Bitch Better Have My Money

Production and composition

"Bitch Better Have My Money" was written by Jamille Pierre, Bibi Bourelly, Rihanna, Travis Scott, Kanye West and Ebony "WondaGurl" Oshunrinde and produced by Deputy, Scott, West and WondaGurl. The song was conceived in producer Deputy's apartment and consisted of a simple beat. Development continued when the producer had a session with writer Bibi Bourelly, who went into the recording studio and began to freestyle the initial lyrics. The first lyric of her freestyle was "bitch better have my money" which later became the title of the completed song. Following the completion of the song, Deputy believed that Rihanna would be the artist for it, stating "This is definitely something that Rihanna needs to sing. We was trying to figure out who could do it because Bibi killed it. Not anyone could just sing this record."

After a certain period of time, Bourelly had a recording session with both West and Rihanna; it was the first time they heard the track and they both reacted positively to it. When they finally got a hold on the song, some changes were made to it. They were done by Scott, WondaGurl and West; all of them added an additional part by the end of the song. When Deputy was asked whether he was bothered by the adjustments that were made, he responded, "I thought it was cool. I didn’t have any negative feelings to it. Rih[anna] loved it and it was really about what she wants."

"Bitch Better Have My Money" is a trap song with a length of three minutes and thirty-nine seconds. According to Jim Farber of New York Daily News the song is reminiscent of the works by West, particularly the half-sang and half-rapped vocals. To deliver the vocals, she uses her Caribbean accent. Farber also called the song "shadowy" and "repetitive" and according to him results in being more a riff than a full song. Billboard's Jason Lipshutz found the song similar to Rihanna's 2013 single "Pour It Up". Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone noted that the song differs drastically from her previous 2015 single, "FourFiveSeconds", which featured a "gentle, acoustic tone". Similarly, Miles Raymer of Entertainment Weekly wrote that, "'Bitch Better Have My Money' is a trap-influenced banger that's a complete 180° difference from the "countryfied" sound of 'FourFiveSeconds'."

Lewis Corner of Digital Spy noted that the track represents a sequel to the music material present on Rihanna 2012 seventh studio album, Unapologetic, "with its swaggering hip-hop heartbeat and Rihanna's braggadocio callouts". Lyrically, the song features an angrier tone than "Rihanna's usual oeuvre", "Every time I drop I am the only thing y'all playing, Don't act like you forgot, I call the shots" proclaimed along with "machine-gun ad-libs". Lipshutz noted that the lyrical content of the song sounded inspired by Beyoncé's 2014 single "Flawless".

Release

On March 25, 2015, via her official Twitter account, Rihanna posted, "rihannaNOW.com #R8 #BBHMM #March26". Subsequently, she posted the artwork of the song on her official Instagram account. The black-and-white cover features Rihanna with highlighted brows while wearing a motorcycle jacket; John Walker of MTV News assumed that it was shot by Dutch photographer duo Inez and Vinoodh, who did both the cover and the music video for "FourFiveSeconds". The title of the song is placed on the left side and is written in Braille.

According to Morwenna Ferrier of The Guardian, "Rihanna's new image screams Madonna circa-Vision Quest meets Paolo Roversi meets Frida Kahlo meets Boy George." Later that day, a snippet of the song was released via the Dubsmash application. On March 26, the song was made available for digital download via the iTunes Store. Subsequently, an edited version of the song was released under the title, "B**** Better Have My Money". The song was initially set to appear on Anti but was removed from the track listing, along with "FourFiveSeconds" and "American Oxygen".

Critical reception

Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described the song as "the most basic and least imaginative of her tough-talk hits." Spanos of Rolling Stone wrote, "Her evolving sound has gotten much harder since her dance pop debut, and 'Bitch Better Have My Money' may be her hardest yet." The same magazine later ranked "Bitch Better Have My Money" at number 45 on its year-end list to find the 50 best songs of 2015. Jeff Pearson of Paste thought that the single is a "classic RiRi" in which she sounds confident and in control "more than ever". Stacy-Ann Ellis of Vibe described the song as "badass" and "bossy", "she confidently claims her place as the game’s top shot-caller, and by song’s end, you’ll be feeling the same way."

