Talk That Talk is the sixth studio album by Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on November 18, 2011 by Def Jam Recordings and SRP Records. Talk That Talk was recorded during the Loud Tour between February and November 2011. It was originally planned to be a reissue of her previous studio album Loud (2010). As executive producer, Rihanna enlisted a wide range of producers including Alex da Kid, Calvin Harris, Chase & Status, No I.D., and Stargate to achieve her desired sound. Following in the same vein as Loud, Talk That Talk is a dance-oriented pop/R&B crossover album that incorporates elements of hip hop, dubstep, electronic and house music. The album also contains subtle dancehall influences while its lyrical content and themes revolve around a nihilistic, romantic, and lascivious lover.

Talk That Talk received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised the album's lyrics. Others were less favorable of its themes. Talk That Talk debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 198,000 copies and went on to sell 1.15 million copies in the United States by June 2015. The album also peaked at number one in Austria, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, selling 163,000 copies in its first week. As of April 2012, the album has been certified triple Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipments of 900,000 copies. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), Talk That Talk was the ninth global best-selling album of 2011. As of March 2013, the album has sold more than 5.5 million copies worldwide.

The album produced six singles, including the international hit "We Found Love" which was released as the album's lead single. "We Found Love" became Rihanna's eleventh number-one song on the US Billboard Hot 100, and topped the charts in twenty six additional countries. "You da One", "Talk That Talk" (featuring rapper Jay-Z) and a remix of "Birthday Cake" (featuring Chris Brown) experienced moderate success, while "Where Have You Been" reached the top ten of twenty countries around the world. A remixed form of "Cockiness (Love It)" (featuring rapper ASAP Rocky) was released to further promote the album.

Following the release of Rihanna's previous studio album, Loud (2010), the singer revealed that the album would be re-issued with new songs and released in fall 2011. In September 2011, Rihanna confirmed that plans for a re-issue of Loud had been scrapped, with the singer tweeting "I [thought about] a [re-release], but LOUD is its own body of work! Plus [you] guys work so [fucking] hard that [you] deserve to act brand new."

In an interview with Mixtape Daily, songwriter Verse Simmonds, half of the duo The Jugganauts, who wrote and produced the reggae-infused song "Man Down" from Loud, revealed that the singer was nearing completion of her sixth studio album in August 2011. The duo also said that they had penned two tracks for possible inclusion on the album, saying "From what I understand, she is closing the album up now, and we did two records for her that she really, really loved and I'm really excited about them as well" and also expressed interest in writing a third song. On September 15, 2011, Rihanna confirmed that recording sessions for the album were indeed underway, tweeting "I can't wait to start filling u guys in on some details!"

Rihanna created a Facebook campaign page entitled "Rihanna: UNLOCKED" [sic], whereby her fans on Facebook are given missions to complete, in the form of games, in order to "unlock" new information about the album. Upon the unveiling of the standard edition's artwork, both James Dinh of MTV and a reviewer for NME commented that Rihanna looks "seductive" in the image.

Recording sessions for Talk That Talk began in February 2011 and ended in November 2011. Recording for the album took place during the Loud Tour. Due to this, recording sessions for the album took place in various countries including France, United Kingdom, Norway, Denmark and Germany. Vocal producer Kurk Harrell estimates the album was cut in more than 25 cities. Rihanna recorded a total of sixteen to seventeen songs. The singer would record late into the morning, sometimes until noon, before riding her bus to the next city. In May 2012, Rihanna revealed that whilst she was recording the album, she suffered from exhaustion, saying in part: "It was the best [shit] ever, it was some rock star [shit] This is the craziest schedule I've ever been on in my entire life. One morning I woke up and started crying so hard. I finally just got to my bed from the IV [drip] and I was just like, 'Good I can actually get to sleep tonight', because we stayed up all night' and I finished [the album] at 5 pm the day before..."

Kuk Harrell, one of the producers of Talk That Talk, spoke on the recording of the album saying: "In addition to touring, we are recording Rihanna's new album. We have a portable studio that we set up at the different hotels that we are staying at. We set up shop anywhere in the hotel. Before we went on the European leg of Rihanna's Loud tour, we started recording the album in Los Angeles. Rihanna likes to work late hours, so she would come into the studio at 9pm and work until 6am." Continuing Harrell stated "The show was the priority, and then the album. That's how the day was broken up." Expanding on this Harrell stated that Rihanna would perform every night, finish her meet and greet by 1 a.m. Then go to the studio for around two or three a.m. During these session Harrell stated "I’d make the decision based off [sic] where I felt her voice was. Knowing she just did two hours of a show and meet-and-greets, I would suggest capturing the stuff that was easier to get like the lower-range stuff so we wouldn’t hurt or damage her voice."