Rihanna's highly successful ventures across multiple industries are worthy of a standing ovation. From lingerie and beauty to fashion and music, her ascendance to multi-hyphenate territory has only heightened the public's fixation on her every move. In her latest cover story for Interview Magazine, the award-winning artist spoke to her Ocean's 8 costar Sarah Paulson about her upcoming album, being in love, becoming a mother one day, and her relationship with religion.
“I’m so shy,” Rihanna tells Paulson. “I don’t even want you to know I’m shy.” Although she hasn't released a new album since 2016's Anti, she admits her entrepreneurial success has meant dividing her time between the multitude of projects she has in the works, including new music.
"It’s the reason why an album isn’t being spat out like it used to," she admits. "I used to be in the studio, only the studio, for three months straight, and an album would come out. Now, it’s like a carousel. I do fashion one day, lingerie the next, beauty the next, then music the next. It’s like having a bunch of kids and you need to take care of them all."
"Okay, but as a hungry kid, I need a new Rihanna album. How much longer do we have to wait?" Paulson then asks her. "It really does suck that it can’t just come out, because I’m working on a really fun one right now," Rihanna replies. "I’m really happy with a lot of the material we have so far, but I am not going to put it out until it’s complete. It makes no sense to rush it, but I want it out. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m like, “Even if I don’t have the time to shoot videos, I’m going to put an album out.”
Although Paulson continues to press her costar about a release date, Rihanna admits "I wish I knew," and explains that she has blocked off a "solid period of time" in the studio next month.
In addition to music-related inquiries, the Glass actress asks her to divulge about her love life, and whether or not children are on the horizon. "Are you in love," Paulson asks. "Of course I am," Rihanna promptly responds. Although she opts for silence when asked about marriage, she notes that becoming a mother is something she wants, "more than anything in life."
When asked whether or not she has ever questioned her faith, the Grammy-award winner notes that although she's never doubted her religious beliefs, she has felt as though her relationship with God was strained at times.
"I have been in a place where I felt like maybe I had disappointed God so much that we weren’t as close," Rihanna explains. "Actually, that happened to me while I was making Anti. That was a really hard time, but, thank God, I got through it."
According to a recent report by Forbes, Rihanna is currently the wealthiest female musician in the world, surpassing greats like Beyoncé and Céline Dion. This was undoubtedly influenced by her partnership with luxury fashion conglomerate LVMH, and the commercial success of her beauty and lingerie lines. With the imminent arrival of her upcoming album, there doesn't appear to be anything that's capable of slowing Rihanna down.
You can read Paulson and Rihanna's full conversation for Interview here.
