"Wait Your Turn" is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her fourth studio album, Rated R (2009). It was written by Mikkel S. Eriksen, Tor Erik Hermansen, Saul Milton, Will Kennard, James Fauntleroy II, Takura Tendayi, and Rihanna herself. Stargate (Eriksen and Hermansen) and Chase & Status (Milton and Kennard) produced the song. "Wait Your Turn" was released on November 13, 2009, as the second international and third overall single from Rated R.
Upon the release of Rated R, some critics noted the diverse musical variety on the album, whilst others commented on the heavy influence of dubstep on the song. The song was not a commercial success. "Wait Your Turn" peaked inside the top twenty on the UK R&B Chart. The song failed to enter the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, making this Rihanna's second single that failed to reach that chart ("We Ride"). The song was performed live as part of a medley with "Hard" at the 2009 American Music Awards and on Good Morning America, along with "Russian Roulette" and "Umbrella". The song was also included on the set list of the Last Girl on Earth Tour (2010–11). As part of promotion for the release of Rated R, a music video was directed by Rihanna's longtime collaborator Anthony Mandler. A remix of the song features American rapper, and a member of Slaughterhouse, Joell Ortiz.
Background and release
"Wait Your Turn" was written by Tor Erik Hermansen, Mikkel S. Eriksen, Saul Milton, Will Kennard, James Fauntleroy II, Takura Tendayi and Rihanna, with production of the song helmed by the former four, under their stage names StarGate and Chase & Status, respectively. It comes from the recording sessions for the Rated R album, which took place during March to November 2009 at several recording studios throughout United States and Europe. After the song leaked online toward the end of October 2009, it was used in a promotional video for her first televised interviews since the alleged assault on her by then-boyfriend Chris Brown, singing the line, "The wait is ova", which is part of the lyrics. Eriksen of StarGate, who co-produced the song, had confirmed "Wait Your Turn" as the second single from Rated R; it was later released as the second international and third overall single. The song was made available for digital download via iTunes on November 13, 2009, in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Finland, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The song interpolates "The Bridge Is Over" by Boogie Down Productions.
Composition
"Wait Your Turn" was one of many songs featured on Rated R that incorporates musical genres different from any of Rihanna's previous work, drawing heavily on dubstep and hip hop genres. In her review of Rated R, Ailbhe Malone of NME briefly commented on the song, calling it "an electric backstreet stiletto stab, where, eyebrow cocked, Rihanna sings 'I’m such a fucking lady/You don’t have to be afraid.'" Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly observed that Rihanna was drawing a lot of inspiration for several of the songs on the album from her Bajan background and heritage, most noticeably in her style of singing, saying "Throughout, Rihanna dons hip-hop swagger like borrowed armor, leaning heavily on her Caribbean accent and unleashing a string of baddest-bitch boasts via dancehall-riddim'd bangers like 'Hard', 'G4L' and 'Wait Your Turn." Alexis Petridis of The Guardian referred to "Wait Your Turn" as a response to Rihanna trying to move on from her innocent "Umbrella" pop star image, commenting "At the other, however, the desire to escape the single's vast shadow has clearly led some of her collaborators to indulge in feats of impressively risky invention: the hypnotic, dirgey electronic grind of Wait Your Turn, Gangsta 4 Life's druggy, intoxicating mix of backwards drums, minor-key verses and spectral backing vocals."