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Rihanna, the Police: Does 'Unapologetic' Track Borrow From Rock Classic?

Posted on Nov 26th 2012 3:30PM by Contessa Gayles

Rihanna Unapologetic Album Reviews Amazon.com

As Rihanna's Unaplogetic album is expected to debut big on the Billboard Albums chart this week, it appears the songstress owes quite a lot to her pop and rock predecessors. Ri's eclectic seventh studio album is, in many ways, a nod to the classics, but one song in particular may go beyond the homage.

Rihanna's "Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary" borrows directly from the Police's 1979 hit "Message in a Bottle." The original track was penned by Sting, who also produced the song along with Nigel Gray, and band members Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers. Producing team Carlos McKinney and Terius Nash, aka The-Dream, are credited for Rihanna's reinterpretation.

Other songs on Rihanna's album openly take from previous hits. Ri and Chris Brown borrowed a line from Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" for their collaboration, "Nobody's Business" (previously written as "Nobodies Business"), and rightly credited the King of Pop in the liner notes. Similarly, as Rihanna sings the hook from Ginuwine's "Pony" in her song "Jump," the R&B crooner is credited by his birth name, Elgin Lumpkin.

But, no love for the Police? Listen to a side-by-side comparison of the two tracks in question below, and let us know if you think the rock legends deserved a nod in the Unapologetic liner notes, via Twitter.

Listen to Rihanna's "Love Without Tragedy/Mother Mary"

Listen to the Police's "Message in a Bottle"

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Mula

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As Rihanna's Unaplogetic album is expected to debut big on the Billboard Albums chart this week, it appears the songstress owes quite a lot to her pop and rock predecessors.

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