Rihanna is back in the studio, according to her partner A$AP Rocky.
The Barbadian singer has not released a new album since 2016’s ‘Anti‘ – but that might be about to change.
A$AP Rocky told The Jason Lee Podcaston Wednesday (August 5) that Rihanna was “in the studio right now”.
“Yeah, I said it. Sorry, babe,” Rocky said, adding: “She cooking, bro. No funny shit.”
Rocky, who shares three children with Rihanna, went on to say: “Damn, imma get in trouble for this.”
However, he shot down any possibility of a joint album. “I would hate Rocky and Rihanna if they did that – that’s trash”, he explained. “Nobody wanna hear us together! I make subversive, weird ass indie rap. The music that I make is for a niche demographic of people who get it.”
Throughout the years, Rihanna has given hints to the sound of her new record.
In February last year, she claimed the album was “not going to be anything that anybody expects”.
“I’ve been in the studio the whole eight years,” she told Harper’s BAZAAR, “but it didn’t hit me. I was searching for it. I went through phases of what I wanted to do. ‘This kind of album, not that album’.”
“I know it’s not going to be anything that anybody expects,” she added. “And it’s not going to be commercial or radio, digestible. It’s going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now. I feel like I’ve finally cracked it, girl!”
She has also shot down rumours that she was making a reggae album. “Way off! There’s no genre now. That’s why I waited,” she said at the time.
In 2024, she also told the public she was “starting over” with a “new perspective”, adding that “God had other plans for me” than music at a Fenty Beauty product launch in November.
Since then, she’s been pictured in the studio in February this year.
Shortly after ‘Anti’s release,Rihanna spoke toNMEin an exclusive interviewand explained why three of her singles at the time – ‘American Oxygen’, ‘Four Five Seconds’, ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ – had such different sounds.
“I love what I love, and these songs each have their own demeanour, and the videos reflect the character of each song,” she said. “I want every video to take you on a different journey. A different ride.”