Monday morning brought Rihanna fans an early look at her new LVMH-partnered Fenty line, launching later this month. Tucked into the accompanying T Magazine feature was some intel on her forthcoming new album, whichāas she's now revealedāmay very well end up taking a cue from fans for its name. Additionally, don't expect a Drake collab.
Asked if her latest could be fairly qualified as a "reggae album," as previously reported,Ā Rihanna confirmed that it could. While a rumored Lady Gaga collab is dispelled, Rihanna said she's "not against"Ā the idea. As for Drake, however, revisiting the on-record chemistry of songs like "Work" and "Take Care" simply isn't in the cards for now.
"Not anytime soon, I don't see it happening," Rihanna said of having Drake on the new one. "Not on this album, that's for sure."
Though she hasn't formally landed on a title yet, Rihanna currently feels drawn to the idea of making its fan-shared nickname a reality.
"I'm about to call it that probably, 'cause they have haunted me with this 'R9, R9, when is R9 coming out?'Ā How will I accept another name after that's been burned into my skull?" she said.
A release date and related info on the tentatively titled R9, marking Rihanna's first new album since her excellent 2016 release Anti, has not been made available. A FebruaryĀ Us Weekly report, perhaps best viewed alongside a grain of salt, claimed that recording sessions for the album have wrapped.