Rated R

Rated R is a term primarily used to refer movies that have been given an "R - Restricted" rating by the Motion Picture Association of America, the British Board of Film Classification or the Canadian Home Video Rating System. The following article subjects use the term figuratively as a name or title:

In music:

Unrated In sports:

In radio:

See also

Rated R (Queens of the Stone Age album)

Rated R (also called R or Rated X on vinyl) is the second studio album by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age, released on June 6, 2000 on Interscope Records. Rated R was a critical and commercial success and became the band's breakthrough album. It peaked at number 16 on the Top Heatseekers and reached high positions on charts worldwide. The album has been certified gold in the United Kingdom. Three singles were released from it: "The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret", "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" and "Monsters in the Parasol", with the first helping Queens of the Stone Age reach mainstream popularity.

Rated R is the band's first album to feature bass guitarist Nick Oliveri and vocalist Mark Lanegan.

Overview and background

The band began work on Rated R after touring in support of its previous album, Queens of the Stone Age, released in 1998. As a whole, the album contains numerous references to drugs and alcohol. This is particularly prominent on the opening track, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer", which mostly consists of the repeated line "Nicotine, valium, vicodin, marijuana, ecstasy and alcohol" followed by "c-c-c-c-c-cocaine". The MPAA's "R-rated" symbol features on the album's cover, along with the text "RESTRICTED TO EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE, ALL THE TIME". Keeping with this theme, the album's liner notes contain warning messages for each song, in the style of the warning messages given to parents on video and DVD boxes: "Auto Pilot", for example, contains "Alcohol and Sleep Deprivation". Also, the album cover is based on MPAA's rating bumper that was shown in the '70s and '80s. Ironically, the title and subtext was meant as a jab at record label Interscope, whose persistence that some of the album's themes would be too controversial and warrant a PMRC warning sticker actually allowed the band to sell the album without one by circumventing all censorship policies.

Rated R (Rihanna album)

Rated R is the fourth studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna. It was released on November 20, 2009 by Def Jam Recordings. Recording sessions for the album began in April 2009 and took place at several recording studios throughout United States and Europe. Rihanna together with Antonio "L.A." Reid and The Carter Administration was the executive producer of the album and worked with many record producers, including Chase & Status, StarGate, The-Dream, Ne-Yo, and Brian Kennedy. The record featured several vocalists and instrumentalists, including Young Jeezy, will.i.am, Justin Timberlake and Slash who played the guitars in "Rockstar 101".

Musically, the album represents a departure from her 2007 effort Good Girl Gone Bad, which contained up-tempo and ballad-oriented songs. Conceived after Rihanna's assault by her then-boyfriend, singer Chris Brown, Rated R features a foreboding and atmospheric tone in terms of musical and lyrical direction. It incorporated elements of hip hop, rock, and dubstep. It also explores other genres, such as dancehall in "Rude Boy" and Latin in "Te Amo". Rated R received positive reviews from music critics, who commended Rihanna's mature performance and called the album her most layered and heartfelt effort. In the United States, the album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 181,000 copies in its first week. It also attained top ten positions in over twelve other countries.