Superstardom is ultramodern. Define superstardom today and textbook examples would be long lost Motown songstress Alicia Keys, world pop phenomenon Beyoncé Knowles and post-Warhol shock art fashionista Lady Gaga. All of those women have changed views of feminism, sex appeal and physical lyricism in one way or another. Alicia Keys encourages women to be superwomen. Superwoman Beyoncé is the biggest sex symbol since Farrah Fawcett and Janet Jackson. Lady Gaga has reinvigorated the meaning of life imitating art.  Amidst their peers, Barbadian chanteuse Rihanna is a hard sell.

Finalizing her first headlining world tour, Rihanna had some thing to prove: that Miss Sunshine could let her freak flag fly high. With Travis “Travie” McCoy nowhere insight to open for her and with glitter brat Ke$ha also M.I.A., there was no warm up for her tour kiss-off on Saturday, August 28. She was also at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, which meant a lot of distraction, considering the buzzing lights of Ferris wheels in the backdrop.

Opening instead was DJ Ross Rosco who played the grand-slam list of 80s and 90s Top 40 club anthems who kept the place jumping, while up-and-comer J Brazil sang a 10-minute set of three songs, drawing a mix of cheers and jeers for scream-belting like an Adam Lambert hopeful.

With face-melting guitar licks, lipstick lez-ploitation strappado swinging, and some kinetic chick-chick-kaboom pyrotechnics, Ri Ri kicked off the show with moxie. Introduced by a sci-fi silver screens and a dream machine motif, the dreamscape nirvana and nightmare underbelly of Rihanna’s world is perplexing and at the same time, visually stunning presentation.

Wearing a cascading, floor-length black ball gown, she preformed “Russian Roulette,” the first single of her recent Rated R album, to the images of nude, burning mannequins. Gunned down by pink rifles held by her shirtless male backup dancers, she is lit up like a red Christmas tree, as a platform below her rose to the heavens. ‘Dead,’ she began to the first of six costume changes, stripping into a tiny pink leotard with padded shoulders.

There were many highlights: From her epic straddling of a florescent life-size pink tank in “Hard,” to her take-no-prisoners flouncing amidst outer space tarantulas on stilts in “Disturbia.” Her vandalizing a graffiti-ed car to hell with a slugger in “Shut Up and Drive” to her gas-masked backup dancers hitting their marks on “S.O.S.” to the pair of tightlacer aerial Cirque Du Soliel vixens dangling like autumn leaves from two colossal machine guns in “Te Amo.” Ri Ri produced the goods. Even more surprising, she actually sang most of her songs—with few signs of miming—belting out notes yet experienced via recording on a shrink’s chair, adorned with sham disembodied limbs.

The tour highlighted why Rihanna is cherished today. She’s not a dancer per se and with contagious earwigs like “Rude Boy” and “Don’t Stop the Music,” she let the backup handle it. Which is wise: she played to her strengths. The only weakness in the nigh two-hour spectacle was the awful air guitar “solo” she did on “Rockstar 101.” Couldn’t they have given her a few cords to play? But at last, all was forgiven when she actually did some awesome banging on the drums when she covered Sheila E.’s “Glamourous Life.” She even performed the cameo performances that built her celebrity such as “Love the Way You Lie” and “Live Your Life.”

Finishing up with her signature “Umbrella,” red confetti blasted into the crowd, as a grungy distorted guitar howled, she left a barrage of images in one’s head by the end of the show: crash test dummies, mushroom clouds, creepy claws crushing a heart. She may not be playing with the big girls, but this girl knows how to leave a lasting impression.

Rihanna Set List:
“Russian Roulette”
“Hard”
“Shut Up and Drive”
“Fire Bomb”
“Disturbia”
“Rockstar 101″
“Rude Boy”
“Hate That I Love You”
“Rehab”
“Unfaithful”
“Stupid in Love”
“Te Amo”
“Pon de Replay”
“Don’t Stop the Music”
“Breakin’ Dishes”/”The Glamorous Life”
“Let Me”
“SOS”
“Take a Bow”
“Love the Way You Lie”
“Wait Your Turn”
“Live Your Life”
“Run This Town”
“Umbrella”

Rihanna’s Got A New Hairstyle [PHOTOS]

Rihanna’s Wax Figure Finally Unveiled [PHOTOS]

After watching Drake’s new video for “Find Your Love,” we are truly inspired. Here are five reasons why we think that Jamaica is a small island with a big influence:

1.

Rastafarian Fashion

This seasons’ top designers like Blumarine and Christian Louboutin are showing collections with clear Rastafarian influences. This little Island obviously has a cultural identity that is iconic enough to pierce the ultra exclusive upper echelons of the fashion realm.

2.

The Iconic “Badman”

The Jamaican badman is a fearsome figure indeed. Most recently, Drake jetted down to Jamaica to film the video for his latest single “Find Your Love.” The plot surrounds Drake’s feeble attempts to court a shotta’s girl. In the end, though, the badman (played by dancehall heavy hitter Mavado) prevails, having set Drake up to fall in love with his girl, who then takes the crooner out with 3 shots to the back of the head, execution style. Drake has failed in his videos many times before, but perhaps that Jamaican influence was all he needed to succeed. Take a look below:

3.

