Songfacts®:

• This was Rihanna's second single, following her dancehall hit "Pon De Replay," which went to #2 for three weeks in the summer of 2005, thwarted by Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together." "If It's Lovin' That You Want" didn't do nearly as well, topping out at #36, and no more singles were released from her debut album, Music Of The Sun.
  
  But Rihanna returned with a vengeance with her next single, "SOS," which, powered by a "Tainted Love" sample, went to #1, setting the stage for a startling run of hits.
• Rihanna was just 17 when this song was released on her Music Of The Sun album. It's a buoyant tune filled with the kind of lines a teenage girl might come up with when she's pursuing her crush:
  
  I'll be your friend, I can be your homie...
  I won't push too hard or break your heart
  
  It was written by the song's producers Poke & Tone along with Makeba Riddick, who co-wrote the 2002 Jennifer Lopez #1 "All I Have" and the 2006 Beyoncé hit "Deja Vu." She later worked on Rihanna's "Rude Boy" and her T.I. collaboration "Live Your Life."
  
  As for Poke & Tone, they also produced "Independent Women Part I" for Destiny's Child and "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" for Will Smith.
• The "di di di di da da dey" comes from a 1987 song by Boogie Down Productions called "The Bridge Is Over." That song's writers, KRS-One and Scott La Rock, get writing credits on "If It's Lovin' That You Want" as a result.
• The music video was shot on the beach in California, with Rihanna having a blast with other very attractive young people. She had to learn how to ride a Jet Ski for the shoot, but that wasn't a problem. She also had to do a bit of dancing, since most pop videos by female artists had group dance scenes.
  
  The video was directed by Marcus Raboy, who also did Santana's "Smooth" and Bubba Sparxxx' "Ms. New Booty."
• It was Jay-Z who signed Rihanna to Def Jam Records. Most of her first album was produced by the team of Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers, who made her demo after Rogers discovered her in Barbados, but Jay brought in other talented folks to work with her as well, including Poke & Tone on this track and the Stargate team on another Music Of The Sun cut, "Let Me." Throughout her career, Rihanna worked with A-list songwriters and producers.
• This song plays in the pilot episode of Gossip Girl from 2007.