Pop singer hints that the studio effort will include dubstep influences. By James Dinh Rihanna Photo: James Devaney/WireImage After teasing details about her upcoming album earlier this week, Rihanna continued delivering details about the record on Friday (September 16) when she tweeted that her sixth studio album will drop this fall. When one of the Barbados beauty’s Twitter followers asked, “When’s the next album due?” Rihanna exuberantly replied, “THIS FALL!!!!!” With the singer’s celebratory party anthem “Cheers” currently riding high on radio airwaves, Rihanna hinted that the forthcoming LP may include dubstep influences as heard on her 2009 effort Rated R. “You KNOW how I been lovin Dubstep since Rated R,” she tweeted . Don’t expect the songstress to take a break from the biz anytime soon either. Asked if she can take some time off, the 23-year-old chart topper wrote , “Yes, when I’m tired!!!” Collaborators for the forthcoming project began dishing details on the LP months ago. Back in July, producer Verse Simmonds, who worked on the Rihanna’s reggae-infused hit “Man Down,” talked to MTV News’ Mixtape Daily about the album’s progress. “From what I understand, she’s closing the album up now, and we did two records for her that she really, really loved, and I’m really excited about them as well,” Simmonds said. “They are records that we wrote and produced as the Jugganauts.” Simmonds admitted that he was “99.999 percent” his Jugganauts’ contributions will make the final cut, adding that his tunes on the LP will not sound similar to “Man Down.” Are you excited for Rihanna’s new album? Tell us in the comments. Related Artists Rihanna
RiRi and her ‘Cheers’ producers tweet about recording album number six. By James Montgomery Rihanna Photo: James Devaney/WireImage She may still be wringing singles from her platinum-plus Loud album, but Rihanna is already prepping her sixth studio effort. And, from the sound of things, it’ll be finished soon. RiRi took to her Twitter account early Thursday morning (September 15) to confirm that, yes, sessions for album number six are already under way. “I can’t wait to start filling u guys in on some details!” she exclaimed. Rihanna punctuated that tweet with a “*Zips lips*,” meaning that, for now at least, she’s done talking about the project. Talk of new music began on Wednesday, when the singer retweeted a post from production duo the Runners (Rihanna’s “California King Bed” and “Cheers”), who wrote , “Shout out to @alexdelicata for makin history with us. Wait till they hear this new @rihanna song.” But in late July, producer Verse Simmonds — one half of the studio duo known as the Jugganauts, who produced Rihanna’s hit “Man Down” — talked to MTV News’ Mixtape Daily about the new album, saying that Ri was close to completing work on the disc. “From what I understand, she’s is closing the album up now, and we did two records for her that she really, really loved, and I’m really excited about them as well,” Simmonds said. “They are records that we wrote and produced as the Jugganauts.” Simmonds said he was “99.999 percent” sure that he and production partner Sak Pase’s contributions would make the final cut, and while he wouldn’t elaborate on what Rihanna’s new album would sound like, he did hint that it’ll move in a direction quite different from “Man Down.” “Because we … as producers, as artists, we try to always come with something different, a whole new sound,” he explained. Of course, finishing up her album isn’t the only thing on Rihanna’s plate these days. During Wednesday night’s “The X Factor” launch party in Los Angeles, Simon Cowell confirmed to KIIS FM that she would also serve as a guest judge on the show, saying, “You’re going to see her.” Related Artists Rihanna
While vets like Swizz Beatz, RZA and Neptunes contributed, newcomers Lex Luger, Southside and Jugganauts also got in the mix. By Rob Markman, with reporting by James Smith Kanye West and Jay-Z Photo: Daniel Boczarski/ Getty Images High-profile albums call for high-profile producers. So it should be no surprise that for Watch the Throne, Jay-Z and Kanye West recruited the likes of Swizz Beatz , the Neptunes , RZA and Pete Rock to help them craft a soundbed for their eagerly anticipated joint LP. It wasn’t all about the veterans, however. The Throne also gave some relative newcomers a chance to contribute. “They reached out to me for the ‘See Me Now’ record; I co-produced that with Kanye,” Virginia producer Lex Luger said about ‘Ye’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy bonus track. “So after that he wanted some more material, I flew to New York, and we were just vibing for a little while. He picked, like, two or three tracks, but he really liked that ‘H.A.M.’ track. It’s a blessing.” In 2010, Luger broke out of relative obscurity after producing Waka Flocka Flame’s “Hard in Da Paint” and Rick Ross’ street anthem “B.M.F. (Blowin’ Money Fast).” Recognized for his frantic synth keys, violent drum hits and hyped-up production style, Luger has since gone on to do beats for Wiz Khalifa, Soulja Boy and Fabolous, but raised his profile considerably with the Hov and Yeezy track. “H.A.M.” was the first leak from Watch the Throne and will now appear as a bonus track on the deluxe version of the album, as will “Illest Mother—-er Alive,” which was produced by Luger’s buddy Southside. Like Lex, Southside gained fame making beats on Waka Flocka Flame’s Flockaveli album. With his Southern-fried sound, Southside was surprised that the Throne chose his track to include as a bonus track on the album. “It was on some straight trap music as they call it. Like, I couldn’t believe that they did that beat,” he said. “Working with them, that was crazy. That’s a moment I’ll never forget. I hope I get a lot more of those moments.” Sham “Sak Pase” Joseph and Verse Simmonds (collectively known as the Jugganauts) are no strangers to hitmaking. Together, along with reggae/pop group Rock City, the duo helped write and produce Rihanna’s “Man Down.” For Hov and Yeezy, they experimented with dubstep on “Who Gon Stop Me” and slowed things up for “Made in America.” The two tracks couldn’t be more different. On “Who Gon Stop Me,” Kanye and Jay deliver chest-pounding proclamations over an electro-infused dance track. “Made in America” is much more soothing, as the two MCs reminisce on their come-up. On the hook, Frank Ocean sings passionately about the black experience in America, paying homage to Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz and Coretta Scott King in his lyrics. After getting a call from Def Jam VP of A&R Bu Thiam to submit tracks for WTT, the production pair got to work. “What we did is, we locked in a week, we just went crazy on everything Jay and Kanye,” Simmonds told MTV News of the Jugganauts’ big chance. “I remember telling Sham, I was like, ‘Yo, I think this dubstep stuff is going to be the next new flavor that everybody gotta be on. It gotta have a hip-hop feel to it still.’ ” On August 8, fans will finally be able to hear the long-awaited Throne album, which was first announced as an EP in August 2010. The project has since turned into a full-length project that has had the rap world buzzing for the first half of 2011. The recording — which took place in Paris, Australia and the Mercer Hotel in New York City — has resulted in a 12-track album with four bonus songs on the deluxe version. The wait is almost over! Watch the Throne Week is on! Check in with MTV News every day until Wednesday, August 10, for exclusive content surrounding the release of Jay-Z and Kanye West’s eagerly anticipated LP. Related Videos Get Ready To ‘Watch The Throne’ Related Photos Exclusive Photos Of The ‘Watch The Throne’ Recording Sessions
