Rihanna Syndrome

Syndrome:"a predictable, characteristic pattern of behavior, action, etc., that tends to occur under certain circumstances "(Dictionary.com)


   A few days ago I got a text from one of my "Council members" regarding a certain guilty pleasure we have.  It went something like this:


Him-"Man, I can't believe I really like some of these songs on the radio." 


Me- "Dude, we all have our guilty pleasures. I like stuff DESPITE myself.(lol). Some stuff just sounds good (to me). "Ri-Ri" be puttin' out some hits though."


Him-" 'Birthday Cake' is one of my guilty pleasures."


  I'll stop before I bore or lose anyone; but the rest of the conversation was about the recent brawl between the Chris Brown and Drake camps; and how Rihanna must be something else if her two EX-boyfriends were throwing 'bows in a club (and she wasn't even there). I guess it didn't occur to Chris Brown that he was in jeopardy of violating his probation (for putting his hands on her in 2009). The dramatic irony of this mess didn't slip past me.


  Still, that conversation was still on my mind when I noticed that some of us (men AND women) tend to flow from "The Brawl" to "The Sprawl"with regards to Rihanna and her love life. We shake our heads when we hear that she's no longer seeing Drake, but now is dating someone else. Folks almost had a stroke when the Ashton Kutcher thing made headlines. For obvious reasons Chris Brown (and domestic abuse) warrants a completely different entry, and her apparent decision to continue to deal with him is pushing me to scrap this and start down that sad street.


  I chose to call it the "Rihanna Syndrome" because it wasn't much of a surprise when opinions began to fly around the radio shows and internet gossip sites regarding Rihanna's dating situations. It's the age-old double standard when it comes to sex, and popular culture tends to shine a huge spotlight on it. Now, I'm not a big Rihanna fan, but I like "Birthday Cake" because the song is hot (I felt the same about "Rude Boy"-lol). Who she was doing and when she was doing it didn't/doesn't matter. Other friends pointed out that while everyone is in Rihanna's business, the male artists get the "boys will be boys"pass. We all know how it is on the road with the groupies and occasional baby mama(s); but that behavior is shrugged off as The Life. Hell, if Rihanna were a dude some of us would consider her boring. 


  To put it another way, some of us (men) are downright intimidated by a confident, sexually independent woman who doesn't apologize for who she is. If paparazzi had been following us around in OUR twenties....well... you know... Many of us have some college stories that definitely put things in perspective. Just sayin'.


  One last thing, though. I'm aware that Ri-Ri has gotten excessive with the partying, missing flights, missing appearances and whatnot. My comments aren't condoning excessive drinking, drugs, and a disregard for her career. Jay-Z has even reportedly told her to slow down or she's being dropped from the label. Partying is accepted in the industry....until it starts messing with the money. But her love life is not for me to judge simply because she's a star. I don't give a damn about popular opinion. As a woman, she deserves that much respect. But that Chris Brown is another story...