The music video for “We Ride” was filmed in Miami and the Florida Keys in August 2006. It was directed by Anthony Mandler, the director of the previous single’s video, “Unfaithful”. In an interview with Corey Moss of MTV, Rihanna explained the concept behind the inspiration for the video, saying:
“We just wanted to reconnect with my peers, let them know I’m still a teen, I still have friends – but to make something provocative. The ‘[SOS]’ and ‘Unfaithful’ [concepts] were so out there, so we pulled it back a little bit. I’m chilling with my girls some.”
The singer continued to talk about the choreographic content, saying:
“I’m dancing [in the video], like technical dance, which was a challenge … It usually takes years to learn, but we got it done in a few days. And it was beautifully shot.”
The video was released to download via iTunes on September 18, 2006 in Ireland and September 20, 2006 in the United States.
The video begins with Rihanna walking towards her car, but stops due to her mobile phone ringing. As Rihanna answers, she converses with a male friend, presumably her boyfriend. As she tells him that she needs to do some things before meeting with him, Rihanna hangs up and the screen cuts to a black screen. As a visual of Rihanna driving along a bridge in the Florida Keys, the song begins to play. During the first verse, different scenes are intercut of Rihanna, including a close-up shot of the singer driving behind the wheel is shown, walking along the beach and dancing in a black dress against a white backdrop, as she sings about how her boyfriend has been seeing another girl without Rihanna knowing. For the first chorus, in addition to the other three scenes, one shot is shown of Rihanna dancing with a man in a nightclub. During the second verse, Rihanna is shown laying down on the beach and playing in her water, as well as dancing with a male dancer against a white backdrop, this time wearing a lace dress.
For the second chorus, a new scene of Rihanna is introduced, with Rihanna meeting with her friends, having arrived at her destination, where they eat in restaurant and walk down the street. During the bridge, as Rihanna sings about the difficulties of getting over a failed relationship, scenes of Rihanna partying and talking to her ex-boyfriend on her phone are depicted, which results in her agreeing to meet him as she sings “Just blame yourself ’cause you blew it/I won’t forget how you do it, my sweet baby/This is where the game ends now/But somehow wanna believe you and me/We can figure it out”, as she decides that their relationship is worth salvaging. During the final chorus, the singer is shown intimately dancing and partying with her boyfriend, whilst other scenes from the video are intercut. The video ends with a close-up shot of Rihanna against a white backdrop; when the song’s audio finishes, the singer turns her head to the side and looks into the distance, as the camera pans away.