Bolt

Usain Bolt is the 23 year old phenom responsible for single handedly propelling Jamaica into a place of recognition on the world’s athletic stage. The famed Jamaican sprinter and a three-time Olympic gold medalist holds a  plethora of world and Olympic records as well as the distinction of being the first man to win three sprinting events at a single Olympics since Carl Lewis in 1984, and the first man to set world records in three races at a single Olympics. Add to that the lucrative global campaigns he is featured in and the powerhouse corporations jockeying to provide him with sponsorships and Usain is simply unstoppable. Although he has become an international figure, his achievements have solidified him as a hometown hero.

4.

Far Reaching Influence

Jamaica has its own, very distinct musical culture, from which legends like Bob Marley emerged. It also has a faction by the name of “Dancehall” which is outrageous, though in many ways enthralling. When deep baselines combine with rhythmic and verbal calls to waste-winding action, so begins the dancehall phenomenon. Such bashments are known for their scantily clad attendees, and wild dancing antics. Dancehall, however has stretched far beyond the Jamaican shorelines, as far away as Japan where the culture seems to be thriving. Take a look at this video of a Japanese dancehall party that serves no purpose other than to demonstrate why Jamaicans are truly trendsetters:

5.

R&R

Jamaicans wrote the book on rest and relaxation; or at least they should have considering that the small island boasts some of the most amazingly serene tropical scenery in the world. Either you’ve all been to Jamaica, or you really want to go. Just another reason Jamaica has earned its place on the map, both literally and figuratively.

Now check out these exclusive GIANT images of one of our favorite Jamaican Supermodels, and possibly the sixth reason why  the island deserves ’nuff respect:

Click here to read an excerpt from Naomi’s GIANT Magazine cover story!

Also take a look at this exclusive behind the scenes footage:

No summer’s complete without two things; a hot Jay-Z single and a banger from Sean Paul. So far we’ve gotten three Jay-Z songs and whether or not they’re hot is debatable, but for Sean Paul his latest release Imperial Blaze (Atlantic) shows that even out of the commercial spotlight he can still bring that dancehall fire. On sale starting today, August 18, 2009, the album features ”So Fine”, “Press It Up” and “Now That I’ve Got Your Love.”

But before you go out and illegally download buy Sean Paul’s new album, check out GIANT’s video playlist of some of his hottest songs.

“I’m Still In Love With You”

“Like Glue”

“Watch Them Roll”

“Gimme The Light”

“Deport Them”

“Top Shotter” feat. DMX and Mr. Vegas

Mavado

Mr Brooks: A Better Tomorrow

4 Stars

VP Records

For many dancehall reggae stars, breaking out of Jamaica’s local sound clash scene to the glitzy glossed over stages in America is dream achieved by very few. Most recall Sean Paul’s ascension to fame, where he was able to blow smoke in the face of censorship and sneak his pro-pot patois onto radio waves, and become the sound of Spring Break ‘03. But for every radio friendly star that ascends from the island to pop status, there are artists who carry the genre, encapsulating dancehall’s 80s vibes and mixing it with contemporary flair, skewing the border between “culture” jams and a hardcore tunes.

On his sophomore effort, Mr. Brooks, Mavado accomplishes that feat by carefully walking the line between conscious topics such as enlightenment (“Don’t Worry”) and detailing intensely ferocious moments of violence (“Nah Bleach Wid Cream”). By weaving illicit, raunchy sex tales (“Ina Di Car Back”), he also sordidly covers dancehall’s favorite topic, with the same tenacity that helped him become a breakout star with his debut album, 2007′s Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks.

Segueing his signature ballad introductions into triumphant, fevered chats, Mr. Brooks finds Mavado effortlessly riding a collection of riddims that can be sonically disturbing to those unfamiliar with real dancehall’s uniquely stripped down sound. On the album’s stand out track, “So Special” he takes the “Unfinished Business” riddim (which lifts the refrain of producer’s Dave Kelly’s famed “Showtime” track) to new heights, crafting a cut that demands a flurry of rewinds after the conclusion of the first verse.

Though it is unlikely that Mavado will be dominating the primetime radio stations anytime soon like Sean Paul did, the vivid illustrations of roots, reality and culture heard in Mr. Brooks, are poignant enough to be on par with some of modern dancehall’s most diverse offerings and should be played on a sound set of any size.

*Buy It*

Mavado’s Mr. Brooks: A Better Tomorrow is available now at music retailers and on iTunes.

Dancehall superstar Mavado hops in his (CGI?) Lambo and meets a gaggle of gals at the club in the official video for his chart burning hit “So Special.”

Dancehall sensation Sean Paul’s been rather quiet since he took the airwaves by storm a few years ago with with his hydroponic hits “Gimme the Light” and “We Be Burning.” But rest assured, the Jamaican deejay is planning on heating up the airwaves again very soon. In the meantime, check out Farenheit’s new video for “Hit Em,” featuring Sean Paul and Jigzagula.

Also, if you’re in the New York area, Sean Paul will be performing at Lehman Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday November 8. Click here to find out more information.