Since the release ofAnti in January 2016, Rihanna fans are eagerly awaiting the release of a new album. And given that the Barbadian superstar looked pregnant to perform during the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 12, 2023, it’s a safe bet we’ll have to wait a little longer.
However, the singer-turned-billionaire beauty and lingerie entrepreneur (the Fenty empire is now worth about $2.8 billion and Rihanna owns a 50% stake) spoke again about the future of his music career, as a young parent, with the vogue Cover of the British March 2023. The latter, photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin on a Malibu beach, has already attracted quite a few reactions as the artist appears in the foreground, head held high, holding hands with his partner A$AP Rocky, in the background , carrying their child while kissing his forehead. It is the head of the clan who drives the boat. And in case the image wasn’t evocative enough, the title adds a layer of it talking about ” parenting rather than motherhood.
Rihanna’s first birth and the days after
At the time of the interview (which begins at 3:26), their first child, born in May 2022 and nicknamed Fenty Jr. (his real name has not yet been publicly revealed), he was then 9 months old and sleeps through the night, but Rihanna has lost track of time since becoming a mom, she explains:
“You really don’t remember life before, it’s the craziest thing ever. You’re literally trying to remember it – and there are pictures from my life before – but the feeling, the desires, the things you love, everything, you just don’t identify with it because you can’t. project yourself forward, because… Because it doesn’t matter. »
She sums up that her delivery went well and what followed shocked her:
“From one person, I became two. You enter the hospital as a couple and leave as a family of three. He’s crazy. And oh my, those early days are crazy. You are not sleeping. At all. Not even if you want to. […] Mostly you become a zombie. You’re just going through the motions. You even get paranoid. I was like, did they trust us to come home with this baby? This new life? [Rires] No doctors, no nurses, we’ll just go… home? »
Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and their son spent the weeks following his birth in California before following the rapper’s European tour in the summer of 2022. An eventful time, then:
“I had to be consistent. In service. Literally, that’s it. You are happy when you find time even just to take a shower. [Rires]. I remember at first I’d roll his cradle into the bathroom, take a shower, and wipe off the mist [de la vitre] just to watch it. [Les matins] they have always been my favorite moments: waking up with her little face, seeing her face change, seeing her color enter [la carnation de peau des bébés noirs arrivent au fur et à mesure, ndlr], just all these changes. »
Motherhood has complicated Rihanna’s relationship with fashion
Rihanna also talks about how her relationship with fashion has changed:
“Dressing for pregnancy was a breeze […] But dressing after delivery, what the fuck are you doing? The week I got home from the hospital, there was nothing but hoodies and sweatshirts. But the following weeks you no longer know what to wear. Everything is too small or too big. You just have to wait, otherwise you’ll end up buying a lot of clothes that you won’t use. Well, unless you get pregnant again. »
Having a baby made Rihanna feel like nothing was impossible, not even the Super Bowl
She who had loudly refused to perform during the halftime of the Super Bowl 2018, in solidarity with the player Colin Kaepernick committed against police violence and racism, Rihanna tells what it meant for her to accept this time, pregnant:
“There are still a lot of repairs to be done in my eyes, but it’s powerful to break down those doors and have representation at such a high, high and consistent level. […] Raising a young black man is one of life’s scariest responsibilities. […] You say to yourself, ‘What do I leave my kids for? Is this the planet they will live on? All of these things are really starting to hit me differently.
[La maternité m’a donné le sentiment] knowing you can do anything, even the craziest things, like, ‘Will I say yes to the Super Bowl in the middle of postpartum?’ […] Go all out for a challenge like this because you know what your body just did. You have this feeling of ‘Nothing is impossible’. […] I haven’t been on stage for seven years. Seven years! From zero to the Super Bowl? It’s crazy. »
Rihanna wants to protect her baby’s privacy as much as possible
What’s even crazier, perhaps, is that she had no idea she was going to be pregnant again by the time of the performance! Rihanna also talks about how, while shooting the cover of this issue of voguea paparazzi stole pictures of her baby:
“You never want that to happen. As parents, we decide when and how to do it [révéler ou non des images de leur enfant]. End of the story. […] Throw me to the wolves. Do what you want with me. But [mon bébé] he has no say in any of this. We have protected it so far and you do not have permission to post photos or sell photos of my minor child. Forget about it. […] As parents, it’s so disgusting, like a violation. »
That’s why, before the paparazzi sold the stolen photos of their baby to the press, Rihanna decided to grab TikTok and reveal a cute short video of the baby’s face herself.
Rihanna also talks about the special bond between A$AP Rocky and their baby
Rihanna also talks about A$AP Rocky’s special relationship with their baby boy:
“I sit on the sidelines when they’re together. I’m literally the girl trying to get into the boys’ club, waiting my turn. He’s obsessed with his dad. And I’m like, ‘Didn’t I give birth to you? What’s going on? ‘ [Rires] Their bond is undeniable. The moment Rocky looks into his eyes, he’s on fire. »
Rihanna is already having fun making a sketch for her baby
But the funniest part of this cover storyis when Rihanna talks about how much she enjoys dressing their child:
“I like to dress her in things that don’t look like baby clothes. I like to push it. I put it in floral stuff. I put it in hot pink. I like this. I think that fluidity in fashion is best. I always shop in the men’s department, you know. »
In fact, Rihanna actually cut clothes for her baby, she confides vogue :
“When you think of something in your head, half the time it’s not available because baby clothes are [profonds soupirs] boring. I’m like, ‘Is this what you’ve always done to people’s children? »
She’s so bored with commercially available children’s clothes that she’s thinking about starting a line of children’s clothing. Fenty kids clothing : “ Kids deserve to look good. »
Rihanna hasn’t quit music, but she won’t for a while
Rihanna finally concludes on the future of her music career, returning first to the cohesion ofAnti :
“Looking back, it really is my most brilliant album. I say this because I didn’t realize it at the time. But it always felt like the most cohesive album I’ve ever made. When you break it down and realize this album goes from “Work” to “Kiss It Better” to “Needed Me” to “Love on the Brain” to “Sex with Me” to “Desperado”. And somehow everything went well and not even for a second did you have a problem? » »
This album is so full of variety that Rihanna can’t (further) go on, she continues:
“It’s like a DJ’s worst nightmare. But there’s this pressure that I put on myself. Which if it’s not better than this, it’s not even worth it. It’s toxic. This is the wrong way to look at music because music is an outlet and a space to create, and you can create anything. It doesn’t even have to be a ladder. It just has to be something that feels good. It might just be a song I like. It could literally be that simple.
At that time I realized that if I keep waiting until it feels right and perfect and better, maybe it will take forever and maybe it will never come out and no, are not there yet. So I want to play. And by play, I mean I have my ideas in my head, but I can’t express them out loud yet.
[…] I want it to be this year. »
But if she said she would like a new album to be released in 2023, it was without counting on her new pregnancy… Whatever happens. But since Rihanna forgets the impossible when she’s pregnant, for her fans, hope for her remains.
Front page photo credit: Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and their baby, photographed by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin for British Vogue March 2023.
Source: Madmoizelle
Mary Crossley is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. She is a seasoned journalist who is dedicated to delivering the latest news to her readers. With a keen sense of what’s important, Mary covers a wide range of topics, from politics to lifestyle and everything in between.
