Rihanna reveals new album title and artwork

Rihanna has finally revealed the artwork and title of her much-delayed eighth album – and rather than being called R8 as widely reported, the singer has opted for Anti. 

The news was announced at the Mama gallery in Los Angeles yesterday, at a special private viewing of Israeli artist Roy Nachum's latest work – which included the cover of Rihanna's first album since 2012's Unapologetic.

“This is the favourite album cover of my career”, the “BBHMM” singer announced once the piece was revealed. “(Nachum) see things beyond the surface which is why I decided to collaborate with him. He really interpreted it in his own way, with exactly the message I wanted.”

The cover shows a picture of Rihanna as a child, and has a Braille poem by Chloe Mitchell laid over the top of it. Combined with the rest of Nachum's collection – aptly titled Blind – the image makes a statement on vision and vision impairment. “The whole idea behind the Braille is that people who have sight are sometimes the people who are blindest,” she added.

Another exhibit at the gallery also helped explain why Rihanna chose Anti as the title – offering a definition of “a person opposed to a particular policy, activity or idea.”

“In her collaboration with Roy Nachum, Rihanna has changed the history of album art,” it read. “By continuing to follow her own instincts, her work strives to make an impact by doing the very antithesis of what the public expects.”

An official release date for the album is still (FFS Riri) yet to be announced.