Rihanna without Rihanna

December 12, 2013 11:27 AM

I'm doing a mix CD challenge with my friends, and want to win.

Okay, okay, it's not about winning or losing, it's about making a great mix.

Anyways, we basically all picked out our favorite artists, and our challenge is to make a CD of that artist's songs as mashups, covers, and instrumentals. It's okay if the original song is a collaboration, or only features your chosen artist's vocals as the hook. The goal is to really toe the line between the familiar and the (fingers crossed!) delightfully bizarre.

I'm struggling because I picked Rihanna, and it's surprisingly difficult to find really good mashups of her stuff -- like I keep finding Stay and We Found Love, but I don't want a CD of 5 different covers of 2 different songs. Help?

Here's what I have so far:

1. Kurt Hugo Schneider -- Love the Way You Lie (mashup w. Teenage Dream and Dynamite) -- I especially like this because it makes it almost about recovery

2. The White Panda -- Diamond Thrones (Diamonds + GoT theme song) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fi5uoaGdQ78

I'd prefer stuff that doesn't make fun of pop music/ Rihanna (I really do love her!) but would be really delighted by stuff that goes into different directions musically (like jazz or punk covers) or by surprisingly apropos cover artists (like Courtney Love's cover of Bad Romance by Lady Gaga).

posted by spunweb to Media & Arts (19 answers total)

Have you looked at whosampled.com? It is a site that tells you what is sampled in songs, and you can get lists of what songs sample from a particular person - what songs sample Rihanna songs, for example. It's not perfect but it should help! It also lists covers (use the drop-down menu below her picture).
posted by kyla at 11:38 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

My go-to for remixes is always Soundcloud. Here are the search results for Rhianna.
posted by komlord at 11:39 AM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: The Manic Street Preachers do a GREAT Umbrella.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 11:45 AM on December 12, 2013 [2 favorites]

S&M was covered (albeit briefly) in the movie Pitch Perfect during the sing-off. It is actually sung by the woman who wrote the song in real life! Cool!

In Glee they did a mashup of Umbrella and Singing in the Rain.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 11:47 AM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: The Covers Project has a good list of people who covered Rihanna songs
posted by FreezBoy at 11:48 AM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: Lillasyster are a hard rock / heavy metal band who do a fantastic cover of Umbrella without a hint of irony.
posted by FAMOUS MONSTER at 11:51 AM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I know you said its easy to find a We Found Love cover, but I want to suggest the cover done by Voices in Your Head. It's acapella and its rich in harmonies. It's a very different take on the song. At work, so I can't provide a link, but its worth checking out.
posted by GilvearSt at 12:09 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: I've got an mp3 of the vocals from Umbrella mashed up with Tenderness by General Public,, it is credited to somebody by the name of "Party Ben". I like it a lot.
posted by wats at 12:10 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: Here's a choral version of Only Girl in The World.
posted by monkeys with typewriters at 12:19 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: My favorite mashup incorporating Rihanna is probably DJ Earworm's No More Gas.

Have you dug into the Bootie archives for mashups that include Rihanna?
posted by hanov3r at 12:29 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: You need Compton Chic - WERHAVUBEEN.
posted by sea change at 12:51 PM on December 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Rihanna - Umbrella (Bluegrass Cover by Tommy Miller)

Rihanna - Man Down - Ukulele (Cover)

Rihanna - Stay (Piano cover)
posted by barnone at 1:15 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: Dang it -- someone already beat me to Tender Umbrella, which I also love. But that video is part of a whole YouTube playlist of Rihanna mashups that you could mine.
posted by Madamina at 2:02 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: I really like this cover of S&M.

I also like Maria Mena's cover of Diamonds, though it's shorter than the original.
posted by littlegreen at 2:41 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: Awesome Choir!Choir!Choir! sings a few Rihanna's…

Only Girl in the World
We Found Love:
posted by caroo at 4:06 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: Mashups:
DJs from Mars - Rockstar 101 Vs Fear Of The Dark
Party Ben - What's My Name vs. Jack and Diane
The Hood Internet - Rude Boy vs. Baptism

Covers:
The Bird and the Bee - Don't Stop the Music
Sarah Winters - S&M
Bat for Lashes - We Found Love
HelenaMarie - Rude Boy
posted by eponym at 4:30 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: The Baseballs do an amazing cover of Umbrella that is unlike anything listed here so far. (Grooveshark | YouTube )
posted by Nanukthedog at 8:02 PM on December 12, 2013

Best answer: Some of my favorite Rihanna mash-ups that haven't been mentioned yet:

"Love the Way You Lie in Paradise City" by DJs From Mars
"Rude Boy Resort" by DJ Schmolli
"Run This Firefly" by DJ Tripp

All of them can be found at the Best of Bootie 2010 page.
posted by Tool of the Conspiracy at 2:58 PM on December 13, 2013

Response by poster: This is going to KICK ASS. Thank you all.
posted by spunweb at 2:13 PM on January 1, 2014