Billboard's Lipshutz gave the song three out of five stars and wrote that although the song is not a right successor to Rihanna's previous [lead] singles such as "We Found Love" and "Only Girl (In the World)", it "is designed to make clubs rumble and arenas explode, and will successfully do so over the next year and beyond". In the same vein, Digital Spy's Corner also gave the song three out of five stars. Although Rihanna announced that she wanted her next project to feel soulful, regarding "Bitch Better Have My Money", he thought "It's a song for the club for sure, but as for that real and soulful sound? Maybe it's still to come." Corner and Amy Davidson, for the same publication, ranked the single at number three on their Playlist: 10 tracks you need to hear for the date March 31 and wrote, "'Bitch Better Have My Money' determines that the singer's new album will still bring plenty of fun."

North America

After selling 108,000 copies in its first four days of release, "Bitch Better Have My Money" debuted at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart for the issue dated April 11, 2015. The following week, the song sold additional 133,000 copies, a 22% gain in sales compared to its debut week, and peaked at number four on the US Digital Songs chart. The same week, it only moved four places to number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, due to the track being made available on Spotify two weeks after its digital download release, on April 8, 2015. Over its next 12 weeks on the chart, the song fluctuated in and out of the top 20 until the release of its music video in July 2015 led to a 65% spike in sales and 84% increase in streaming, fueling a leap from number 28 to its new peak of number 15; it sold 43,000 digital downloads and was streamed 10 million times in the United States that week.

Additionally, for the week dated June 20, 2015, the song peaked at number six on the US Rhythmic Chart and for the week dated July 18, it peaked at number five on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single also topped the US Dance Club Songs chart (dated June 27) and became Rihanna's 23rd number one in the chart's nearly 39-year history; she now trails only Madonna for the most No. 1s on the chart. On June 30, 2015, "Bitch Better Have My Money" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) denoting sales of over 1,000,000 digital copies.

In Canada, "Bitch Better Have My Money" debuted at number 29 on the Canadian Hot 100 for the week dated April 11. The next week it reached its peak of number 11 on the chart, for the issue dated April 18. The single also peaked at number 41 on the Canadian CHR/Top 40 Airplay.

Oceania and Europe

In Australia, "Bitch Better Have My Money" debuted and peaked at number 14 on the singles chart for the week dated April 12, 2015. Furthermore, it peaked at number five on the Australian Urban Singles Chart. The single was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting sales of over 35,000 digital copies. In New Zealand, it debuted and peaked at number 10 for the week dated April 6. It became Rihanna's 32nd top-ten single on the chart. "Bitch Better Have My Money" was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ) for selling over 7,500 copies in the country.

In the United Kingdom, "Bitch Better Have My Money" debuted at number 29 on the UK Singles Chart for the week ending date March 29, 2015. The same week, it debuted at number six on the UK R&B Chart, and peaked at number five the next week. On April 5, 2015, the single peaked at number 27 on the UK Singles Chart. "Bitch Better Have My Money" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), denoting sales of over 200,000 digital copies in the country. In Ireland, the song debuted at number 39 on the Irish Singles Chart for the week dated April 2. On April 23, in its fourth-week on the chart, it reached a new peak of 32. "Bitch Better Have My Money" was a commercial success in several countries of continental Europe, it reached the top-ten on 7 national charts and the top-twenty in 4 more countries.

In Sweden, the song debuted at number 38 on April 17, 2015 and it peaked at number 14 the next week. It stayed on the chart for 21 weeks total and was certified platinum by the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF) denoting sales of over 40,000 digital copies in the country and double platinum in Poland, by the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry (ZPAV), denoting sales of 40,000 digital copies in the country. "Bitch Better Have My Money" debuted and peaked at number 25 on the Danish Singles Chart on April 24. It stayed on the chart for four consecutive weeks and was certified gold by IFPI Denmark for shipping over 30,000 copies of the song in the country. The single was also certified gold in Italy, by the Federation of the Italian music industry (FIMI), denoting sales/streams of 25,000 copies. "Bitch Better Have My Money" was also successful in France, where it debuted and peaked at number three on the singles chart. It stayed at number three for 2 consecutive weeks and it charted for 35 weeks total. Finally, the track reached number one in Finland, number six in Spain and number seven in Switzerland.

