Rihanna -- Pon de Replay [formerly: r&b/dancehall song i.d. request]

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Heard this on the radio today. lyrics requesting a dj to turn the music up. sounded like two(?) female singers. big swoopy synth in the background. over a dancehall beat that sounded like the sweet's ballroom blitz or any other bo diddlyish clonking drums. checked some playlists and charts and couldn't find an easy answer.

this is probably something real frikin obvious and i'm gonna kick myself.

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 13 May 2005 03:51 (twenty-one years ago)

can't quite tell from yr description, but the r&b/dancehall blurriness and the question mark after the "two" made me think of nina sky.

jermaine (jnoble), Friday, 13 May 2005 07:44 (twenty-one years ago)

tho i suspect you've probably heard more nina sky than i have...

jermaine (jnoble), Friday, 13 May 2005 07:45 (twenty-one years ago)

there was more of a jamaican accent than i think nina sky have.

but it could be a new track from them, i guess?

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 13 May 2005 12:53 (twenty-one years ago)

i have no idea what you're on about, but i wouldn't be surprised if it's brick and lace

stelfoxx, Friday, 13 May 2005 13:11 (twenty-one years ago)

bump.

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 13 May 2005 19:07 (twenty-one years ago)

Not Brick and Lace's "Gonna be Starting Something" is it?

Lethal Dizzle (djdee2005), Friday, 13 May 2005 19:09 (twenty-one years ago)

could somebody gmail it to me so i can find out?

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 13 May 2005 20:01 (twenty-one years ago)

Sorry, yeah.

Lethal Dizzle (djdee2005), Friday, 13 May 2005 23:11 (twenty-one years ago)

ok this is totally not it, but its GRATE anyway. thx!

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 13 May 2005 23:40 (twenty-one years ago)

haha i guess something good came out of it, at least.

Lethal Dizzle (djdee2005), Friday, 13 May 2005 23:41 (twenty-one years ago)

another thing about the track i heard is it sounded totally sparse, like just chorus and backing, and v. little in the way of verses.

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 13 May 2005 23:41 (twenty-one years ago)

i guess i'll keep listening to the radio obsessively till i can figure this out.

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Saturday, 14 May 2005 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

tony touch / nina sky - hey dj?

(i dunno swoopy synth, sparseness and clonk drum cd well be reggaeton innit)

(applause riddim comes to mind too but i cant think of any version like yrs, check it tho)

hold tight el llamador privado (mwah), Saturday, 14 May 2005 17:39 (twenty-one years ago)

the whole nina sky sibling symbiont thing still freaks me the fuck out!

hold tight the private caller (mwah), Saturday, 14 May 2005 17:46 (twenty-one years ago)

not to be all naggy, but could somebody gmail?

thx!

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Saturday, 14 May 2005 21:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Got it!

Rihanna -- Pon de Replay

This is now the thread to talk about how much this track is awesome. Or maybe I'll start another.

She's from barbados, apparently.

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Monday, 16 May 2005 21:55 (twenty-one years ago)

Signed to Def Jam? I've got a stream of it, but no mp3 - could you gmail it to me? This is pretty good, despite the Will Smith meets Lou Bega beat.....................

Jay Watts III (jaywatts), Monday, 16 May 2005 22:22 (twenty-one years ago)

yeah, signed to def jam. i don't have an mp3 yet, could use one too actually! just figured it out thru repeated airplay locally.

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 00:04 (twenty-one years ago)

oh.

she's got a hook on a song on memph bleek's boring album too

hold tight the private caller (mwah), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 09:57 (twenty-one years ago)

I have the Memphis Bleek song - will trade for Pon De Replay mp3!

Jay Watts III (jaywatts), Tuesday, 17 May 2005 21:09 (twenty-one years ago)

The Rihanna song is amazing omgwtf etc.

Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Thursday, 19 May 2005 04:21 (twenty-one years ago)

still no mp3? I must hear this.

