 " Cold Case Love " is a song recorded by Barbadian singer Rihanna for her fourth studio album , Rated R ( 2009 ) . It was written and produced by The Y 's ( Justin Timberlake , Robin Tadross and James Fauntleroy II ) . Following Chris Brown 's assault on Rihanna , she started working on the sound of her new album . Timberlake who co @-@ wrote " Cold Case Love " labeled the sound of Rihanna 's new project as a step forward for the singer . In February 2010 , Rihanna admitted that the song 's lyrics are about her complicated relationship with Brown . 
