We Ride

"We Ride" was written by Makeba Riddick, Mikkel S. Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, with production helmed by Eriksen and Hermansen under their stage name Stargate.[1] Rihanna explained the reasoning behind "We Ride" being chosen as the third single from the album in an interview with Corey Moss of MTV. The singer stated that instead of asking her record label and management which song should be released after "Unfaithful", Rihanna looked on iTunes to see which was her most downloaded song after the album's lead single "SOS" and "Unfaithful" and stated that "We Ride" was the third most popular, saying "Out of all my songs available for sale on iTunes, [We Ride was] the third most downloaded, behind 'SOS' and 'Unfaithful,' ... It's having good feedback, so I'm gonna give fans what they want."[2] "We Ride" was released as the third single from the album to US mainstream and rhythmic radio stations on August 21, 2006,[3] and was released in certain European territories as a CD single throughout October and November 2006.[4][5] In Australia, the song was released as an Extended play (EP) on October 30, 2006, which featured remixes of "We Ride" and the previous single from the album, "Unfaithful".[6]

As a mid-tempo ballad,[7][8] "We Ride" is a hip hop and soul music song.[8][9] According to the digital sheet music published by Musicnotes.com, "We Ride" is written in the key of E♭ major and is set in common time with a moderate dance groove with 80 beats per minute (BPM).[10] Rihanna's vocal range in the song spans from the lower note of G♯₃ to the higher note of C₅.[10] The song includes piano keys and guitar strings as part of its instrumental composition, and were provided by Stargate.[10][11] Jazzily Bass of Contactmusic.com commented that "We Ride" incorporates a "teen music sound" into its composition, which features a melodic tap to keep the listener engaged.[7] In an interview with Corey Moss of MTV, Rihanna explained the meaning behind the song's lyrics, saying:

'We Ride' is about this guy saying over and over again, 'When we ride, we ride, we're gonna be together until the day that we die' — promising all these things ... then it turns out he broke all of his promises, which is sad — but it's summer and I don't care if you wanna do that and be ugly and unfaithful, then I can just do my thing, chill with my girls and have fun. That's what summers are all about ... every summer you remember a certain relationship and there's always a song to connect to that. So 'We Ride' is just one of those songs.[2]

"We Ride" received positive reviews from music critics. David Jeffries of Allmusic praised "We Ride", writing that the song is "an easy-flowing weekend cruiser".[12] Spence D. of IGN similarly noted that "We Ride" is a song to which someone can listen to whilst driving, writing that it is a "ubiquitous cruising track that reworks the cliché catch phrase of the new millennium: 'we ride till the day that we die.'"[8] Bill Lamb of About.com noted that "We Ride" would appeal most to urban audiences due to its hip-hop composition.[13] However, Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine was critical of "We Ride", writing that although the song is a "hip hop-influenced club banger", it appeared to be too mature for the singer and her "minor vocal talents".[9]

In Australia, the song debuted and peaked at number 24 on November 19, 2006.[14] The following week, the song remained at number 24 and spent a total of 10 weeks on the singles chart, with its last chart appearance at number 43 on January 21, 2007.[14] In New Zealand, "We Ride" debuted at number 16 on December 11, 2006, and rose to number eight the following week.[15] In its third week charting, the song fell to number 10, but peaked at number seven in its fourth week.[15] After having spent 12 weeks on the chart, "We Ride" dropped out of the top-40 singles chart, however, the song re-entered the chart at number 37 on February 26, 2007, for one week.[15]

In Europe, "We Ride" charted moderately in several territories. In The Netherlands, the song debuted at number 89 on November 25, 2006, and peaked at number 60 the following week.[16] Over the following six weeks, the song fluctuated on the lower region on the top-100 singles chart, and spent a total of eight weeks on the chart.[16] In the Flanders region of Belgium, the song debuted at number 46 on December 16, 2006, where it remained for a further week.[17] In its third week charting, "We Ride" peaked at number 40.[17] The song re-entered the singles chart at number 43 on January 20, 2007, where it remained for a further week before dropping out of the singles chart.[17] In the Wallonia region of Belgium, the song debuted at number 34 on December 9, 2006, and rose by one chart position to number 33 the following week, where it remained in its third week.[18] "We Ride" peaked at number 26 in its fourth week on the singles chart.[18] In Switzerland, "We Ride" debuted and peaked at number 42 on December 17, 2006.[19] After having spent seven weeks on the chart, "We Ride" dropped out of the top-100 singles chart, however, the song re-entered the chart at number 95 on February 11, 2007, for one week.[19] In Finland, the song debuted peaked at number four in the final week of December 2006; "We Ride" spent one week on the singles chart.[20] In Italy, the song debuted and peaked on that countries singles chart at number 16 on October 9, 2008, more than two years after the song's release as a single; "We Ride" spent one week on the singles chart.[21] The song peaked at number 96 on the European Hot 100 Singles chart.[22]

In the United Kingdom, "We Ride" debuted at number 17 on November 4, 2006,[23] and fell to number 34 the following week, spending a total of two weeks inside the official UK top-40.[23] In the United States, the song failed to make a chart appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, but managed to chart on the Hot Dance Club Songs chart and Pop Songs chart. The song peaked at number one on the Dance Club Songs chart on February 3, 2007, and spent a total of 18 weeks on the chart.[22] On the Pop Songs chart, "We Ride" debuted and peaked at number 34.[24]

Recording

• Recorded at Battery Studios, New York City, New York; The Loft Recording Studios, Bronxville, New York; Blue Wave Studio, Saint Philip, Barbados; and Hinge Studios, Chicago, Illinois.

Personnel

• Songwriting – Makeba Riddick, Mikkel Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen
• Production – Stargate
• Vocal engineering and recording – Mikkel Eriksen, Al Hemberger, James Auwarter
• Mixing – Phil Tan
• Vocal production – Evan Rogers, Carl Sturken
• Instruments – Mikkel Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen
• Lead and background vocals – Rihanna

Credits adapted from the liner notes of A Girl Like Me, Def Jam Recordings, SRP Records.[11]

• List of number-one dance singles of 2007 (U.S.)

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics