Chloe Govan - Rihanna: Rebel Flower

F orget sugarcane Rihanna is Barbados biggest export, with sales of over 15 million albums worldwide. Officially the highest charting and most successful Bajan that is, Barbadian artist of all time, the small-town girl with obscenely big dreams broke out of her island idyll to become a global superstar. But where did it all begin for the girl who, since childhood, had found herself blessed with the nickname Rebel Flower?

Rihanna grew up on what to many seems the ultimate paradise island, where turquoise blue waves lapped at infinite sandy beaches, where postcard-perfect coastline stretched as far as the eye could see, where the sun was always shining, and where even at night temperatures barely dipped below 25C.

But the sun was rarely shining in Rihannas heart. Beneath the paradise mirage was a life of dark secrets, harsh betrayal, drug abuse, brutal violence and never-ending heartache.

She had been brought into the world by Monica and Ronald Fenty, both immigrants to Barbados. Ronalds ancestors had been Irish settlers on the losing side of the vicious English Civil War of the 1600s and, consequently, had been exiled to the island to become indentured servants.

In an act of defiance, some immigrants allegedly married their own brothers and sisters in a bid to keep their bloodlines pure. They resented their new lives of servitude at the mercy of wealthy plantation owners and exploitative employers. They might have stood out as being pale-skinned newcomers to the island, when back in Ireland barely a lick of sunshine had touched their faces, but there was one thing they had in common with the locals a hatred of powerful companies and the pitifully low wages they provided.

Even worse, throughout the 1900s many people were escaping the country due to high rates of unemployment and poverty. Refusing to be beaten, Ronalds ancestors did the opposite and stayed put.

Their saving grace turned out to be tourism. Being surrounded by wealthy holidaymakers who had come with only fun in mind a hedonistic weekend of sun, sea and sand might have made the local Bajan workers resentful; but it was the exotic appeal of Barbadian shores that had saved the islands flagging economy. Hospitality quickly surpassed sugarcane to become the top source of income in the country, and, eventually, one in every five Bajan residents would be employed in the tourist trade, some of Ronalds relatives included.

Rihannas mother was also an immigrant, hailing from the little-known British colony of Guyana a beautiful land of reefs and rainforests nestled just north of Brazil and a little east of Venezuela. She had shared her South American heritage with an African-American mother who had moved to Barbados soon after she was born.

Finding herself on Barbados, Monica met Ronald when the two were high-school students. There was an instant attraction, but it wasnt plain sailing. By the age of 14, Ronald had already discovered the temptations of marijuana and crack cocaine. However, Monica was undeterred. The two became firm friends and, later, lovers.

They married in 1985, by which time the two were both in their thirties, but their marriage was ill-fated from the start. Back then, less than two percent of marriages had been mulatto mixed race and such relationships were often taboo for social and political reasons. Behind the scenes many mixed-race couples were secretly sharing homes, but Rihannas parents were among the few to come out of the closet and publicly declare their love for one another through marriage. Not everyone approved, and the two had to endure the occasional stare, taunt or catty remark as commonplace but that was the least of their worries.

By now, Ronald had developed a severe drug addiction. If Monica had hoped she could change his ways, she had been sorely mistaken. As much as he wanted to quit, substance abuse had now taken over his life. The newly-weds lived together in Bridgetown, which, despite being the islands capital, was a small, tight-knit community and Ronald soon built up a reputation as a parrow Barbadian slang for a scrounging junkie.

In fact, rumours were even rife that his drug abuse had left him infertile, accounting for the couples initially childless marriage. The gossipmongers were proved wrong on February 20, 1988 when the couples first daughter was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty.

Finding it difficult to deal with the upheaval of the new arrival, Ronald would flee the family home for days at a time on cocaine binges, leaving his wife to take care of the newborn. While her father was scoring crack and her mother was working all the hours that God sent to keep the family finances in check, Rihanna was distracting herself in a very different way by singing. At age three, she would stand in front of her bedroom mirror, an imaginary microphone or her mothers hairbrush clasped in her hands, singing the words to Whitney Houstons Saving All My Love For You. What was more, as soon as she was able to walk, she also mastered the dance routines.

Singing and performing were essential diversions for Rihanna as she dodged her parents increasingly ferocious battles. Even as a child, I would learn that my mom and dad would argue when there was foil paper in the ashtray, she later told The Mirror.

There was also prolific violence on one occasion, Ronald even broke his wifes nose in front of her. Rihanna would cling onto his legs and smash glasses in a desperate attempt to save her mother and distract her father from the beatings. I was out of control, Ronald acknowledged to The Sun. I would let my wife and children down time and time again. I was not a good dad or husband.

Rihanna agreed, telling The Observer, A child shouldnt have to go through that. Being in the whirlwind, it frustrates you, it angers you, because youre being tortured and you dont know why.

Over the years, suffering from an abusive father, she continued to find refuge in song. She was inspired by the tunes that blared out from the reggae nightclub her mother ran at the time, and became a huge fan of artists such as Bob Marley. Uplifting songs such as No Woman, No Cry, which made the best out of a bad situation, lifted her out of her depression.

It was almost compulsory for a young Bajan girl to listen to copious amounts of reggae; but, going against the grain, the young Rihanna still known to everyone by her first name, Robyn also sought out a more balanced musical diet as she grew up. This included Shaggy, Diana Ross and Mariah Carey.

Reggae wasnt enough for Robyn anymore, a childhood friend told the author. She was frustrated by how local sega or reggae artists werent getting much success outside of Bridgetown. She started to look up to the American artists more because they were given more recognition and theyd made their dreams come true. They were pulling audiences from all around the world. Actually, the girls at school dissed her for turning her back on our local culture, thinking she was better than the rest.

And music wasnt the only reason she was singled out for abuse at school. Rihanna had always stood out as different, due to her unusually light skin and green eyes, and at primary school, she was bullied relentlessly and told that she was an ugly pig.

But music dominated Rihannas life: whether it was Bob Marley, Destinys Child or an obscure sega group from back home adorning her playlist, Rihanna would sing along and loud. She would sing in the school cafeteria, on the beach, on balconies or even at home in the shower. The latter caused her some trouble at times. Her neighbours might have been embarrassed to mention the near daily arguments, physical fights and piercing screams they heard echoing through the perilously thin walls of her home domestic violence was another taboo but they were less restrained when it came to criticising Rihannas singing.