The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 19 May 2005 08:25 (twenty-one years ago)

http://s47.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=36GJJ1BB3Q40W0UHVL7IRAOQH7

jones (actual), Thursday, 19 May 2005 14:21 (twenty-one years ago)

yay! on the mp3 unlike the radio i can hear the dhol. haven't heard the rap before. it's very silly.

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Sunday, 22 May 2005 21:03 (twenty-one years ago)

also, the track with bleek should be up here:

'sokay. mainly interesting coz she doesn't seem to cop any islander accent on it at all!

http://s13.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=220K0NJ0QS1ZS254WKUIAKDXBR

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Sunday, 22 May 2005 21:04 (twenty-one years ago)

hook x2:
come mr. dj song pon de replay
come mr. dj won't you turn the music up
all the gyal pon the dancefloor wantin some more what
come mr. dj won't you turn the music up

verse:
it goes 1 by 1 even 2 by 2
everybody on the floor let me show you how we do
lets go dip it low then you bring it up slow
wine it up 1 time wine it back once more

run, run, run, run
everybody move run
let me see you move and
rock it til the grooves done
shake it til the moon becomes the sun (sun)
everybody in the club give me a run (run)
if you ready to move say it (yeah yeah)
one time for your mind say it (yeah yeah)
well i'm ready for ya
come let me show ya
you want to groove im'a show you how to move
come come

hook x2

b hook x2
hey mister
please mister dj
tell me if you hear me
turn the music up

verse
it goes 1 by 1 even 2 by 2
everybody in the club gon be rockin when i'm through
let the bass from the speakers run through ya sneakers
move both ya feet and run to the beat


run, run, run, run
everybody move run
let me see you move and
rock it til the grooves done
shake it til the moon becomes the sun (sun)
everybody in the club give me a run (run)
if you ready to move say it (yeah yeah)
one time for your mind say it (yeah yeah)
well i'm ready for ya
come let me show ya
you want to groove im'a show you how to move
come come

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Sunday, 22 May 2005 21:08 (twenty-one years ago)

unless they're both rips of something i don't know, the first verse of this reminds me lots of a line from mia's "fire fire". coincidence? compare:

pon de replay:
"give 'em a run like the cops comin' that way/signal the plane like you're tryin'a get [captured?]

fire fire:
"give 'im a run, run at his own game/signal the plane and i land it on the runway"

jermaine (jnoble), Sunday, 22 May 2005 21:26 (twenty-one years ago)

they're dance calls, they pop up pretty often

jones (actual), Sunday, 22 May 2005 21:45 (twenty-one years ago)

("pon de replay" = a play on "pon de river" which is another one)

jones (actual), Sunday, 22 May 2005 21:46 (twenty-one years ago)

'pon de river' 'n 'signal di plane' i was familiar with, not 'give 'em a run' tho

jermaine (jnoble), Monday, 23 May 2005 10:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Give them a run is all over! Its the part where everyone does the running man.

deej., Monday, 23 May 2005 13:33 (twenty-one years ago)

Bumping this to request one more yousendit, if anyone has it handy -- I missed it first time round and have since been smitten by the song.

gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 06:53 (twenty-one years ago)

Finally heard this on the radio tonight! Only the end of it, but yeah is this a continuation of mutated diwali fever?

deej., Wednesday, 1 June 2005 07:04 (twenty-one years ago)

no, it's nothing like the diwali. i think it fits in better with less rigid, more swinging rhythms like the maybach, tabernacle or the oh my swing.

stelfox, Wednesday, 1 June 2005 09:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Yeah I immediately thought of Maybach as well! The same kick-clap-kick-clap-kick-clap-stuttery-bit structure to the rhythm. And "Pon De Replay" reminds me heavily of T.O.K.'s "Sex On My Mind" as a song too (high praise in my book!).

Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Wednesday, 1 June 2005 10:26 (twenty-one years ago)

Ahh well I only caught the end for about 45 seconds, so I'll keep an ear out. Dave, have you heard anything about a release date for TOK? Tim, have you heard the TOK album?

deej., Wednesday, 1 June 2005 13:26 (twenty-one years ago)

According to the VP Records (which may or may not be reliable) it's supposed to be out on 6/28.

