A$AP Rocky says Rihanna is working on new music

A$AP Rocky says Rihanna is back in the studio working on new music, NME and HotNewHipHop reported, citing his appearance on The Jason Lee Podcast on August 5. "She in the studio right now. She cooking, bro. No funny shit," Rocky said, adding, "Damn, imma get in trouble for this." He also ruled out any joint album with Rihanna, saying, "I would hate Rocky and Rihanna if they did that, that's trash. Nobody wanna hear us together."

Rihanna's last album was 2016's Anti; fans have called the long-rumored follow-up R9 ever since. Rocky, who shares three children with Rihanna, described her as someone who has held him down through hard stretches, including his father's death, his own arrest in Sweden, and his "Relli" legal case.

Rihanna has hinted at the album's direction over the years. She told Harper's Bazaar last year that fans should expect something that is "not going to be anything that anybody expects," and not "commercial or radio, digestible," adding, "I feel like I've finally cracked it, girl." She also dismissed earlier rumors that she was making a reggae record, saying at the time, "There's no genre now. That's why I waited."

In 2024, she said she was "starting over" with a new perspective on the project, telling a crowd at a Fenty Beauty launch that November that "God had other plans for me" than music at the time. She was pictured back in the studio as recently as February this year.

No release timeline has been given. Rihanna recently returned to the stage for Jay-Z's Yankee Stadium shows, which HotNewHipHop said gives fans more hope for new pop music, though nothing has been confirmed as of this report.