After multiple snippets of the track were leaked from a foreign screening of Rihanna’s animated picture, Home, eager fans only had to wait a little longer until the entire song began to circulate online! A sparse, yet gorgeous, piano ballad penned by William Penn High grad, Alicia Renee Williams, “As Real As You And Me” is one of four Rihanna contributions on the motion picture’s soundtrack.
The track shares several musical and lyrical similarities with Rihanna’s Top 10 ballad, “Stay.” Recorded in B Major, or a semitone lower than “Stay”, the track shares not only the “I-ii-vi” chord progression of its predecessor, but also the Unapologetic hit’s quarter note blocked chords and solo piano arrangement. Lyrically, the song makes a similar plea for companionship; “As Real,” however, transcends the confines of its predecessor’s focus on romantic relationships by declaring that the various worldwide catastrophes we face are “as real as you and me.” The speaker’s awareness of the possibility of death and it’s alienating nature infuses the track with deeper — dare I say, existential?— considerations than “Stay.”
While the track may sound like a “Stay, Pt. 2,” the track is a gorgeous addition to the Home Soundtrack, which hits digital music retailers on March 23rd.
Listen to the track here!
Aaron Tremper 