Fans Are Convinced Rihanna Just Hinted Her New Album Is Coming Soon
Calling all Bad Gals and Bad Guys! Pound the alarm! A very special occasion is almost upon us. I have reason to believe our queen is finally delivering on her promise of some new tunes this year. I know, many of us have asked when does Rihanna's 2019 album come out? Well, I'm going to say soon because she and Spotify have been up to some suspicious "work, work, work, work, work, work" in the last 24 hours. So, I suggest all members of the Rihanna Navy brace themselves as I make my case for the dawn of a new musical era.
It's no secret that, as of late, Rihanna has been super busy building a fashion and beauty empire. In September 2017, Fenty Beauty disrupted the cosmetics industry by creating one of the most inclusive lines of makeup 40 shades (currently, 50) ranging from the fairest of whites to the deepest of chocolates. Then she designed an inclusive lingerie line, Savage x Fenty, in May 2018. And, because she hadn't taken all of my money, in May 2019 came her luxury fashion line Fenty with LVMH(the French French luxury goods company that owns the likes of Christian Dior, Givenchy, and Louis Vuitton). P.S. She was the first woman ever to do so. All of these boss babe moves catapulted her to the status of the wealthiest female musician in the world. Congrats, sis! I'm happy for you and all, but new makeup palettes and luxury shoes (that, for the record, I'd totally die for) still do not make up for the fact that you haven't released a new album since 2016.
ANTI was a bop-filled album with collaborations from hitmakers like SZA and Drake. And, stans have been left thirsty ever since. In May 2018, Bad Gal spoke with Vogue, revealing she wanted her next album to be an ode to her background, "devoted to exploring [her] Caribbean roots." I love the sound of that. In December 2018, Rihanna finally gave the Navy the tiniest bit of information on R9's arrival. She posted a promo photo of herself marketing Fenty Beauty. She looked gorgeous, obvi. Anyway, one brave fan asked when Rih would finally release the album. The "Work" singer simply replied "2019."
Well, Rih, it's 2019 and The Navy is getting antsy. And, she knows. Fans have been relentless over the years, creating meme after meme to tease (read, kinda force) Rihanna into releasing her ninth studio album. She's acknowledged these jokes plenty of times, even posting some of the memes herself.
Come to think of it, the latest meme she posted may have been alluding to the suspect activity we see now between her and Spotify. On July 11, Rihanna posted Exhibit A.
On July 29, came Exhibit B. Eagle-eyed stan account @FentyStats noticed Rihanna followed Spotify on Instagram.
According to a graphic posted by the stan account, Rih appeared to have also unfollowed Tidal, Spotify's rival music-streaming platform founded by her mentor Jay-Z. Woah, this is serious guys!
Then, on the same day (July 29), Spotify decided to bait The Navy some more by posting a picture of Rihanna with the caption, "Hi @badgalriri" with a waving hand emoji. Waving hand emoji! Exhibit C is almost too much. Things are getting super serious super fast and I can hardly take it. I'll probably have to take a breather after this.
Spotify didn't stop there! The popular music platform then decided to shake things up some more by uploading cover art of Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" track on Instastory with the "Hey girl" gif on it. *Squeals*
I think Exhibit A, B, and C make a hard case for R9's release sometime very, very soon. That, or she just really likes Spotify. Either way, my Rihanna album senses are tingling and I'll be here to keep y'all updated until then.