Music video

The video was directed by Rihanna and Megaforce and was filmed in April 2015 in Los Angeles, with the boat scene being filmed at Marina Del Rey. The official trailer for the music video was released on June 28, 2015, at the BET Awards. The trailer captured a cryptic storyline: a rich woman, identity unknown, gets herself ready in her lavish apartment, clothes on and purse gathered in her arms, kisses her partner goodbye, and enters a dimly-lit elevator. As this occurs, Rihanna, simulating a poorer woman and wearing dark makeup, pulls up to the apartment complex at night. She opens up her car's trunk and pulls out a large suitcase. Struggling with the suitcase, she too enters the elevator. In one scene, the elevator doors close on the two standing women. In the next, the doors open and Rihanna struts out, alone, except for her heavy suitcase. The full video, which is seven minutes long, was released on Thursday, July 2, 2015. The video is rated MA for violence, nudity, and use of adult language.

The video starts with a woman's legs peeking out of a huge box. Then the video switches to an elegant woman (played by Canadian model Rachel Roberts) who is prepping herself to go out for the night while Rihanna, dressed in punk-rocky clothes and dark makeup pulls up on a driveway dragging a suitcase with her. The woman goes outside of her apartment with her dog, and approaches the elevator with Rihanna inside. The elevator door closes and the music starts. The rest of the video is Rihanna and her friends, played by Spanish model Sita Abellán and instagram-cast model, Sanam, torturing, intoxicating and making fun of the woman. By the end of the video, it was revealed that the woman was actually the wife of Rihanna's cheating accountant (played by Mads Mikkelsen). We can see that he used up her credit card to spend money on girls and parties.

The next scene shows Rihanna and her two friends going back to the apartment along with the wife back in the suitcase. Rihanna then picks a knife from her weapon collection and slowly approaches the shirtless and tied up accountant. After the music fades, the video brings us back to the first scene, where we can see the legs peeking outside of a big box. The video zooms in on the box and we can see that it was Rihanna covered in blood, lying in the box filled with money, casually smoking a cigarette. Immediately after, the track's initials (BBHMM) flash on the screen before revealing a close-up of Rihanna's bloody face accompanied by tense, ambient sounds.

On November 18, 2016, it surpassed the 100 million views mark, making it the 1st ever age-restricted vevo certified video.

Year-end lists

(*) denotes an unordered list

Live performances

Rihanna performed "Bitch Better Have My Money" for the first time at the 2nd iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 29, 2015. During the performance, Rihanna wore a short black dress accompanied with green Versace coat and high boots of the same color. The performance featured her emerging from a helicopter; after delivering the lyrics she left the microphone and "broke out into dance". Billboard's Stacy Anderson praised Rihanna's confidence during the performance and noted that the, "track's confrontational lyrics were delivered in full, the several profane moments bleeped live." Will Robinson of Entertainment Weekly labeled the performance as one of the five best things that happened during the award ceremony. Regarding the performance, Paul Thompson of Rolling Stone wrote, "there were no giggles, winks or nods at the camera, making the performance a welcome piece of method acting in a night hampered by production snafus and anticlimaxes. New York Daily News praised Rihanna's entrance on stage and wrote "As usual, the singing sensation did not disappoint and delivered a high-energy, show-stopping performance!" Carolyn Menyes of Music Times also praised the singer's performance, stating that "Her vocal performance was strong, as she barked out the lyrics", adding that "she was filled with attitude and swagger." On April 1, Rihanna pranked Jimmy Kimmel by creeping into his house on April Fools' Day and went into his bedroom to play "Bitch Better Have My Money". On April 4, 2015 Rihanna performed the song at the Final Four of the March Madness 2015 which was held in Indianapolis, Indiana. On May 16, 2015, Rihanna performed the song on Saturday Night Live as her fifth appearance on the show. On September 9, 2015, Ellen DeGeneres lip synced the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as part of a standard comedy bit with host Jimmy Fallon. Rihanna performed the song during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in a medley with "Pour It Up" and "Needed Me".