Needed Me

Rihanna's "Needed Me" is a defining moment on her 2016 album Anti. Written by Rihanna, Brittany Hazard, Charles Hinshaw, Derrus Rachel, and producers DJ Mustard, Twice as Nice, and Frank Dukes, the song was recorded in 2014 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Released as a dual single with "Kiss It Better" on March 30, 2016, it hit US urban contemporary radio via Roc Nation and Westbury Road Records, with Def Jam later servicing it to contemporary hit radio.

The track is an electro-R&B slow-burner with dubstep touches, built on a mellow, loose production of synthetic textures and heavy trap beats. Lyrically, it's a cool, detached kiss-off about romantic rejection, delivered with Rihanna's trademark nonchalance. Commercially, it peaked at number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 29th top-10 single and spending 16 weeks in the region, at the time her longest-charting hit. It ranked 13th on the 2016 year-end Hot 100 and later entered the Billboard Global 200 at 113 in 2023.

The music video, directed by filmmaker Harmony Korine and released on April 20, 2016, is set in Miami. It features Rihanna wielding a gun, riding a motorbike, and ultimately killing a man at a strip club. "Needed Me" earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance at the 59th ceremony and was a staple on her Anti World Tour. A trombone cover by Paul The Trombonist gained attention online, and the song has been widely streamed across platforms. [edit]