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 01:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Deej I'm still waiting to hear the TOK album - might be a while unless I can download it.

Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Tuesday, 7 June 2005 02:41 (twenty-one years ago)

two weeks pass...
Typically incorrect corny indie review over at Pitchfork. And here I thought they were starting to get things right in the singles section.

"But Rihanna, with her ragga-tinged faux-Beyonce swoon working (unpaid) overtime, lets the beat ride her as she conjures strikingly inane G-rated nursery rhymes better suited to an especially lame Bar Mitzvah reception than your local sweat-spot. If anything, her strained melodies and American Idol runner-up histrionics (a far cry from Wonder's sweet vocal layering) somehow take away from the inherently danceable groove. The would-be Caribbean diva can only hitch onto this indestructible beat for so long before the temperatures dip and she's chilling with Lumidee, reminiscing about their whirlwind Diwali moments. [Ryan Dombal]"

Ugh.

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 24 June 2005 16:47 (twenty years ago)

My favorite moment in this track is obviously:
"Shake it til the moon becomes the sun"

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 24 June 2005 16:48 (twenty years ago)

Yeah that PFork guy couldn't be crazier.

Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Friday, 24 June 2005 16:50 (twenty years ago)

Ah, right, Spencer was talking about this song last week...

Ned Raggett (Ned), Friday, 24 June 2005 16:59 (twenty years ago)

I like the sentene preceeding the quoted portion of the Pitchfork review -

"The surefire summertime smash employs the syncopated Diwali riddim, which has been a star-making catalyst for Sean Paul ("Get Busy"), Wayne Wonder (the immaculate "No Letting Go"), and one of the most obvious one-hitters in recent memory, Lumidee ("Never Leave You")"

Next week, new Death Cab For Cutie single uses "Float On" riddim.

Brian Miller (Brian Miller), Friday, 24 June 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

sentence, typo, blah blah.

Brian Miller (Brian Miller), Friday, 24 June 2005 17:13 (twenty years ago)

a new YSI, please?

W i l l (common_person), Friday, 24 June 2005 17:27 (twenty years ago)

My favorite moment in this track is obviously:
"Shake it til the moon becomes the sun"

I like right before that, when there's kind of a call-and-response thing between her and...her, I guess. "Run run run run," that part.

gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Friday, 24 June 2005 19:09 (twenty years ago)

I love this song and will play it when I DJ. And turn the music up.

It's kind of like this year's 'Move Ya Body'.

The Lex (The Lex), Friday, 24 June 2005 20:54 (twenty years ago)

Yeah "Run RUN run RUN"!!

Is the Pitchfork reviewer saying "Pon de Replay" is on the Diwali riddim? 'Cos, like, it's ever so obviously not. I can't be bothered checking the actual review though to confirm.

Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Saturday, 25 June 2005 05:30 (twenty years ago)

It's like "Move Ya Body" covered by Zhane.

jaymc (jaymc), Saturday, 25 June 2005 05:34 (twenty years ago)

http://www.villagevoice.com/music/0526,clover,65321,22.html

(the headline, which is fab, is pure xhucx)

Sterling Clover (s_clover), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 18:08 (twenty years ago)

Nice!

Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 19:01 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...
JOY - Keep Us Together

its on a mixtape i got from a local jamaican restaurant, comes right before TOK's "Hey Ladies" (although the notes call it "In the Air") and it is really that fire.

deej.., Thursday, 14 July 2005 23:07 (twenty years ago)

nine months pass...
So... what about "S.O.S."? I think it's one of the only singles on the air right now that makes me happy when it starts, but... how damned easy was that?!

Eric H. (Eric H.), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 21:32 (twenty years ago)

fourteen years pass...

https://www.vulture.com/2020/05/rihanna-pon-de-replay-oral-history.html

ILX’s bad boy (D-40), Thursday, 28 May 2020 23:46 (six years ago)

The first time I saw the music video for Pon de Replay, I assumed Rihanna was Canadian, due to the presence of Kardinal Offishall in the video.

MarkoP, Friday, 29 May 2020 00:34 (six years ago)


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