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The exotic hip hop chanteuse Rihanna has blended together the many influences inherited from her diverse background and channeled them into a thrilling mix of R&B, reggae, socca and dancehall. Born on the tropical Caribbean island of Barbados to parents of Irish and Guyanese decent, Rihanna has always been surrounded by music. She attended the prestigious Combermere school where she won the talent contest as the lead in a vocal trio. They sang Mariah Carey's "Hero" and it's been full steam ahead since then. At 15, she got a her big break after being introduced to a vacationing record executive-a flurry of label bidding followed and the aspiring diva landed with Jay-Z and Def Jam Records. Her debut album, Music of the Sun, lived up to it's name-a collection of warm dance jams and intriguing collaborations that appealed as much to eclectic music fans and their iPods as they did to clubbers looking for a hip shaking track. The single "Pon de Replay" took a classic Caribbean beat and married it to Rihanna's frisky vocals-the title roughly translates as "play it again" and she also throws a shout-out to label-mate Christina Millian and her hit "Dip It Low" (both songs were on the charts at approximately the same time.) Her second single off Music of the Sun was the frisky "If It's Lovin' That You Want"-a modest success. After touring with Gwen Stefani, Rihanna dropped her second full-length, A Girl Like Me. The soca-beat single "SOS" went straight to the top of the charts, and Rihanna followed it with a classic cheating song, "Unfaithful."

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