Rihanna on new music: ‘I just cracked the code … this feels right’

Despite appearances, Rihanna has been working on new music for quite a while now, but she says she’s finally reached a place where she’s happy with what she’s created.

Speaking to Harper’s Bazaar for its March 2025 issue, Rihanna says, “I think music is my freedom. I just came to that realization. I just cracked the code on what I really want to do for my next body of work.”

Dismissing rumors that her next album, whenever it arrives, will be reggae-flavored, Rihanna says, “There’s no genre now. That’s why I waited. Every time, I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour.’”

And finding the right sound, she says, is what’s taken her so long.

“This much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears. It has to count. It has to matter,” she says. “I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre.”

But now, she says, “I’m feeling really optimistic. This feels right. It feels like it digs right into where I need to be, and I want this. This body needs to come out, and I’m ready to go there. … I know it’s not going to be anything that anybody expects. And it’s not going to be commercial or radio digestible. It’s going to be where my artistry deserves to be right now.”

When it’s coming out is another question altogether. Meanwhile, Rih says she’s not taking her eyes off her nonmusical pursuits; in fact, she wants to expand into furniture and home design.

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