Jam noted it was commonplace for Jackson to sing her vocals with the base track first and then have the rest of the song built around it in order to make her voice the center of the piece. "Janet did all of her background vocals and not just the lead vocals. The idea with her has always been that she does all of her own vocals, so that it's totally a Janet record." On the title track "Rhythm Nation", her vocals range from Bb3 to G5, climaxing within its middle eight. Musicologist Richard J. Ripani observed the album and title track showcased the variety of contemporary R&B styles, making "use of elements across the R&B spectrum, including use of a sample loop ["Rhythm Nation" samples "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" by Sly and the Family Stone], triplet swing, rapped vocal parts and blues notes (D naturals and G naturals)." This style of music, known as new jack swing, was immensely popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Though officially credited to the production techniques of Teddy Riley, Ripani theorized Riley was influenced by Jackson's 1986 single "Nasty", which also features a distinctive triplet swing. Jon Pareles observed the album's diversity catered to a wide variety of radio formats, including pop, quiet storm, Adult contemporary and mainstream rock. "Black Cat" was a stand-out for the record, not only for being composed exclusively by Jackson, but for its stark departure from her general style of music, delving into hard rock. While Jellybean Johnson was elected to produce it, Dave Berry was recruited to play guitar for the song. It was recorded using a mixture of Rockman and Marshall amplifier to give the song a heavy metal sound.