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Rihanna’s new song “Russian Roulette” is sparking a lot of controversy. Singer Tiffany Evans boldly expressed her opinion on the track via Twitter, claiming that the lyrics would cause the “suicide rate to skyrocket,” and implying that most provocative artists are devil-worshippers.

Read Evans rant here.

Chuck Harmony (the producer of the record) and Ne-Yo (who wrote the lyrics) have stepped up and fired back in defense of the track:

Harmony says,

“There are no satanic messages in the music. Maybe if we did a remake of ‘Promise Ring’ (Tiffany’s hit single), then Rihanna wouldn’t be a devil worshipper. People are so closed minded. The song is not literal. Like most provocative art, its symbolism. Grow up. I’m never going to defend my art. I create it and then it’s out of my hands. So reviews don’t hurt me, but Tiffany’s unrealistic take on the song really urked me because idiots breed idiots. Bottom line, she is in the music business so she understands that the song is not indicative of the artist views, but rather, it’s the brainchild and vision of the songwriter and producer. With that being said, to use that song as a shining example of devil worship in the music business, you are saying that Ne-yo and Chuck Harmony are devil worshippers. Thats stupid!! That’s beyond stupid it’s immature. Artist should understand art. So with Tiffany Evans rant, I can safely say that the title artist should not be part of her bio.”

Hear the song here.

Ne-Yo explained to MTV News the use of Russian Roulette as a metaphor:

“I’m listening to the track, and all I can see is Rihanna and some random person sitting across from each other at the table with a gun sitting in the middle of the table and playing Russian roulette. And I just started thinking, ‘What would go through your mind if you was in that situation?’ It just all started coming together, and Rihanna has never been one to be afraid to take a chance, especially with me. She’s always game to do something a little different. I played it for her, and she loved it – went in and knocked it out. The rest is history. It’s definitely dark, but if you think about it, ‘Thriller’ was dark, but it’s one of the biggest-selling records of all time. Nobody’s really going out to play Russian roulette or thinking about killing themselves or nothing like that. It was just an interesting topic over a crazy beat, and who better to pull that off than somebody like Rihanna?”

What do YOU think of the song?

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For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.