Rap and R&B music’s global icon Rihanna – often referred to as RiRi – is seemingly gearing up for her ninth studio effort. The Barbados-born billionaire artist – real name Robyn Rihanna Fenty NH – is fresh off her avant-garde performance at this year’s NFL Superbowl Halftime show and revealed that “it’d be ridiculous” if she doesn’t drop the follow-up to her mega-successful ‘Anti’ LP this year.
“I want it to be this year. Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos. And I need the right background music with the visuals. I can’t just go shoot a video to me talking,” RiRi delves into her plans for a new album during an interview with British Vogue.
However, Rihanna discussed the immense pressure she has to go through after releasing numerous top-selling records such as ‘Anti’, ‘Talk That Talk’, ‘Rated R’ and more.
“But there’s this pressure that I put on myself,” RiRi continues. “That if it’s not better than that then it is not even worth it. It is toxic. You’re right. It’s not the right way to look at music because music is an outlet and a space to create, and you can create whatever. It doesn’t have to even be on any scale. It just has to be something that feels good. It could just be a song that I like. It literally could be that simple.”
“So I realised that if I keep waiting until this feels right and perfect and better, maybe it’s going to keep taking forever and maybe it’ll never come out and no, I’m not down to that. So I want to play. And by play, I mean I have my ideas in my head, but I can’t say them out loud yet”.
Notably, the news arrives amidst her boyfriend and Harlem’s legendary emcee A$ap Rocky – real name Rakim Athelaston Myers – gearing up for his own LP this year. In December last year, Lord Flacko pressed that his “Album is finished.” and asked his critics to “Don’t Be Dumb.” Further, the A$ap Mob bossman revealed that his highly anticipated LP is titled ‘Don’t Be Dumb’.
Rocky even previewed a record from his album titled ‘Same Problems?’ during his exclusive Amazon Music Live Set. Rocky dedicated the Tyler, The Creator, Hector Deldago & Thundercat-produced single to the late “Hip-Hoppers” who “get shot and killed everyday”.
You gotta know that we the highest statistic of losing people,” Rocky said. “No other genre loses rockstars, pop singers, and country artists. Hip-hoppers, we get killed and shot every day. Overdoses, all types of unfortunate events. So this song is dedicated to everybody we lost and anybody who ever lost somebody.” Rocky said during his set.
A$ap’s set projected some of the biggest emcees and record producers who were either fatally shot or subjected to violent racism including Takeoff, DMX, Drakeo the Ruler, Juice WRLD, King Von, Lil Keed, the Notorious B.I.G., PNB Rock, Trouble, XXXTentacion, Slim 400, ASAP Yams, Fredo Santana, Bankroll Fresh, 2Pac, Pop Smoke, Young Dolph, Nipsey Hussle, Mac Miller, MF Doom, Ricky Black, and Adrian Duke Mayers.
Flacko went on to release ‘Same Problems?’ earlier this year through RCA Records.
Whether A$ap Rocky would feature on RiRi’s upcoming album remains to be seen. In the past, Rocky & Rihanna collaborated on ‘Cockiness (Love It) [Remix]’ over ten years ago. Since then, Rihanna has made an appearance on ‘Fashion Killa’ and ‘D.M.B’. Check them out below.
RiRi’s upcoming project will serve as the follow-up to her recent original motion picture soundtracks. As part of the ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ soundtrack, Rihanna dropped her stunning vocals on ‘Lift Me Up’ and ‘Born Again’. Notably, they were Rihanna’s first pieces of music in six years at the time.
Look out for Rihanna’s ninth studio album this year.
Be sure to check out ‘Anti’ (Deluxe) by Rihanna here if you haven’t yet.
