Shut Up and Drive (Rihanna Song) - Background and Composition

Background and Composition

"Shut Up and Drive" was released as second single from Rihanna's third studio album Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), after the worldwide chart-topper "Umbrella" (2007). The song premiered on Tuesday, May 22, 2007, on Rihanna's official website. It was solicited to mainstream airplay US radio, on June 12, 2007. The single was later physically released on August 27, 2007 in the UK. "Shut Up and Drive" was written by Carl Sturken, Evan Rogers, Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert and produced by Sturken and Rogers. It samples New Order's 1983 single "Blue Monday".

"Shut Up and Drive" is a New Wave, pop rock, and R&B song, which incorporates influences of the 1970s and 1980s musical styles. It contains an upbeat opening sequence with a heavy guitar riff, which provides a pop rock sound. Tom Breihan from Pitchfork Media wrote that the song "begins with über-processed new wave guitars that sort of sound like the Cars". According to a digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "Shut Up and Drive" is written in the key of E major and is set in simple time with a moderately fast groove. Rihanna's vocal range spans from the low note of F_#3 to the high note of B₄ and the song follows a chord progression of E₅–B₅–C♯₅–F♯₅–B₅–C♯₅. Lyrically, "Shut Up and Drive", as the title suggests, is about Rihanna looking for a driver, who will drive her around in her new car and take control over it. The lyrics also contain multiple references to various cars and car parts, including the 57' Cadillac.