What has Rihanna done for Bim?

Well plenty actually.

The question in the headline is often asked - usually dismissively, by the vocal minority of Rihanna-haters here in Barbados. And even with her Grammy success, up to yesterday, I still heard someone on a call-in programme with the same old clap trap - cautioning that we should 'wait and see' what she can do for Barbados first.

I'm tired of hearing people wield this question in this 'aha!' way to diminish Rihanna's accomplishments in the music industry. First thing, she doesn't have to do a bloody thing for Barbados if she doesn't want to - Monica cooked her food, not the rest of we. Lots of people forget where they come from - not that this would be laudable.

But she does do things for Bim which is why I am fed up with the not-sufficiently-informed Rihanna supporters who can only muster in response 'she's putting Barbados on the map' or 'no-one knew of us before' or 'it's great for the tourist industry in some indirect way'.

Nah! I have far better, more concrete answers than that. In the 3 short years since she was discovered and signed to Def Jam, Rihanna has done quite a lot for Barbados, particularly its music industry. She also does work for the tourist industry - she is presently the face of one of the BTA's advertising campaigns and has been for two years. I discovered that in 2006 when I was in London, stepping out of the train at the cold and foggy White City tube station and there before me was a massive Rihanna. Well rather... a massive billboard with Rihanna's image, promoting Bim. It wwas random and definitely took me by surprise seeing it there, but it made me beam with pride. The folks at the BTA aren't stupid - they use Rihanna's image because the image she projects is positive for Barbados, people worldwide identify her with Bim, just as people identify Bob Marley with Jamaica and the JTB has used his image to promote the island.

But! Aside from that, there are a number of concrete ways in which Rihanna both directly and indirectly has done things for Barbados, particularly our music industry.

Several artistes have benefited from the increased attention on Barbados' music industry and have directly received opportunities through Rihanna's SRP management team.
- Local singer Dwane Husbands was featured with her on the single 'Dem Haters' which came on her second album. This gave him unprecedented global exposure that he would not have had otherwise. Rupee also featured on a single with her (Hurricane)and though he also had a label deal at the time, Rihanna's star was already beginning to shine brighter and it gave him additional exposure. As a musician, that is something to put on your resume.

-Shontelle Layne got her first crack at global exposure when Rihanna featured on the remix of her hit song Roll with J-Status. From there she got a song-writing contract with Rihanna's SRP management team and that eventually led to the international label music contract she has now.

Evan Rogers who discovered Rihanna put it very succintly in explaining the direct connection between Rihanna's success and the opportunities now open to other Barbadian artists.

He added that Barbados' music was "just a gold mine that's going to become more and more discovered with people like Rihanna, Shontelle and others".

"But it takes somebody to break through, and Rihanna is really very excited about helping. She wants Shontelle to be successful. That's one of her best qualities, she's really happy for people.

You need one to open the door and Rihanna has definitively done this. The girl works hard - how many artistes do you see bringing out three albums in two years? Her label has her chipping.

Anyhow, I digress. More on what she has done - more indirect stuff but no less significant.

- It was no doubt due in no small part to the 'Rihanna connection' that her label-mate, singer/songwriter Neyo chose to come to Barbados at the height of his success for his debut album and play in a relatively small venue. Considering how huge his album was at that point in time, do you think that the only place where he had an invitation to perform was Barbados? How much of a dent can our 1/4 million people make in record sales anyhow? How beneficial was it to him? Yet he came. That has led to his returning to Bim since then to produce tracks for himself and Rihanna WITH LOCAL STUDIOS. Would they have gotten that work were it not for Rihanna?

- I think we can safely say that Livvi Franc's recently announced record deal has something to do with the fact that Rihanna's success has turned the eyes of the global music industry towards Barbados as a place where talent can be found. The fact that she is in appearance (leggy, young, light skinned) and music-wise, in the 'Rihanna mould' is hardly a coincidence either.

Now consider that Rihanna is only 19, has only been in the music biz for 3 years and still does not have a great deal of control or power yet in her career. She's not yet in a position to 'call the shots'. Yet the little bit of influence that she does have, she has used well.

So the next time someone asks you 'what has Rihanna done for Bim?' I expect you to have some better answers.