Rihanna is ‘in the studio’, says partner A$AP Rocky
Rapper A$AP Rocky has revealed that his partner, Rihanna, is currently working on new music, potentially ending a hiatus from full-length albums that has lasted almost a decade. Speaking on The Jason Lee Podcast, he confirmed "she in the studio right now" after being pressed on why the singer, real name Robyn Fenty, has not released an album since 2016's Anti, with the host suggesting their relationship and young family might be a factor.
The Barbadian singer and businesswoman has said previously that she felt "really optimistic" about new material, telling Harper's Bazaar last year that she had "finally cracked it" but did not want to release anything "mediocre". Since Anti, she has put out standalone singles, including 2022's Lift Me Up for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, while focusing on ventures such as Fenty Beauty, which have helped push her estimated net worth above a billion dollars. A$AP Rocky, whose real name is Rakim Mayers, also denied the pair were planning a joint double album and declined to confirm whether they had married.
- A$AP Rocky says Rihanna is working on new music
- Would be her first album since 2016's Anti
- He denied plans for a joint double album with her
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Rihanna – the Barbadian singer, actress and businesswoman born Robyn Fenty – has not released a full studio album since Anti in 2016, despite dropping occasional singles such as 2022's Lift Me Up. In that time she has built a huge business empire, most notably the Fenty Beauty cosmetics line, and become a mother, all of which has fuelled long-running speculation among fans about when, or whether, she will return with new music.
Her long-term partner is the rapper A$AP Rocky, real name Rakim Mayers, with whom she has young children. He is a well-known figure in hip hop in his own right, and his comments about Rihanna's music plans carry weight because the couple rarely discuss their relationship or family life in public.
Any hint of new material from Rihanna is significant given her stature as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and because her fanbase has waited nearly a decade for a follow-up album, making even brief remarks from those close to her a source of wide interest.