“Needed Me” by Rihanna

In this song, Rihanna details the story of a guy she had a casual affair with. She depicts herself as being independent and not really interested in having a deep emotional connection with her partners.

This particular guy must have read her wrongly and thought she was in love with him as he was deeply in love with her. He ends up getting disappointed when she reveals that he was just another one of the guys she has been messing with. She makes him understand that he is the one who rather needed her not the other way round.

In the song, she gets extremely blunt as she explains to the guy who had probably gotten too attached to her that she did not value any of the moments they shared.

Rihanna may have sung this song based on her stance in an interview with T magazine that she was too busy to date a man. According to her, guys need a lot of attention and she cannot afford to give that much attention to them, considering her self-made status and the load of her work.

Facts about “Needed Me”

• This song is from Rihanna’s 2016 studio album named Anti. It was recorded in 2014. However, it was officially released as a single on 30th March 2016. The tune is the seventh track on the above mentioned album’s tracklist.
• “Needed Me” was released on the same day as “Kiss it Better“. Both songs came out as singles from the album Anti.
• Frequent Rihanna collaborator, Kuk Harrell worked on the production of this track. He was assisted by producers like DJ Mustard, Frank Dukes, Twice as Nice.
• “Needed Me” was authored by Rihanna together with several other songwriters, of which include Lewis Hughes, Khaled Rohaim and Adam Feeney.
• Seasoned American film director, Harmony Korine is responsible for directing the accompanying music video for this hit R&B tune. This video was shot in Miami and it was premiered in April 2016. The video also marks Korine’s first collaborative project with Rihanna.

Interpolations

The 2017 song, “UnFazed”, performed by Hip-Hop singer, Lil Uzi Vert (ft. The Weekend) is an interpolation of this track. Russell Walters 2019 tune, “Needed Tree (Shark Fins)” also interpolates “Needed Me”.

Chart Performance

The song charted in the U.S. at #7 and #38 in the UK.

All the writers who penned “Needed Me”

Below is a list of every single songwriter that helped penned this song with Rihannna:

• Lewis Hughes
• Khaled Rohaim
• Mustard
• Prince Charlez
• Adam Feeney
• Nick Audino
• Derrus Rachel
• Starrah
• Sickdrumz

Does “Needed Me” contain samples?

Yes. It uses samples from the 2011 track titled, “I’m Good” by American rap artist, YG.

Did “Needed Me” win a Grammy?

No. But we can say for a fact that it received a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Performance at the 2017 Grammy Awards. However, it lost the award to Solange’s “Cranes in the Sky”.