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Her new clothing line for River Island might not be a hit, but Rihanna’s music certainly is. RiRi has just logged the most No. 1 pop songs, according to Billboard, tallying her 10th chart topper. Rihanna has passed her BFF Katy Perry for the most number one hits in the chart’s 20-year history. The tenth number one is “Stay,” featuring Mikky Ekko, writes the magazine.

Previously, she was tied with Perry, who’s reached number one nine times since her 2008 arrival. Rihanna started on the path to breaking the record in 2006, when “SOS” reached the top. Her last number one was “We Found Love,” featuring Calvin Harris, which stayed in first place for for eight weeks in late 2011/early 2012, marking her longest command of the position.

Also,  ”Stay” is only the second piano-and-vocal-only number one of the 259 songs to have ruled the Pop Songs list. “Stay” knocked out  Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man,” which was on top for three weeks.

Some of Rihanna’s record 10 pop song leaders include  2008′s “Take a Bow” (three weeks at top);  ”Disturbia,” also that year and for the same length of time;  ”Rude Boy” for two weeks in 2010; and  ”S&M” for a week in 2011.

I won’t front, after watching Rihanna perform “Stay” with Mikky Ekko at the Grammy Awards, I had to give the song another listen…or two…or three, and it’s actually a very well-done ballad for her. And to make things all the more interesting, Ri Ri has actually just released the video for the song to get fans more excited about a track that has nothing to do with sex, money, being bada** or being at the strip club. Instead, Rihanna strips down, in terms of makeup, clothes and emotions, for the visuals for “Stay.”

In the video, the singer thinks long and hard about a love she can’t seem to live without, while rolling around in a cloudy tub of water (which is just cloudy enough to keep her goodies concealed). We also get to see Mikky Ekko, who takes over vocals in the second verse and adds a little extra flavor to the track with his contrasting voice. He walks around a bathroom too, clothes on though (unfortunately), pining about a special someone. Sans the pomp, the designer clothes and the usual confusing images we find in a Rihanna video, this four-minute emotional rollercoaster is actually very refreshing. And may we add, homegirl looks great without all the makeup…even if we still dread that half-shaven haircut…

Check out the clip below and let us know if you love it or not. Enjoy!

The Queen Of The Single has taken time out from posting inspirational quotes on her Instagram to put out two new single covers. For the fans of her number one album Unapologetic, you’ll be excited to know that Rihanna is releasing both “Stay” and “Pour It Up” next on the radio, and you know what that means: controversial yet fashionable videos!!!! For the cover of “Stay,” the singer can be seen with her face in the nook of a man’s neck while sporting her pixie cut. Common sense would tell most people that this neck with its gold chain and white T-shirt belong to Chris Brown, and in fact, it looks like an image from the footage of them clubbing together that was used in Breezy’s confessional love triangle video from a few months back. Interesting…Anywho, the song features singer/songwriter Mikky Ekko, and Rihanna performed it on Saturday Night Live when she was the main act alongside host Anne Hathaway.

But for those that love to throw some ones and live ratchet (uh, the whole staff of MN of course), I’m sure you’ll be more excited about “Pour It Up.” You know, cause that’s what you ball out to. The singer can be seen on that cover with her “drank” in her hand, her Trapstar fitted on and rocking a baseball jersey, keeping her warm as she rocks her studded bra. I low-key feel like both covers could have come from Rihanna’s Instagram account on any given Saturday night, but maybe that’s what makes them fab. No need to pose and do the most for a simple single when you can dig in your own epic photo albums and promote your stuff for the low-low, right? So now that we know what the covers look like, which song do you prefer? Both are pretty good tracks. Let us know your thoughts below!

If you couldn’t tell by now, I am infatuated by race and identity in this country, particularly how we as black folks relate to both race and identity.

My general belief is that our inability to reconcile with or even denounce one or the other is the main causation for why our community struggles to progress in this country. In short, we are serving two masters: We are trying to buy/work our way into the American dream while also trying to fix and build the community. I have found that those two concepts are often in opposition to each other, which is often demonstrated by our reluctance at times to unify and work together. And sometimes I wonder if Abraham Lincoln had followed through on his plans to resettle recently freed blacks back in Africa, where would be now?  However, the way in which some of us refuse to act in our own self-interest, especially politically, I wonder if emancipation and self-determination is what we really want?

