Rihanna wouldn’t be the queen without giving us a bit of joy amidst this time of uncertainty and confusion. And that’s exactly what she did when she opened up about life, love, music and more in a recent cover story.
Following her appearance at the NAACP Image Awards back in February where she told everyone to “pull up” to help underserved communities and those facing injustice, the Fenty mogul explained why she’s so passionate about using her platform to amplify what’s happening to Black people around the globe in a new interview.
“When I see these injustices happening, it’s hard to turn a blind eye,” Rihanna told British Vogue. “It’s hard to pretend it’s not happening. The things that I refuse to stay silent on, these are things that I genuinely believe in.”
The Barbados-born singer, who has been living in London for the past couple of years, made it clear however that this is not a problem uniquely faced in the United States. Black people across the globe are suffering at the hands of police, and it’s time there was something done about it, she explained.
“I think police brutality is probably extremely severe in America, but racism is alive everywhere. Everywhere,” she emphasized. “It’s the same [in the UK]. It’s either blatant, which is becoming more and more of a norm, or it’s underlying, where people don’t even know they’re being obvious about it. You know, it’s just a subconscious layer that’s embedded from their entire core.”
A longtime philanthropist and social justice advocate, the singer born Robyn Fenty has also been using her platform to show the world what Black Girl Magic truly is—way before creating Fenty Beauty.
“I’m shocked by people saying, ‘Oh my God, what made you think of making make-up for Black girls?’” She continued, “I’m like, ‘What? You thought this was like a marketing strategy? Like I’m a genius?’ It’s shocking most of the time.”
“Then it turns into disappointment that this is groundbreaking right now. In my mind, this was just normal,” Rih Rih added.
Though we’re all excited and happy about Rihanna taking a stand in support of these issues that are very important, there’s one thing that stands in the back of our minds: when are we going to get the album, sis? A question that fans have repeatedly asked the singer on red carpets, in interviews, and of course, on her Instagram page.
“I can’t say when I’m going to drop,” she teased. “But I am very aggressively working on music.”
She did, however, offer a little glimmer of hope as to what she’s been working on with the album, which by the way, won’t be like any of the others.
“I don’t want my albums to feel like themes,” she said. “There are no rules. There’s no format. There’s just good music, and if I feel it, I’m putting it out.”
Again, we…can’t…wait.