"Man Down" is a song by Bajan singer Rihanna from her fifth studio album, Loud (2010). Rihanna, fellow Bajan singer Shontelle, and production duo R. City wrote the song with its main producer, Sham. They wrote it during a writing camp, in Los Angeles of March 2010, held by Rihanna's record label to gather compositions for possible inclusion on the then-untitled album. Rock City were inspired by Bob Marley's 1973 song "I Shot the Sheriff" and set out to create a song which embodied the same feel, but from a female perspective. "Man Down" is a reggae song which incorporates elements of ragga and electronic music. Lyrically, Rihanna is a fugitive after she shoots a man, an action she later regrets. Several critics singled out "Man Down" as Loud's highlight, while others commented on her prominent West Indian accent and vocal agility.

Def Jam released "Man Down" on May 3, 2011, as the fifth single from the album. In the United States, the single reached number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number nine on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It has been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The song topped the chart in France for five consecutive weeks and reached the top three in Belgium and the Netherlands. Anthony Mandler directed its music video, in which Rihanna's character shoots a man after he rapes her. The video was criticized by the Parents Television Council, Industry Ears and Mothers Against Violence, who faulted Rihanna for suggesting that murder is an acceptable form of justice for rape victims. However, actress Gabrielle Union, a rape survivor, praised the video for being relatable. "Man Down" was on the set list for three of Rihanna's tours – the Loud Tour (2011), the Diamonds World Tour (2013) and the Anti World Tour (2016).

In March 2010, record label Def Jam held a writing camp in Los Angeles for songwriters and producers to compose material for possible inclusion on Rihanna's then-untitled fifth studio album, Loud.^[1][2] Def Jam rented out nearly every recording studio in Los Angeles in order to create as many songs as possible.^[1] Ray Daniels, the manager of musical duo Rock City (brothers Theron and Timothy Thomas), was present during the sessions, and stated that a writing camp typically involves the label hiring ten recording studios for two weeks at the cost of $25,000 per day. Daniels revealed that it is where songwriters have lyrics but no music, and where producers have music but no lyrics.^[2]

Shama Joseph, professionally known as Sham, was hired as one of the producers to work on crafting songs at the camp. Sham's manager had arranged his attendance at the camp through an acquaintance who was an employee of the record label. Sham explained that he found a flight to Los Angeles and began working on music as soon as he arrived, stating that he had "nothing to lose and everything to gain". He was inspired by a vision of Rihanna performing songs at a concert that were Caribbean themed. Sham felt that Rihanna had not explored Caribbean-themed music since her debut album, Music of the Sun (2005).^[1]

According to Daniels, Rock City knew Sham but they had not heard the West Indian/Caribbean-themed music that he had composed during the camp. Sham played the music to them, to which the brothers responded "Let's give Rihanna a one-drop! Like, a response to 'I Shot the Sheriff'!"^[2] Together, Sham and Rock City wrote the lyrics to "Man Down" in twelve minutes.^[2] In an MTV News interview, Rock City said they intended to write a song that would embody Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff" (1973) from a female perspective and to "tap [Rihanna's] island origins in a way that sounded authentic".^[3][4] Singer Shontelle said that Rihanna called her during the Last Girl on Earth tour and asked her to be involved with the song. She confirmed that Rihanna was present when she was writing her part in the recording studio.^[5][6] Shontelle elucidated that following one of Rihanna's concerts, the singer exited the stage and immediately returned to the tour bus to work in the studio.^[6] Daniels said that once the writing camp had concluded, Rihanna listened to all of the songs which had been composed for her and chose her favorites.^[2] In September 2010, several months after Sham attended the writing camp, Rihanna called him and said that she wanted to record "Man Down" for inclusion on Loud.^[1]

Rihanna later described the sentiment she wanted to express as "gangsta", and elaborated on how reggae culture has influenced her musical style: "I'm super inspired by reggae music [and it] has been a part of me since I was born, and I grew up listening to it. It was exciting for me to take this on as my own and do a song like this, especially with the lyrics being like that."^[7] The track was composed during Rihanna's Last Girl on Earth tour. The song's instrumental was recorded by Cary Clark at The Village in Los Angeles. Kuk Harrell produced Rihanna's vocals with Josh Gudwin and Marcos Tovar at Westlake Recording Studios, also in Los Angeles. Bobby Campbell assisted with vocal production and recording. The song was mixed by Manny Marroquin at Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles, assisted by Erik Madrid and Christian Plata.^[8]

Daniels estimated the total cost of the writing camp to be approximately $200,000, averaging $18,000 for each of the eleven songs which were included on Loud; the camp consisted of forty writers and producers.^[2] Daniels confirmed that Rock City received $15,000 and Sham $20,000 for their part in the production of "Man Down". He said that "to get that twelve minutes of inspiration from a top songwriting team is expensive — even before you take into account the fee for the songwriters".^[2] A cost of $53,000 for "Man Down" was already incurred prior to Rihanna entering the studio with a vocal producer.^[2] Although Makeba Riddick did not serve as the song's vocal producer, Daniels cited her as an example of how the process works and how much she would charge. It is the responsibility of the vocal producer to tell a singer how to sing the song correctly to achieve the desired sound.^[2] Daniels said that Riddick's fee varies from $10,000 to $15,000, and that the final part of the process is for the song to be mixed and mastered, which incurs a similar fee. He estimated the final cost of writing, producing, vocal producing, mixing and mastering "Man Down" to be $78,000.^[2] When combined with the marketing and promotional costs, the total expense was $1,078,000.^[9]

"Man Down" is a reggae^[11] and dancehall^[12] murder ballad^[10] with "Caribbean-rhythms" and elements of ragga and electronic music.^{[13][14][15][16]} The song, in the key of C minor, has a tempo of 77 beats per minute.^[17] Rihanna's voice spans more than one and a half octaves, from F₃ to E♭₅.^[17] Slant Magazine critic Sal Cinquemani described "Man Down" as one of Rihanna's "most confident vocal performances" with her strong Barbadian patois.^[13][16] Jon Pareles of The New York Times said that the singer "plays up her West Indian accent",^[15] and August Brown of the Los Angeles Times described the vocals as reasserting "her Caribbean lilt".^[10] Entertainment Weekly writer Leah Greenblatt described "Man Down" as a song with "island rhythms".^[14] Lyrically, Rihanna is a fugitive after she shoots a man, but later regrets it.^[16][18][19] Rihanna slowly relays the chain of events which led up to the murder.^[20] She cries to her mother about the act that she has committed – "Mama, I just shot a man down" – expressing guilt and remorse for not meaning to kill her attacker, and that he is somebody's son.^[21][22] As the track develops, Rihanna's Bajan accent becomes stronger and exaggerated, which climaxes during the bridge as she declares "Why deed I pull dee treeguh, pull dee treeguh, pull dee treeguh, BOOM!"^[20] MuuMuse writer Bradley Stern thought that the track took on a confessional tone.^[20]

On February 8, 2009, Rihanna was reported to have been involved in an altercation with her boyfriend, Chris Brown. He allegedly punched Rihanna and threatened to kill her. Brown turned himself in to the police and pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault during the trial.^[23][24][25] August Brown called the song an apparent "warning" to Chris Brown and a response to his song "Deuces" (2010),^[10] which denounces an ex-lover.^[26][27] Kitty Empire of The Guardian wrote that Brown's assault on Rihanna gives the song lyrical context, and that Rihanna sings the song with "bittersweet menace."^[19] When asked by HipHopDX about how he reacted to listeners of the song saying that it condones violence, Sham dismissed the accusations:

I didn’t think it made any sense. I think it was because of who it was saying 'I just shot a man down.' I think it was very hypocritical for some of the parents against violence in media, those same parents have probably allowed their kids to watch all types of movies and programs that have depictions, or things that insinuate violence. So for them to be mad about, number one, an issue that actually exists? ... A woman feeling like she wants to shoot somebody who’s still alive because of something that they took from her, that’s real and that’s honest. So the emotion is a very true emotion ... and they relive it on a daily basis. I think it was crazy and blown out of proportion .... But people benefit from controversy, and those same people who probably were trying to bring awareness, now they have a voice and now they’re 'specialists,' and they can speak for a group of people all of a sudden.^[1]

On March 1, 2011, Rihanna asked fans to help her choose the next single from Loud using Twitter, saying that she would film a music video in the forthcoming weeks. After an influx of suggestions, the singer said she had narrowed the options down to four songs: "Man Down", "California King Bed", "Cheers (Drink to That)" and "Fading".^[28] On March 12, she confirmed that "California King Bed" had been selected as the next international single.^[29][30] However, "Man Down" was sent to rhythmic and urban radio stations in the United States on May 3,^[31][32][33] before the May 13 release of "California King Bed", making "Man Down" and "California King Bed" the fifth and sixth singles from Loud.^[34] The song was released in France and Switzerland on July 11^[35][36] and the Netherlands on July 15.^[37]

Kitty Empire called the track "excellent", and praised it for being an original composition which is reminiscent of a "righteous old reggae murder ballad".^[19] Consequence of Sound writer Ryan Burleson said that "Man Down" and another album track called "Fading" both "stand on their own sonically", and that the former is an homage to her Caribbean heritage with its dancehall melody.^[38] Describing the track as "breezy", Bradley Stern thought that no other song on Loud embodied Rihanna's personality more so than on "Man Down".^[20] Cinquemani chose "Man Down" as the best song on Loud, calling Rihanna's vocal agility "surprising" and noting that the "fully-fledged reggae" song is co-written by a fellow Barbadian-born singer, Shontelle.^[16]

In her review of Loud, Emily Mackay of NME called its experimentation more "organic" than that on Rihanna's previous album Rated R (2009), citing "Man Down"'s theme of "doomed youth".^[39] Similarly, Nima Baniamer of Contactmusic.com pointed out that "Man Down", which she described as "a dark track" that is "haunting" yet "delightfully intriguing", was reminiscent of the material on Rated R.^[22] In their review of Rihanna's top 20 songs, Time Out ranked "Man Down" as their tenth best track, writing that it is Rihanna at "her badass best".^[40] Complex staff compiled a list of their top 26 Rihanna songs, and ranked "Man Down" in thirteenth place; Claire Lobenfeld thought that it was the singers most "cinematic" song of her career, and that she elevated the theme of "accidental manslaughter" from "downtrodden" to "adorable".^[41]

In the United States, "Man Down" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the week of June 11, 2011, peaking at number 59 on July 9 and spending a total of 14 weeks on the chart.^[42] On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, it peaked at number nine on August 6, 2011, remaining there for two weeks and spending a total of 28 weeks charting.^[43][44] It was number 47 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs 2011 year-end list.^[45] "Man Down" was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), denoting shipments of more than 2 million units.^[46] The song reached number 63 on the Canadian Hot 100.^[47]

"Man Down" debuted at number 65 on the French Singles Chart on June 6, 2011, a month before its release as a single. It rose to number one on July 30, remaining there for five consecutive weeks, and was number two the week before and for three weeks after its chart-topping run. It stayed on the chart until January 21, 2012, but re-entered four weeks later, before again leaving after the week of May 12, 2012 and re-entering three weeks later. The song, on and off the French chart for the rest the year, continued to appear on it sporadically in 2013. After a total of 73 weeks on the chart, the track's last French chart appearance was at number 172 on August 8, 2013.^[48]

"Man Down" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 117 on June 11, 2015, reaching number 75 the following week.^[49][50] The song peaked at number 54 in its fourth week, remaining there for two weeks and spending a total of 11 weeks on the chart.^[51][52][53] On the UK Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart, "Man Down" reached number 15 on June 26, spending 18 weeks in the top 40.^[54][55] In Belgium, the song peaked at number three in Dutch-speaking Flanders and number two in French-speaking Wallonia.^[56][57] It was certified gold by the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA) for selling more than 15,000 copies.^[58] Although the song spent only one week on the Italian Singles Chart (at number eight), it was certified platinum by the Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) in 2014 for selling more than 30,000 copies.^[59][60]

Rihanna has included "Man Down" on the set lists of several concerts and tours, including the 2011 Loud Tour,^[75] BBC Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on May 24, 2012^[76] and the 2013 Diamonds World Tour.^[77] For the Loud Tour, Rihanna performed the song on "a levitating, rotating platform, a conveyer belt and graffiti-laden car shell."^[78] Although Kitty Empire described "Man Down" as "terrific", the critic felt let down by the "baffling lack of creativity" from Rihanna's production team for the stage set up during Rihanna's performance. She wrote that she did not understand why a truck bonnet was in the middle of the stage.^[19] Maza praised the tracks placement on the set-list. "Man Down" was performed as the fourth song on the Loud Tour, following its opener "Only Girl (In the World)", "Disturbia" and "Shut Up and Drive". Maza noted that the tempo of "Man Down" should have "slowed down the momentum she'd accumulated until then but that was instead an ideal marriage of production and performance." Instead, the red lights on the stage played up the "ominous" tone of the song as it gradually increased its tempo to the point whereby the end of the song was on the verge of sounding like an incantation.^[11]

For the Diamonds World Tour, Rihanna performed "Man Down" in a Caribbean-theme section of the show, which also included "You da One", "No Love Allowed", "What's My Name?" and "Rude Boy".^{[79] [80]} James Lachno of The Telegraph highlight the Caribbean-themed section as the show's highlight.^[81] Manchester Evening News writer Katie Fitzpatrick commented that Rihanna transported the audience to the Caribbean with a "grinding groove".^[80] However, Gary Graff of The Oakland Press was disappointed with the lack of variety in the section, writing that it was "addled by a sonic sameness, even with Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme, whose guitar was buried in the bass-heavy mix, playing some intriguing licks and accents".^[79]

British singer and songwriter Leona Lewis performed a mashup of "Man Down" with her 2008 single "Better in Time" at BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge in June 2011.^[82][83] She also included the mashup on the set list of her 2013 Glassheart Tour.^[84] Her rendition received a mixed response from critics. Katherine Hollisey-McLean of the Worthing Herald complimented the fusion of "Better in Time" with reggae beats,^[85] while The Guardian's Malcolm Jack thought the performance was "cringey" and called Lewis a "reasonably priced Rihanna".^[86]

• List of number-one singles of 2011 (France)