Those questions are very important to answer if we are ever going to properly educate children, build economic infrastructures and generally move the community ahead. However, those questions are as old as our history in this country itself. And many great leaders, from the likes of Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and both Malcolm and Martin, have all been debating for hundreds of years and yet have failed to reach a consensus. So in an effort to once and for all settle this debate, let’s put our thinking caps on and consider this hypothetical situation. Keyword: hypothetical.

Before I get to the actual theoretical situation, let me tell you first about the inspiration. Last week, I was re-watching “Cosmic Slop,” an early 90s television special, which originally aired on HBO. The series is like Twilight Zone but with an anthology of stories about race relations. One such story is called Space Traders, a 30-minute short about a U.S. President faced with the dilemma of having a clean environment, and living in world peace and prosperity in exchange for giving all the black people on the planet away to bartering aliens, who offer no assurance of their intention with them.  The story first appeared in Faces at the Bottom of the Well: The Permanence of Racism, a book written by scholar and Critical Race Theorist Professor Derrick Bell.  And while I won’t give away the story, I’ll just say that people shouldn’t be surprised how that story ended.

But in that situation, the black community didn’t have a choice.  SO in the spirit of the late great scholar Professor Derrick Bell, mixed with a little John Quinones of the “20/20″’ show “What Would You Do?” fame, I’ll give us one.

Let’s pretend that it is the year 2013. President Obama has won his second term as President of the United States. He is standing at the podium, in front of a live audience, giving the first State of the Union Address of his second term. He spells out his goal for fixing the economy, he talks about immigration, he gives his plan for gay, lesbian and transgendered equality and now, for the first time in his presidency, he speaks about a black agenda.

In an effort to get you to “jump back on this Tyrese train and be a ride-or-die forever” (those are really his words), Tyrese has broken down what it means to be an “independent woman” in the eyes of a man as he encourages black women in particular to remain open to black men. Here’s what he had to say in an interview with NecoleBitchie, over the melody to his song “Stay” from his new album “Open Invitation” nonetheless:

I want to say to all the women out there, especially black women in particular, y’all are on this independent kick. “I don’t need no man, I’m independent.” I want y’all to know the difference. There is a very big difference. Independence in the eyes of a man is when we say we want an independent woman; we don’t want a woman that’s [depending on] her [...] nice body to help her get through life. You don’t wanna work, you don’t want to go to college or school, you’re not inspired to do anything on any level to try and help further yourself on any level. You just want to [...] free-load… nobody wants that as a man.

Then some women are so on this independent kick they end up alone. You’re going to independent your way into loneliness. You go off and buy all the little poodles you want. “At least my dog is happy to see me when I get home everyday.” That dog or “rabbit” will never be able to replace what a real man can do for you. So stay independent, get your own, but nobody wants to be alone period. I know it’s a lot of men out here that are playing on both sides of the fence, it’s confusing, and it’s a lot of homosexuality going on out here. I get it, it’s a lot of frustration that women have. [But] there’s a lot of man’s man still left; We’re out here, we’re waiting, we’re wanting, we desire you just like you desire us. Just don’t give up on us… “Stay.” That’s my ‘Open Invitation’. Give [us] a shot at your heart.

I wanted to give Tyrese  a little bit of credit because there are some women who tout their independence to the point that it becomes a huge turnoff, but that whole “homosexuality,” “we desire you just like you desire us” ramble was a major left turn on a road to nowhere.

Aside from the fact that he appears to be slightly affected by a substance of some sort in the video below, this is also just a low-budget effort to once again undo the damage he’s already done as far as his reputation with his black female fan base goes.  If Tyrese wants to convince black women that there are black men out there who still want them, show it in action. This little come hither PSA isn’t cutting it.

Check out the clip below. Will you be accepting this “open invitation”? Or is he insulting black women by saying it’s our fault so many are single?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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