I wanna see a hot video for this jam.
It's "Man Down" by Rihanna, with lyrics on screen above. The song is essentially a corrido telling the story of a woman confessing to just shooting a man to death and needing to escape. It's an homage to Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff," and almost as good as a song, I think. "Man Down" is co-written by Rock City and Shontelle, songwriters who are also from the Caribe.
As a native of Barbados, Rihanna inhabits her vocal Caribbeanness in the song so well. When she inches up an octave in the verse, it displays the wonderful and sometimes under-appreciated range and quality of her voice. Leaves you wanting more of it.
The "Sak Pasé" at the beginning is a Haitian Creole "what's up" collolquialism, and one that gained emotional meaning after the January 2010 earthquake. "Man Down" is off Rihanna's November 2010 release "Loud."