Rihanna on her next album: ‘It’s going to be worth it’

It’s been 84 years that we’ve been waiting for Rihanna’s new album, but the singer has told fans that they are “not going to be disappointed” in the record when it finally comes out.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight, Rihanna discussed the delay, although she was unapologetic about it. “I am always working on music and when I am ready to put it out in the way that I feel fit, it’s gonna come out,” she said. “You’re not going to be disappointed when it happens. It’s going to be worth it.”

She continued: “I’m not just gonna put it out just because people are waiting. It’s taken this long, I’m gonna make it worth it.”

The follow-up to 2016’s ANTI was originally talked up as landing in 2019. The only concrete fact known about R9 is that there will be a strong reggae influence in it.

For a lot of artists, four years wouldn’t be too unusual a gap between records – musicians aren’t machines, and plenty of high profile acts have taken far longer. But Rihanna fans in particular had grown accustomed to the singer putting out music at a prolific rate, with her first seven albums arriving pretty much on an annual basis, so the absence of the new record is more keenly felt.

In the meantime, revisit ANTI below.