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Rihanna Drops 4/20 Joint "James Joint" On 4/21--Is It A Secret Message?
Rihanna Drops 4/20 Joint "James Joint" On 4/21--Is It A Secret Message?

Rihanna Leaks "James Joint" w/ James Fauntleroy On 4/21 + Invents New Coded Drug Reference

Lenny Kravitz, Grace Jones, Lauryn Hill, Lion Babe, Thundercat, SZA & More Rock The Afropunk Festival 2015 in Brooklyn, NY.

So Rihanna just dropped a new song--well, okay an interlude (well, okay, a snippet of an interlude)--called "James Joint," with this minimal line of meta-data attached:

"In celebration of 420, here's an interlude from my 8th studio album that I call James Joint."

Only problem of course, is she dropped it (via the über-tumblr RihannaNow.com) on 4/21, a full day late. "Stoner problems"--so go the headlines that practically wrote themselves for most of the outlets now reposting the track. Or is it deeper than that--more calculated? If #420 is code for la-la, is #421 another kind of code--a SECRET MESSAGE?

Rihanna has mentioned this interlude once before, telling V Magazine:

"Dude, I’m in love with my interludes. This one called 'James Joint' is on constant repeat. [The album is] soulful and aggressive, whether it’s lyrically, musically, or just the tone of my voice."

...but she omitted the single most interesting fact about the joint in question (at least to Okayplayer readers), Namely, that it is a collaboration with the brilliant James Fauntleroy. Though info is scarce, Fauntleroy himself has semi-confirmed the connection by not only retweeting every outlet that's tweeted a headline but also adding:

...with an Instagram of the track playing onscreen. Now, the last time Rihanna spoke (and generated such headlines) it was to claim that the object she was holding in her hand in a much-analyzed Instagram clip which might have appeared to the uninitiated to be a coke-snorting straw...was actually a joint. So, when the day after 4/20 she drops "James Joint" with the audible lyrics "I'd rather be smoking weed"...does she think no-one will point out that it's a collabo with Fauntleroy, best known for his work with Common and No I.D. under the collective name...Cocaine 80s?? Need I add: DUHN DUHNNNN?

I think the evidence is all there for those with eyes to see. There's really only one logical conclusion to take from this coded leak: "James Joint" is a musical woola blunt. I would just like to add right now that I am generally a Rihanna fan, wish her no ill and have no actual information that she has ever broken the law outside of Thailand (call off the Navy, please). This is all just speculation for the pure fun of conspiracy theorizing...but if you leak your music in such a deliberately mysterious fashion, I guess you can't be mad if we break out the super-sleuth magnifying glasses. Anyway, listen and investigate for yourself:

>>>Stream Rihanna x James Fauntleroy - "James Joint" (via RN)