Rihanna Unlocked Two Decade Old Dancehall Riddim For “Work”

While recording her new album ANTI, Rihanna secretly traveled to Jamaica to hunt down some dancehall material for the project. Last week she released her new single “Work” featuring Drake that sampled a two decade old riddim name “Sail Away.”

The Drake-assisted single was released on January 27th along with the album ANTI. The single was produced by Sevn Thomas, Partynextdoor, and Jamaican-Canadian producer Boi-1da.

Richie Stephens, who is the creator of the Sail Away riddim, was listed as a co-writer for the single.

“They contacted me last week Tuesday and asked if I was the producer and owner of the master and I told them yes,” Stephens said. “They said they would appreciate if I could move fast in assisting with the clearing of the sample because they wanted to release the song. So I put them on to my publisher.”

The Sail Away Riddim was a huge hit in 1998 with singles such as ” Bad Man Nah Flee” by Beenie Man and Mr. Vegas, “Fit and Legit” by Sean Paul, and “Take Me Away” by Richie Stephens. The project also featured songs from Gentleman, Nitty Kutchie, Tony Curtis, T.O.K., Frisco Kid, Chico, Roundhead, and more.