It's rare to find an on-again, off-again relationship like Rihanna and Chris Brown's, and the two didn't miss the chance to share their rocky road in song. RiRi's "Love Without Tragedy" is thought to be about the night Brown assaulted her before the 2009 Grammy Awards, while Brown's "Day One" is about the girl who supported him from the beginning. There are several songs on Rihanna's new "ANTI" that could very well be directed at her former (or potential current?) men, but Rihanna's "Love On The Brain" is unmistakably about Chris Brown's.
This song comes at the end of the album and is very soulful. The song, which features male backing vocals to really ease Rihanna's pain, begins by questioning what the song's subject wants from her. Just like that, you have a blues-rock tune on your hands - one of those sick, twisted tunes, but still beautiful. Ri gets real from the first verse, where she metaphorically or literally refers to the feeling of being tossed around.
You like me to crumble (crash) so you can put me together and throw me against the wall
Oh, the devil in a destructive relationship. In Love Inside, the chaos of loving someone who negatively affects your own life is tangible. Rihanna commands the song's subject before the chorus to continue loving her, and then to stop loving her. The artist's past with Brown seems to be the only life experience that fits perfectly with the bluesy narrative provided by "Love on the Brain."
There's no way of knowing if the lyrics specifically remind listeners of Brown's 2009 assault, but the singer mentions physical abuse multiple times throughout the song. The song's chorus showcases the singer's conflicted emotions about not being able to "get enough," despite being in a relationship that left her feeling defeated.
It must be love in my brain that makes me feel like this It beats me black and blue But it makes me feel good and I'm not enough
Through this chorus, Rihanna will manage to leave you as confused about the couple's status as Rihanna is about her own feelings for Brown. If you want a clearer look at Brown's topic, just go to Consider, Woo, or Same Mistake on ANTI . Oh wait, these will make you doubly confused about what's been going on between RiRi and Brown lately.
