It’s the video premiere for Rihanna‘s “Man Down”!
Princess RiRi brings the heavy in the clip for “Man Down,” the fifth US single from LOUD.
Filmed in Jamaica with her longstanding collaborator Anthony Mandler, the “Man Down” clip takes viewers on a trail from the song’s blood-soaked finale in the train station all the way back to the story’s origins: We watch as Rihanna goes from a fun-loving (Vita Coco drinking!) island dweller by day to a club girl by night, eventually pursued and forced up against a wall against her will by an entirely unwanted suitor. The rest is up for interpretation, but it’s safe to assume the worst from there on…
Aside from the subject matter of the clip, there’s something extra chilling about the “Man Down” video given that it comes from Rihanna–a pop star whose made no secret of both her violent childhood memories at home in Barbados and her own personal domestic abuse incident with Chris Brown in 2009.
Though the cinematography is another (unsurprisingly) gorgeous display thanks to Mandler, “Man Down” is the darkest moment Rihanna’s had since the Rated R era. And while the tale unravels rather slowly, by the end, Rihanna’s done due justice to one of LOUD‘s best moments.