Rihanna’s been tending to as many of her babies as she can, including the new Fenty Skin line she’s launching Friday (July 31), her Fenty Beauty line, her Savage x Fenty lingerie collection and her Fenty fashion brand. But RiRi hasn’t neglected her firstborn, music.
“I love making music, so I never neglect it. I always get to it and get back to it,” she told Access Hollywood in a video interview ahead of her virtual Fenty Skin launch party Wednesday evening (July 30). “But there’s other things on the carousel now, so I have to pay attention to everything and stay on top of everything. I’m just that way, and music sometimes takes a hit naturally because these other things are crucial in terms of timelines and production, and there’s so much that people will never understand that goes on behind the scenes.”
She continued: “Music is still my first love, so I can’t wait to put something out that I’m really proud of and excited about. It is probably gonna be sooner than my fans think, but I’m just gonna leave that alone…. I got enough stress and questions and ‘R9, where’s the album?’ comments. They don’t leave me alone, but I haven’t neglected them. I still gotchu, music is still my baby.”
Rihanna has heard the Navy’s constant demands for her ninth studio album nicknamed R9 loud and clear, telling Entertainment Tonight in a video interview before the launch party, “When I am ready to put it out in the way that I feel fit, it’s gonna come out. And you’re not going to be disappointed when it happens. It’s going to be worth it.” But she’s been very wary of her fans’ desire for instant gratification after an incident with paparazzi she had while recording her last studio album ANTI from 2016.
“I remember this specifically when I was making ANTI. It was my first day in the studio, first day, which is like, you’re still really early in the discovery stages, right?” she recalled in the Access Hollywood interview. “And a paparazzi caught me going into the studio. After that, they thought my album was coming out that week. And so ANTI to them took forever, but I could’ve just worked on that.”
The 32-year-old mogul says she “doesn’t have the luxury” of putting out an album in three months like before because of her other passion projects. But while looking back to the past, RiRi honored the 15th anniversary of her debut single “Pon De Replay” as well as the 10th anniversary of “What’s My Name” featuring Drake and “Love The Way You Lie” with Eminem.
“I thought that was just a few years ago, now it’s like a decade plus?!” she joked to ET. “That is what I think about! But I’m also really grateful to still be here and being able to expand into other ventures. I’m grateful. It’s been fun and I can’t even complain.”
