Everyone is dropping songs out of the clear blue sky these days and sometimes they’re like little gifts from baby Jesus and other times, well, they’re not. The jury is still out as to what exactly this Rihanna, Kanye West and Sir Paul McCartney collaboration has wrought, but it’s an event, if only because this is the first work we’ve gotten from the princess of R&B for quite a while.

Because of the unique nature of this coming together (and the notion that rarely is that much denim seen on a cover) we had to weigh in. Today you’ll find our Sr. Features Writer Ural Garrett and myself, Features Editor Andre Grant.

Is This The Direction Rihanna & Kanye West Will Be Going?

Andre: There’s a special place in my heart for both of these artists. Secretly, I think Kanye is ready to just drop a superlative record in all genres, unifying his place as the greatest musical artist of our generation. That’s not saying he is, but the man’s got lofty goals. Rihanna is the dark queen of R&B to Beyonce´’s sparkly musical light show. The Maleficent to her Princess Tiana. And she sounded great on this record, her voice rested and resonant after being on tour for the equivalent of 20 music years. This record, though, I think, falls short. They’ve sacrificed drums for guitar, and where minimalism usually brings out the best in Kanye, here, he sounds out of place amongst the triumvirate.

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It is a very interesting direction, though. And after Ibn Japner’s comments that Sir Paul McCartney executive produced at least some of both Rih Rih’s and Kanye’s albums, we’re sure to see more of this. Personally, I prefer the Beatles descent into brutal introspection and mysticism over their earlier, poppier works, and if Paul brings more Revolver than Sgt Pepper’s, I will be more than here for it. “Only One,” I thought, was deeply thoughtful and energetic despite it’s mass, but “FourFiveSeconds” suffers through the hokiest of psuedo-lines like “Hold me back I’m bout to spazz.” While this one is all over the place for me, I think the experimentation can only lead to positive results eventually. And, as for Kanye, I think his plan is to make the best music ever and then turn into pure energy like powder, but I digress.

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Ural:Looks like Rihanna has come back from her hiatus from yearly album releases. This time, she brings Kanye West and Paul McCartney along who collaborated for the humanly uplifting “Only One.” The end result is campfire singalong that’ll be featured in numerous advertising spots, movie trailers and dentist office elevators for years to come. Yup, “FourFiveSeconds” also manages to be one of Rihanna’s best vocal performances in a very long time. If “Only One” was a classy look into West’s new found happiness following years stuck fighting inner turmoil, Ms. Fenty crafts a radiant celebration of…well… herself.

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Rihanna has had time to rest when she wasn’t winning her battle with Instagram or making bold fashion statements. For the first time since her Good Girl Gone Bad era, she comes with a track that’s refreshing enough to be considered an interesting reinvention from the high-gloss pop that has defined her career. If “FourFiveSeconds” is or isn’t someone’s cup of tea, that’s a matter of personal taste. Regardless, can’t blame her for trying something different.

Andre Grant is an NYC native turned L.A. transplant that has contributed to a few different properties on the web and is now the Features Editor for HipHopDX. He’s also trying to live it to the limit and love it a lot. Follow him on Twitter @drejones.

Ural Garrett is an Los Angeles-based journalist and HipHopDX’s Senior Features Writer. When not covering music, video games, films and the community at large, he’s in the kitchen baking like Anita. Follow him on Twitter @Uralg.