It was written by Samuel Barnes, Scott La Rock, Makeba Riddick, Jean-Claude Oliver, Lawrence Parker, and produced by Poke & Tone.

In the United States, the song failed to match the commercial success of Rihanna's previous single, "Pon de Replay", peaking at number 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The song's accompanying music video, directed by Marcus Raboy, was shot on a beach in California, and features the singer enjoying several activities, such as dancing and riding jet skis with her friends.

[5][6] According to the digital music sheet published at musicnotes.com, "If It's Lovin' that You Want" is written in the key of A-flat major and is set in common time with a moderate dance groove with a metronome of 98 beats per minute.

[7] A sequel to the song titled "If It's Lovin' That You Want – Part 2", which features rap vocals by Cory Gunz, was included as a bonus track on Rihanna's sophomore album, A Girl Like Me (2006).

[8] The song was written by Samuel Barnes, Scott LaRock, Makeba Riddick, Jean-Claude Oliver, Lawrence Parker[9] and was produced by the latter two under their production name, Poke & Tone of Trackmasters."

[2] A reviewer for Billboard praised the song's composition and beat, writing "['If It's Lovin' that You Want'] reinforces Rihanna's tropical reggae signature with an itchy hook that, albeit monotonous, cannot miss.

[1] In an interview with MTV News, Rihanna spoke about the development of the shoot for the video, saying "The water was so cold ... but oh my gosh, we had so much fun ... We were bumping each other off the Jet Skis and just had a ball".

[1] The video begins with scenes of Rihanna dancing and walking along the beach and riding jet skis with her friends during the first chorus and continues into the first verse.

[1] Halfway through the first verse, a new scene of the singer is introduced, where she is dancing on a platform with four other female dancers, wearing a "short, flowing white skirt and a cropped tee",[1] with the ocean as the backdrop behind her.