Rihanna Says No To Retirement But Starts From Scratch On “R9” Album

Rihanna denied retirement rumors at her Fenty Hair launch in Los Angeles on Monday (June 10). The diamond-selling superstar told Entertainment Tonight she wasn’t trying to send a message to fans by wearing a shirt with the phrase “I’m retired” on it.

“People got triggered with that retired word,” she said. “They were like, ‘We’re never getting an album now.’ No one read the other line, it was something about, ‘This is as dressed up as I get.'”

Paparazzi snapped shots of Rihanna wearing the shirt in New York on June 6. Fans zeroed in on the “I’m retired” part while overlooking the rest of the shirt’s slogan: “This is as dressed up as I get.”

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Rihanna’s fans have become increasingly frustrated with the wait for her ninth studio album. The singer admitted she went back to square one for the project, which will be her first since 2016’s Anti.

“I think that music, for me, is a new discovery,” she told ET. “I’m rediscovering things. I have been working on the album for so long that I kinda put all that stuff aside and now I’m prepared to go back in the studio. I’m gonna start — give me a second!”

She added, “I’m starting over. But I don’t want to neglect the songs that I have, so I actually want to go back and listen to stuff with new ears, with my new perspective and then see what applies and what I’m still in love with.”

Motherhood has been Rihanna’s priority in recent years. She welcomed two children with her partner A$AP Rocky and envisioned more kids in their future.

“I hope so,” she said when asked about expanding her family. “I do. I’m not pregnant, if that’s what you’re asking … “I would definitely have more kids.”

Rihanna gave birth to her first child in 2022. Her second son was born in 2023.