In the midst of an international depression, Rihanna’s May cover of British Vogue is sure to brighten your day. Aside from her looking as radiant as ever, she is the first person to wear a durag on the cover, according to the publication.
Rihanna also dropped delightful tidbits on her past, present and where she sees herself in the future.
Despite being one of the most fawned over and famous women on the planet, the “Work” artist has always battled with anxiety.
“Oh, I’m nervous before even getting in the car to go to something. It can be devastating,” she told Vogue. “I left the Grammys one time. Left! In the middle of my hair and make-up. My hair half up, half of my lash on,” she said of the 2016 performance where voice issues were initially given as the reason for her exit.
She still isn’t entirely comfortable with her celebrity status.
“Being on camera, being in a room full of celebrities is still not normal for me, by the way,” she added.
The “Sex With Me” chanteuse doesn’t reveal any definite info on her highly anticipated ninth album (currently titled R9), but she did confess that she’s in an artistic space where she feels completely free.
“I feel like I have no boundaries. I’ve done everything – I’ve done all the hits, I’ve tried every genre – now I’m just, I’m wide open. I can make anything that I want,” she said.
At present, the most notable person to hear the album has been a baby, as Blavity previously reported. He has yet to release his review of the top-secret work.
Rihanna doesn’t shy away from the massive entrepreneurial success of Fenty Beauty, her brand valued at $3 billion, but she remains humbled saying she’s not a “genius.”
Fenty Beauty created a makeup industry standard that forced other brands to carry at least 40 shades in their line, something they should’ve been doing this whole time.
“I’m like, ‘What? You thought this was like, a marketing strategy? Like I’m a genius?’ It’s shocking most of the time,” she said. “Then it turns into disappointment that this is groundbreaking right now. In my mind, this was just normal.”
One of the most surprising tidbits is that despite having a massive creative team, the perfectionist writes her own copy.
“I write all of the copy for the websites, the product descriptions, product names, the color names,” she said.
In 10 years the artist said she would like to have three or four kids despite joking about how she’d be ancient at 42.
Rihanna’s Fenty brand branched out into fashion last year with Fenty Maison, and Rihanna became the first woman to launch an original brand for luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, as Blavity previously reported.
It comes as no surprise that the fashion-forward business mogul donned the cultural artifact on one of the world's most bourgeoisie publications.
This isn't the first time as of late the durag has made an appearance in high fashion. Rapper and social media personality Guapdad 4000 wore a grand, shining durag with a 10-foot train to this year’s Grammys, as Blavity previously reported. And Solange rocked a Black Madonna-inspired durag fit for the 2018 Met Gala.
We’re still waiting on that album RiRi, but we'll stan this culturally centered and stunning cover in the meantime.
