Rihanna Debuts ‘American Oxygen’ Video Complete with Obama Inauguration, Ferguson, 9/11 Imagery

Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Turner/AFP
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for Turner/AFP

A couple of days after Rihanna premiered her new single “American Oxygen” at the March Madness Music Festival in Indianapolis, the music video for the song debuted.

In the video, the singer dances in front of an American flag as images from some of America’s most important historical events flash by onscreen: President Obama’s inauguration, the terrorist attacks of September 11, the moon landing — along with the media-fueled riots, arson, and theft in Ferguson, Missouri following the shooting death of strong-arm robbery suspect Michael Brown.

The video also features footage from the Occupy Wall Street protests, shots of illegal aliens climbing over what appears to be the country’s southern border, and old black-and-white footage of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The video dropped exclusively on Jay-Z’s new paid streaming service TIDAL, in which Rihanna reportedly owns three percent stake, although it has since leaked to some online outlets.

Rihanna debuted the song in a fiery performance Saturday in Indiana, where she criticized the state’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act using some pretty colorful, foul language.

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