Songfacts®:

• The title track of R&B/Pop singer Rihanna's sixth studio album finds the Barbadian singer teaming up with rapper Jay-Z. The two stars go back a long way as Ri-Ri originally was signed by Def Jam Recordings after she was auditioned by the Brooklyn Hip-Hop mogul, when he was their label head. They have subsequently collaborated on a number of recordings, including Rihanna's hit single "Umbrella" and Jay-Z's collaboration with her and Kanye West, "Run This Town."
• Stargate produced the song. Erik Hermansen, one-half of the Norwegian production duo, told 730 the song is a, "mid-tempo banger with hard drums, dirty synths, and Rihanna and Jay at their best. This is the first time we do a song with Jay-Z and Rihanna together," he added. "Actually it's the first time Jay does anything on our beats. It was about time."
• The song samples The Notorious B.I.G.'s "I Got A Story To Tell" from the rapper's 1997 final album, Life After Death.
• Talk That Talk returned to the top spot on the UK album chart on August 12, 2012. However, its sales figure was the lowest sales for a UK #1 album since fully accurate statistics became available back in 1994.
• Girls' Music Supervisor Manish Raval asked Rihanna if they could use the song during a scene in which the show's character Hannah dances in slow-motion whilst on a cocaine binge. The Bajan singer declined, so instead they turned to Icona Pop's "I Love It" and brought the Swedish duo's song to the attention of millions in the process.