A$AP Rocky revealed in a Wednesday interview that Rihanna is currently in the studio actively recording new music, reigniting speculation about her long-awaited ninth studio album, informally dubbed R9. The comments push back on suggestions that Rocky, or the couple's family life, has been responsible for the delay in new material, with him insisting she is "cooking" on new songs.

Rihanna's last full album, ANTI, was released in 2016 and spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. Since then, her only new music has been sporadic, including 2025's "Friend of Mine" for the Smurfs Movie soundtrack, though she shared studio footage on social media in February and returned to live performance in July at Jay-Z's Yankee Stadium show. Billboard said it had contacted Rihanna's representatives for comment on Rocky's remarks.