‘Remember how you did it? / Remember how you fit it? / If you still wanna kiss it / Come, come, come and get it’ are just some of the seductive lyrics from Rihanna’s remixed song ‘Birthday Cake.’

‘Birthday Cake’ dropped Monday, which just happened to be the Barbadian songstress’ 24th birthday. The song also featured recent Grammy Award-winner Chris Brown. The very same Chris Brown who pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna in June 2009.

Brown’s answers to Rihanna’s lyrical questions about her figurative birthday cake are even more aggressive.

‘But I wanna lick the icing off / Give it to her in the worst way / Can’t wait to blow her candles out / I want that cake, cake, cake,’ he croons.

I’m confused as to when Brown publicly asking Rihanna to jump back in the sack became OK. Brown using the phrase ‘worst way’ in relation to Rihanna was the worst idea I’ve heard all week.

Yes, it’s a song, it’s just music. It’s music that will be played at frat parties and clubs, where the only thing people care about is how quickly Rihanna says cake to the beat.

But, no matter how much I’ve tried to forget, Rihanna’s bruised face and swollen lip is still blazed into my memory. That’s the actual outcome if Brown gives it to Rihanna in the worst way.

Brown also released the remix to ‘Turn Up The Music’ this week. Ever the gentleman, because he was featured on Rihanna’s newest remix, she’s also featured on his. Two remixes, one week.

If you had told anyone in 2009 that in less than three years the former couple would be producing hits together, no one would’ve believed it. They would’ve been too busy watching Rihanna apologize to a Diane Sawyer in an exclusive interview.

In the first interview after the event, the pop superstar explained that she stopped going back to Brown only after she realized her actions had far-reaching effects.

‘These are young girls,’ she said to Sawyer between pauses. ‘I just didn’t realize how much of an impact I had on these girls until that happened. It was a wake-up call for me.’

I was proud of Rihanna. She had admitted to going back to Brown many times, but she made the right decision for herself and her fans. After the assault, she took off artistically. She grew up.

Rihanna went from a pretty R&B singer with a few fun hits under her belt to an empowered one-woman show. She has produced sexy and strong singles like ‘Rude Boy’ and ‘S&M’ as well as every girl’s favorite party song ‘We Found Love.’

Rihanna has become the ‘indisputable champion of carnal pop,’ according to a profile of her in Esquire’s November 2011 issue. There she was crowned the Sexiest Woman Alive.

The Sexiest Woman Alive, the champion of carnal pop, does not need to sing duets with the guy that almost killed her. It’s great that she has forgiven him, both publicly and apparently privately, but they don’t need to sing about licking icing off birthday cakes together.

That same effect Rihanna’s actions had in 2009 is just as strong today. She’s giving the young girls who sympathized with her — and stood up for themselves — mixed signals. Especially following rumors the two may be rekindling their romance.

Rihanna publicly went through something so many girls live through privately and painfully. She gave them someone to look up to and someone to emulate. Whether she likes it or not, her romantic choices are going to affect a lot more than her and Brown.

Ariana Romero is a sophomore magazine journalism major. Her column appears every Thursday. She can be reached at akromero@syr.edu.  

Published on February 22, 2012 at 12:00 pm