 Kitty Empire called the track " excellent " , and praised it for being an original composition which is reminiscent of a " righteous old reggae murder ballad " . Consequence of Sound writer Ryan <unk> said that " Man Down " and another album track called " <unk> " both " stand on their own <unk> " , and that the former is an homage to her Caribbean heritage with its <unk> melody . Describing the track as " <unk> " , Bradley Stern thought that no other song on Loud embodied Rihanna 's personality more so than on " Man Down " . Cinquemani chose " Man Down " as the best song on Loud , calling Rihanna 's vocal agility " surprising " and noting that the " fully @-@ fledged reggae " song is co @-@ written by a fellow Barbadian @-@ born singer , Shontelle . 
