In her new video for fifth “Loud” single “Man Down,” Rihanna heads to Jamaica and starts things off with a bang — literally. In the video’s dramatic opening scene, the Barbadian singer guns down a man, whom viewers later learn sexually assaulted — and presumably raped — her outside a dance club the previous night. Watch below.
Moving past the fatal shooting in the video’s opening, viewers find Rihanna tortured by her decision to take justice into her own hands — quite the foil to the scenes depicting the singer touring Jamaica carefree and friendly toward the locals.
In the “Man Down” clip, Rihanna may be leaving behind the softer side she exhibited in her recently-debuted “California King Bed” video, but she took to her Twitter to explain that she is not easily defined.
“Young girls/women all over the world… we are a lot of things!” Rihanna tweeted following the video’s premiere on BET’s “106 & Park” last night (May 31). “We’re strong, innocent, fun, flirtatious, vulnerable, and sometimes our innocence can cause us to be naïve! We always think it could NEVER be us, but in reality, it can happen to ANY of us! So ladies be careful and #listentoyomama! I love you and I care!”
The gritty clip, which illustrates the lyrical tale told by “Man Down,” was directed by Anthony Mandler.