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If there's one thing good that could be said about the modern age of RnB music, it's that computers and super-producers really hold the control over where the artist goes. That and some of these super-producers have their good instincts and experimental qualities. With Rihanna's second album, the 19 year old Barbados beauty goes from that chick that sang the mostly bad song about being "a murderer" to a truly diverse artist guided by her producers' keen sense of turning RnB sounds on their head and adding a bit of electronic and rock sounds to the mix. With the work of her guiding light, Ne-Yo, Rihanna does what Justin Timberlake did with FutureSex/LoveSounds in that she makes a CD that can still sell with pop audiences while gaining the respect of the skeptics.

In fairness, much like on her last effort, A Girl Like Me, Ne-Yo's biggest effort happens to be the weakest effort, in the case of track "Hate That I Love You", which sounds more like one of Ne-Yo's generic tunes rather than the electro fusion of the rest of the record. However, lead single "Umbrella", "Push Up on Me", and "Don't Stop The Music" provide an impressive opening set of tracks. Other efforts like "Shut Up and Drive" and the ballad "Rehab" both show her range of making a solid ballad while also making a clever, sexy song. And that's ultimately what separates Ne-Yo and Rihanna's experiment over the others. Ne-Yo makes Rihanna really clever.

Rating: 7/10
Must Haves: "Umbrella", "Rehab", Push Up on Me", "Don't Stop The Music", "Shut Up and Drive"

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