Desperado (Rihanna song)

It was written and produced by Mick Schultz with additional writing by Krystin "Rook Monroe" Watkins, Rihanna, Iman Jordan, James Fauntleroy and Derrus Rachel.

During the recording process of Anti, Rihanna rented a house in Malibu over several months and started extensively writing and composing music with her team consisting of various musicians.

On June 9, 2017, a dance remixes extended play was released via the iTunes Store for digital download and streaming on Apple Music and Spotify.

During the writing and recording process for Rihanna's eighth studio album, Anti, the singer was staying in a rented house in Malibu, California where she was accompanied by various musicians.

"[2] Work on "Desperado" continued during Schultz and Monroe's stay in the house, where they were joined by Rihanna, James Fauntleroy and Derrus Rachel for the final result.

He intended to create a song that puts the listener in a mood, remarking how it has an "alternative vibe but still has urban undertones but it’s guitar and dirty live bass.

[3] On June 9, 2017, a dance remixes extended play was released via the iTunes Store for digital download and streaming on Apple Music and Spotify.

[9] Jessica McKinney of Vibe compared the opening eight seconds of the song to Banks' 'Waiting Game', and highlighted the singer's "choppy, rustic vocals.

stated that the title of the song, "Desperado", has multiple meanings; firstly, it references American West movies with phrases like "saddle up" and second "Rihanna is obviously desperate to skip town".

[13] "Desperado" debuted inside the top 50 of the United States Billboard Dance Club Songs chart at number 42 on August 12, 2017, with a 'gains in performance' tag.

[17] The track became Rihanna's thirty-second number-one song on the chart, distancing herself from Beyoncé in third position with 22 and narrowing the gap with record holder Madonna who has 46.