Cockiness (Love It)

"Cockiness (Love It)" is a song by Barbadian singer Rihanna, from her sixth studio album ''Talk That Talk'' (2011). The song was written by Rihanna, Candice Pillay, D. Abernathy and Shondrae Crawford, with production helmed by Mr. Bangladesh. Conceptualized by Mr. Bangladesh, the producer revealed in an interview with MTV that the song had undergone many different versions before the final cut was included on the album. He stated that while he was writing and developing the song, Rihanna was the principal artist whom he wanted to record it.

"Cockiness (Love It)" is a dubstep and dancehall track. Instrumentation is provided by vocal whoops, drums and horns. The lyrics of the song revolve around declaring the singer's desire for sex. "Cockiness (Love It)" received mixed reviews from music critics. Whilst some praised the song's memorability and compositional structure, others criticized its overtly sexual lyrical content. Upon the release of ''Talk That Talk'', the song charted in lower regions on the singles charts in South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Background and conception

"Cockiness (Love It)" was written by Candice Pillay, D. Abernathy, Shondrae Crawford and Rihanna, with production helmed by Crawford under his stage name Mr. Bangladesh. In an interview with MTV, Mr. Bangladesh revealed that Rihanna was the principal artist who he wanted to record "Cockiness (Love It)". The producer continued to say that the song had undergone "many different guises" before the final version including on ''Talk That Talk'' (2011), saying Cockiness', it's layers of things I had sampled for a long time, never really messed with it too much." Mr. Bangladesh continued to describe "Cockiness (Love It)s development and song-writing process, saying:

After revealing that the song was finished, Mr. Bangladesh stated that he wanted to wait until the right artist came along to record the song. He later decided that it would be Rihanna, saying, "I was like, 'That's dope. That's Rihanna all day'. They sent the song back, and I finished producing it. I put the 'I love it' on it that they had already had ... She loved it, and that's what it was."

Composition and lyrics

As a dubstep and dancehall song, "Cockiness (Love It)" features dancehall stylised vocals and a rap bridge by Rihanna. Claire Suddath of Time Entertainment noted that the speed in which Rihanna delivers her vocal is so fast that it blends in with the composition, which she wrote "becomes the basis for the beat." The instrumentation of "Cockiness (Love It)" consists of vocal whoops, cracking drums and bawling horns.

Throughout the song, Rihanna sings in a taunting nature, taking pleasure in being able to tease the listener. T'Cha Dunlevy of ''The Montreal Gazette'' compared Rihanna's " aunting vocals in the lyrics "Suck my cockiness/Lick my persuasion" to the style in which Britney Spears sings on her 2009 single "If U Seek Amy" (''Circus'', 2008). Jason Lipshutz of '' Billboard'' magazine noted that Rihanna's vocals in the lyrics "I love it, I love it, I love it when you eat it" offer "coos" about wanting sex, whilst sarcastically writing that "we're pretty sure she's not talking about the chicken pot pie she left for dinner." James Montgomery of MTV noted that the lyrics "Suck my cockiness/Lick my persuasion", are, in his opinion, the best "come-on" line of 2011 alongside Lady Gaga's "Heavy Metal Lover" ('' Born This Way'', 2011) lyrics "I want your whiskey mouth/All over my blond south".

The song heavily samples the beginning of Greg Kinnear's performance of " Summertime" from the 2003 comedy film '' Stuck on You''.

Critical reception

The song received mixed reviews from music critics. Andy Kellman of Allmusic praised the song and its memorability, writing Cockiness (Love It),' sone of the most hypnotic and wicked beats of the last decade". Priya Elan of ''NME'' described the lyrics "Suck my cockiness, ickmy persuasion" as "cringey", but complimented the song's compositional structure, writing that it provides a "genuine elastic thrill, twisting into all sorts of jaw-dropping musical shapes". Randell Roberts of the ''Los Angeles Times'' described "Cockiness (Love It)" and another track from the album, "Birthday Cake", as the "breast and booty" of ''Talk That Talk'' but noted that they failed to capture the raunchiness that they set out to achieve. Melissa Maerz of ''Entertainment Weekly'' also wrote that "Cockiness (Love It)" and "Birthday Cake" were the most provocative songs on the album, describing them as "I-like-it-rough tracks", but criticized them for being album fillers designed to get the listener out of the bedroom and on to the dance floor.

Jon Caramanica of ''The New York Times'' wrote that Rihanna appeared to be channelling Swedish singer-songwriter and rapper Neneh Cherry on "Cockiness (Love It)" in a "pseudo-melodic" impersonation. Caramanica continued to praise the song and called it a "triumph", writing that the singer "asesout come-ons as if she were lapping up milk". Despite raising concerns for younger audiences with regard to the song's overt sexual lyrics, a reviewer for ''Flavour'' magazine praised Mr. Bangladesh's production on "Cockiness (Love It). Pip Ellwood of Entertainment-Focus noted that "Cockiness (Love It)", along with "Birthday Cake", "leave you under no misunderstanding that Rihanna is as sexual as she's ever been throughout her career." Arwa Haider of ''Metro'' wrote that the song is "predictably filthy". Nathan S. of DJ Booth noted that "Cockiness (Love It)" is "by far the album's most explicit offering," and listed the song, along with "Watch n' Learn" as his top two songs from ''Talk That Talk''.

Lindsay Zoladz of Pitchfork Media was critical of the song, writing "Rihanna's always been singing about sex – she's just never shown such an unfortunate proclivity for cheesy lyrics and dessert metaphors. Suck my cockiness/Lick my persuasion,' ihannacommands on the embarrassingly literal 'Cockiness (Love It)', hoping the boldness of the delivery will distract you from thinking about what a clunky line it is (it won't, though Bangladesh's beats might)." Tuyet Nguyen of ''The A.V. Club'' commented that although Rihanna evokes a "raunchy" appeal during the verses, he criticized the singer for providing "stony, deadpanned ocals" Simon Price of ''The Independent'' shared the same opinion as Nguyen with regard to Rihanna's vocal performance, writing, "It's a shame that ockiness (Love It) like every Rihanna vocal, is delivered in a voice which sounds as bored as a sex-line worker filing her nails." Mike Diver for the BBC
...