In honor of Fenty’s Vanguard Award I’ve listed her top 10 music videos (according to me). I think visuals are really personal and just like songs they will carry a different meaning depending on who you are and what you’re going through at the time.

Do you have a favorit RiRi video? Comment and let me know! When I hear someone explain why they enjoy a certain video it makes me see that piece in a whole new light (which I love!).

Like when my friend Ziggi called me to declare her love for Sledgehammer – saying the video is an orgasm from Madonna’s Frozen and Rihanna’s Pour it up having intergalactic sex. That sentence alone should be enough to convince anybody about the greatness of the video, but she went further.

”She sings about how she ”hit a wall” and was ”bracing for the pain” until she realized SHE’S THE FUCKING SLEDGEHAMMER!! It’s she that is punching holes in every fucking wall and when she’s least expecting it, when she feels she’s about to break, the bricks starts falling around her and she realize she’s the survivor. ”I gathered all my strength and I found myself whole.”
– Ziggi Willpower.

At number 10, here is Sledgehammer:

9, Needed me. It’s hardly a secret how much I love this video and why.

8, Te amo. Rihanna’s lesbian castle drama deserves way more praises than what it’s gotten. I discovered it after it’s release myself, but wow was I struck. Both song and video is steaming.

7, Kiss it better. She’s so, strong, grown and grounded. My own ties to it is a bit too personal to blog about but know it will always hold a very special place in my heart. It’s at the point where I get chills every time I press play.

6, Man down. She guns down her rapist. No need for further explanation.

5, Work. This is all HER. The accent, having her friends and family in the video, it taking place in a Caribbean joint, making eye-contact with herself in the mirror while dancing (this magical segment!!!).

4, Rude boy. Her movements!!! I remember playing this over and over again being completely hypnotized with what I saw. She’s so playful (and HOT) + the look, the feeling, everything is so visually pleasing.

3, Pon de replay. A classic and what put her on the map. She has always had something so unique and completely undeniable about her. That thing that makes her Rihanna and no one else. First time seeing it was in Pon de replay. I’ll never forget the feeling and I’m yet to tire of it.

2, Bitch better have my money. A profound piece of intersectional feminist art. The video tells the story of a black woman taking revenge on the white man stealing from her and the white woman living off of the white man’s theft. The abused is taking revenge on her abusers. Very important work.

1, Pour it up. I’m not going to use my words for this, but instead pull quotes from this amazing conversation called Rihanna on my mind, in which three women discuss the video after it’s release.

”I feel like Rihanna has solidarity. Maybe that’s too wishful/ cheesy/ “nice” to say, but I felt like she had (this word again!) a basic respect for bitches who get their own. It wasn’t “look at them”; it was “look at us, we out here,” etc”
– Sarah Nicole Prickett

”Rihanna would rather be tricking than being a trick.”
– Susan Elizabeth Shepard

”It goes back to the money/ power/ agency. She doesn’t buy into traditional gender roles of music. She is having her cake and eating it too, omg.”
– Ayesha Siddiqi

”In the “Beez In The Trap” video, Nicki positions herself as a customer. She’s gazing at the strippers, not identifying with them. Rihanna aligning herself with the strippers instead of the customers is a pretty powerful image.”
– SES

”I think to be a fan of Nicki you have to identify with her, while to be a fan of Rihanna you’re a fan of yourself.”
– AS

”The water in “Pour It Up” reminded me of how hostess clubs/ strip clubs are the “water trade” in Japan, and how water signifies money — and sex, especially female sexuality. I mean, if this were a Kanye video, people would be like, “He’s walking on water. He’s Jesus.” Perhaps Rihanna is the real messiah.”
– SES