In The 48 Laws Of Power, law #1 is to “Never outshine the master” (Greene 1). In the song Birthday Cake Remix, by Rihanna and Chris Brown, Rihanna is a master who cannot be beaten. There are specific things she says that make her the obvious master of this song. The chorus is the basis of her power, thus being the most important part of the song; “Don’t try to hide it/ I’mma make you my bitch”(Rihanna). Throughout the song, there is a back and forth between Chris Brown and Rihanna about how she is the most powerful. When someone is the master, others try to please him or her in any way possible. This has the potential to backfire, just like it did for Nicolas Fouquet; “He may feign appreciation, but at his first opportunity he will replace you with someone less intelligent, less attractive, less threatening, just as Louis XIV replaced the sparkling Fouquet with the bland Colbert”(Greene 5). Nickolas was replaced because he tried to impress King Louis XVI by throwing a massive party, but the King felt threatened because it was a more lavish party than he has ever thrown. He saw this as a threat and decided to get rid of his competition. In the song, Chris Brown keeps saying how bad he wants Rihanna, but at the end he never gets to be with her. Chris’ display of affection and need for her made her turn away from him. He is very blunt in saying what he wants from the master; “Girl I wanna fuck you right now”(Rihanna). When someone tells the master what they want, they normally will not get it because the master get pleasure from being in control. Not all masters are alike, especially Rihanna. She thinks very highly of herself, assuming that everybody wants her. When she says, “I know you wanna bite this/ it’s so enticing/ nothing else like this” (Rihanna), she is implying that she has the best “cake” and she knows that Chris Brown wants to have a piece. Chris Brown acknowledges she is the best, this is very smart on his part; “You know this but you the shit” he sings, adding, “Damn, girl you pretty” (Rihanna). As stated in the first law, it is important to be the master’s favorite. By saying this, Chris will look better in Rihanna’s eyes, making him closer to having sex with her. “Never imagine that because the master
