*Rihanna has confirmed that she will FINALLY release a new album in 2019. Fans have been begging the Bajan beauty for new music for months now, and the singer has officially issued a response.
“But when is the new album dropping Robyn?” an Instagram user asked on a promotional photo for a new shade of lipstick from Rihanna’s Fenty beauty line. Page Six reports. “Can we have a release date for that?”
“2019,” the singer responded.
The album, referred to as R9, would mark her first release since 2016’s “ANTI,” her eighth studio album.
RiRi’s vocal producer, Kuk Harrell, previously teased in a live Instagram video that R9, “is amazing. It’s incredible.”
Y’all ready ? #R9 pic.twitter.com/lJBs7MdreI
— Fenty Data (@FentyData) November 9, 2018
Last month, the Grammy-winning mogul shared a silent video of herself dancing in the studio. Fans quickly assumed she was listening to a new track off her upcoming album. Check it:
According to The YBF, the singer will be exploring her Caribbean roots and “R9” will be dancehall-inspired. She even mentioned the possibility of creating a reggae album in her VOGUE June 2018 cover story.
“She plans to make a reggae album,” Vogue’s Chioma Nnandi shared. “Though it’s too soon to name a full list of collaborators, one early influence may be Supa Dups, the Jamaican-born record producer who has worked with such dancehall greats as Beenie Man, Sean Paul, and Elephant Man.”
In July, Rolling Stone reported Rihanna has “500 records for this project [from] different producers and writers,” one anonymous producer revealed. But added that she’s only choosing 10 tracks for the project.
“They’re only choosing 10 records. They’ve been having writing camps and trying to keep them quiet for almost a year and a half now. I’ve been flying to Miami, flying to L.A., cutting records nonstop for this project.”
