Okay, try not to get mad at me, but it’s controversial-opinion time. In honor of Rihanna’s 37th birthday today, I’d like to posit that a popular complaint about the singer/beauty mogul—regarding the fact that she hasn’t released a new album since Anti, her eighth, in 2016—is actually complete and utter nonsense.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m a true Rih stan who would give almost anything to hear even one track from that ninth record we’ve all been waiting for. But I also want Rihanna to do exactly what she wants to do at all times, and right now? Maybe that’s just not releasing music, and maybe that’s okay.
Whenever I see the “where is R9?” furor start up anew, I can’t help thinking about the generations upon generations of women in music that have had creative control (and, in some cases, control over their lives in general) wrested from them, whether Ronnie Spector or Britney Spears. Of course, given her billionaire status and general cultural omnipresence, Rihanna is, by all accounts, very much her own boss—but I cringe at how entitled fans and critics alike seem to feel to new music from her. In reality, she doesn’t owe us a single thing.
Let’s back up and look at the facts of Rihanna’s life for a second: She’s a bestselling musical artist and businesswoman with two small children (she and partner A$AP Rocky’s sons RZA and Riot are two and one, respectively), circumstances that might make a lesser woman—i.e. me—buckle and cease all productivity entirely. Rihanna isn’t doing that, though; she’s keeping ever-so-slightly busy by, um, headlining Super Bowl halftime shows while pregnant, performing at the Oscars, and navigating her very public personal life, so why are we still bothering her about releasing the album we want? Are we Rihanna’s children’s age, or are we adults who can deal with a little delayed gratification if it means one of our supposed favorite pop stars is actually living the life she wants to live?
I fully believe R9 will make its way to us eventually—I’m nothing if not an optimist!—but you’re never going to find me pushing for Rihanna to release music that she doesn’t feel 100% ready to put out into the world. The way I see it, every day that Rihanna doesn’t release music is a day that she’s presumably prioritizing herself, her family, and other projects, and why wouldn’t I want that for the musician who has given us some of the greatest club bangers of all time (not to mention some surprisingly good tracks to cry to during breakups, including “Kiss It Better” and “Needed Me”)? Keep focusing on what matters, Rih, and happy birthday, you Pisces queen, you.
