Rihanna’s 8^th studio album ‘Anti’ has been whipped up into a fantastic slow – mid jam groove for her fans and the new ones. You can be sure what we have here is a knocker from the sultry songstress.

While Rihanna basks in the glow of the success of her album and her fantastic BRIT Awards performance last month, the album sleeve has a threefold with an image of her when she was young. The album inlay is also bereft of the playlist and so you might wonder what is playing on your player and unless you are playing it on a laptop you won’t know the track listing. The album art denotes that there's something darker lurking beneath all what we see. As the album art denotes: heavy lies the crown. The word Anti according to heris "a person opposed to a particular policy, activity or idea.

The artwork was designed by Israeli artist Roy Nachum, and was described by Rihanna as her "favorite album cover". The album's front cover shows an image of Rihanna, which was taken on her first day of day care, holding a black balloon, with a gold crown covering her eyes; the majority of the artwork is black and white with a "smattering" of red paint. In the centre inlay space a pullout opens up into a poem written in Braille by poet Chloe Mitchell; the Braille follows the theme of the album's singles artwork which also features the same technique.

Three years in the making, the album is high on expectations and what you get is a mix of pop shades and a slice of R & B grooves. There are not many fast jams, compared to her catchy work over the years, but you could feast on a beautiful voice that flows effortlessly all over the album.

From the first bars of the drum heavy opener Consideration, (featuring SZA), Rihanna’s voice swings from her earlier work, when she sings "Darling, would you mind giving my reflection a break from the pain it's feeling now?” James Joint is the shortest track here, just over a minute and gels well into Kiss It Better goes back to '80s sound, packed with some explicit lyrics that dwells on an ex sex lover. One of the toppers here is Work that features Drake (her former lover), and goes quite repetitious “work, work, work, work, work”. Drake and RiRi’s unique construction of the single moves it away from its dancehall vibe into a fresh and contemporary sound. Interestingly Drake is also part of RiRi’s Anti Tour, which means the Umbrella hitmaker is back with her mate. The title says it all.

"I can be a lone wolf," she sings on Desperado, her vocals going really deep and shifting to highs and lows. Rihanna gets really dirty a few spaces to mid of the album on Yeah I Said It, where she's demanding her lovers to "Yeah, I said it, boy, get up inside it/ I want you to homicide it" that also brings on Timbaland who co – producers and co - writes this piece, thus bringing his share of sleaze into the slow jam. Rihanna picks up threads of Dido’s Thank you and mixes a soft beat on Never Ending that showcases how she experiences love, how it helps her navigate and recognize her physical self, and the way she feels its absence physically: "I knew your face once, but now it’s unclear," she sings. "And I can’t feel my body now."

Another piece we’d recommend to tune into is the saucy and steamy Love on the Brain. The track oozes with sex as Rihanna talks about sex openly "It beats me black and blue, but it fucks me so good," Rihanna chants, her voice suddenly flaring up. Her doo – wop powerhouse vocals sung in a 80s styled Prince falsetto is not be missed. Higher the penultimate piece here has soaring vocals on a ballad which is sure to be a replay. Her lyrical force very convincing.

13 tracks and 44 minutes later you are sure to love this Barbadian native who is going from strength to strength on every album she releases. Tune in for an amazing set of tracks of one of pop music’s super stars.

Rating: ****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira