The club anthem hit No. 2 on Billboard charts and No. 1 on iTunes', even before her album release and the 17 year-old - who goes by her middle name for its uniqueness - is just getting started.

The young sexy songstress got her break from music producer Evan Rogers, who with partner Carl Sturken produced tracks for artists like Christina Aguilera, Ruben Studdard and Kelly Clarkson. Rogers met Rihanna while vacationing with his Barbadian wife, Jackie, near her hometown, St. Michael, over Christmas in 2003. After listening to her soulful sounds, he immediately took her under his wing, inviting her to New York to record a demo.

"Def Jam was the first to jump on it," exclaimed the Island/Def Jam Recording artist, who mixes dancehall and reggae into R&B sound styles. It only took one quick audition to convince President and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, Shawn "Jay Z" Carter, to sign her to a six-album contract at the young age of 16.

"As I left Def Jam, I was walking up and down the streets screaming. I couldn't sleep for three nights straight. "I woke up every second thinking is this for real?"

"I was so scared before I went in there, but the minute I walked in, the whole atmosphere changed. They really made me feel comfortable and at home and I was able to audition comfortably," she said.

What did she perform for the jigga-man turned businessman? "Pon De Replay," "The Last Time," a ballad from her debut album, Music of the Sun (which was released August 30th), and Whitney Houston's version of "For the Love of You."

"When Jay told me he wanted to sign me, I was smiling from ear to ear," said Rihanna. "As I left Def Jam, I was walking up and down the streets screaming. I couldn't sleep for three nights straight. "I woke up every second thinking is this for real?"

Want to know the first thing she did after she got her advance? She went shopping! (Just like anyone who got signed to a multi-million dollar record company would do, right?) "I went and bought myself a whole new wardrobe because being in the spotlight calls for maintenance," she said with all smiles.

The first time she heard her song on the radio was at the mall. "I was running up and down screaming, and people looked at me like I was crazy," she said. "But I didn't care. It was my song and there was no other feeling like it!"

The green-eyed, island beauty fuses her style through her rich culture and compares her music to her favorite Caribbean dish, callaloo. "Calaloo is a mix of meats all in one dish and my music is a mixture of genres all in one," she said with her Bajan accent.

Another traditional dish that she enjoys is curry. "My mother is from Guyana, so I ate a lot of Guyanese and Trinidadian food when I lived with her," she said in a soft-spoken voice. "Oh and I love my mother's curry. I miss that a lot. The one's over here don't taste the same."

The Caribbean queen also told MoraFire about growing up in Barbados and her transition to the tri-state area.

"I loved hanging out with my two little brothers at the beach and hanging out with my friends at this club called, The Boatyard. That was our spot, our thing," she said. "I loved it, the warm weather, the warm people, everyone there is more laid back," she continued. "When I moved here everyone was more fast-paced about everything, it was completely different."

The singer, dancer, and writer said, "I was born to do it. I eat, sleep, drink, cry and laugh music. I love music, I have a passion for it and it comforts me."

The dance single, "Pon De Replay" - a Caribbean slang for "play it again" - is just a taste of what's in her album. From ballads and tempo to lovers' rock and old school reggae, there's something out there for everyone says the sassy songster.

According to Rihanna, the word "sun" in her album title represents who she is - her culture and where she's from, the Caribbean.

www.rihannasite.com

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