/ Tougher than a lion/ Ain't no need in trying."

Then told us her bag was always secured on "Pour It Up."

Rihanna looked rich and sexy AF in the iconic and goddess-filled video for this song. Even without seeing it, you can imagine her covered in hundred-dollar bills as she utters mini-raps that remind us that she'll never, ever be broke.

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Rih reclaimed her time with "Bitch Better Have My Money."

At an "I said what I said!" octave, Rih makes it clear that there are repercussions for anyone who is playing with her money. In a staccato flow, she demands that she's paid what she's owed. She also flaunts her worth in the lines, "Turn up to Rihanna while the whole club fucking wasted/ Every time I drop, I am the only thing that's playin." True!

On "Nothing Is Promised" she got both introspective and gully.

Over a spooky MikeWiLL Made-It track, Rihanna details a few of her indulgences. For example, she raps, "Got a turbo Porsche and I don't even move it." But as she flexes through braggadocio bars, she warns about the fleeting security of riches and fame.

On "Sex With Me," Rihanna talks her shit in a speedy rap to tell us something we already knew.

While Rihanna mostly sings on this salacious bop about her prowess in bed, she goes off on the first verse in a speedy flow that ends with "I'mma get it wet like jacuuuuzzi." 💦💦💦

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Bad Girl Riri showed up on "Loyalty" with Kendrick Lamar.

Hearing Rihanna go bar for bar with Kendrick Lamar was nuts but she busts through with her magic touch of confidence and full command over her wordy verse. Her momentum comes through in the lines, "Haul ass on a bitch all on the fast lane / Been a bad bitch way before any cash came."

And then this week she left us bald with her verse on N.E.R.D.'s "Lemon."

In the beginning of the video for this song, Rihanna shaves dancer Mette Towley's head. Welp, that's how I felt after hearing her go in on this track — no hair and minimal edges. What does pulling up with a lemon mean? I do not know. But after this verse, if Rihanna wanted to put singing on pause and become a full-time MC, I would not be mad.

Rihanna, please never stop rapping