RIHANNA
Talk That Talk: On the Two Rihannas
A. "I want it all night, give it to me baby." ("Talk That Talk")
B. "You shouldn't have given it to me good like that. Shouldn't have hit it like that. Had me yelling like that." ("U Da One")
C. "I love it when you eat it." ("Cockiness")
D. "Let me grab my tit while you sit on top. Do you right here while the whole world's watching." ("Red Lipstick")
E. "I'ma make you my bitch" ("Birthday Cake")
F. “I’m not necessarily happy being single. It’s not really that cool." — Rihanna, on Ellen
Bullshitting is an art, and like most arts it aims to impress and induce admiration. It's not exactly lying, more like invoking possibilities. Things that might not happen but could. It's embellishing things you want to do, and might do, leading through suggestive allusions and purposefully leaving out any information that would weaken your case. It's not making the shot. It's pointing at a target and saying "I could make that shot." It is performative confidence, the feigned bravado that enables real bravado. Exaggerating a skill and then successfully channeling it in the moment. Three places you will find bullshitting taken to its limitations of beauty and absurdity: (1) rap, (2) sports, (3) the Internet.
