14 DAY TRIAL // Rihanna is finally upping the ante on the promotion of her upcoming album, the much-hyped “Rated R,” from which fans have already heard something, the first single, “Russian Roulette.” Shortly after it was released, “Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova)” leaked on the Internet and, just hours ago, Rihanna premiered the official video for it on her official webpage.
Music critics have long been speaking of a change in sound for Rihanna, which is most probably due to the traumatizing experience of being the victim of a domestic violence attack back in February this year, at the hands of her then-boyfriend Chris Brown. As MTV also points out, it’s because of said incident that fans will continue to be divided for yet another while as regards every new release coming from the singer. The same also applies to the recent video, MTV says.
Shot by director Anthony Mandler, who has also worked with John Mayer, Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z, and with Rihanna herself on ten other videos, the entire “Wait Your Turn” video is a sequence of grainy, gritty and edgy, black-and-white scenes, in which Rihanna seems the last person left alive on Earth. There is no story per se, but scenes follow each other naturally, without creating the impression that the singer is, for some reason or another, gratuitously posing for the camera.
“The clip opens with shots of Rihanna wearing an eye patch, a high-necked jacket and garters as she repeats the song’s ‘the wait is ova’ refrain while standing under what appears to be a highway underpass filled with bright lights. Next, we see her draped in rosaries, a black hoodie, sunglasses, black pants and a black leather bustier staring into the camera in a church, and then a dissolve to her hugging a statue of a winged angel enshrouded in smoke while wearing a black bustier, tight black jeans and a striped fur jacket.” MTV says of the release.
The ending is just as unapologetic as the rest of the video, and just as beautifully rendered. “She eventually ends up on a rooftop with the city behind her, wearing a b-girl outfit consisting of a white sports bra, black shades, ripped jeans and fur hoodie leather jacket. All along, bright lights blaze from behind her head and she glares at the camera with a look that alternates between swaggering and sultry, ending with her pointing to the camera and walking away from the frame toward the city lights.” as MTV puts it.
Below is the video for Rihanna’s “Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova).” Enjoy.