Rihanna is one of the most talented and bankable artists our generation has ever seen. Under Jay-Z's direction, the Barbadian singer rose to stardom Music of the Sun in 2005 before emerging herself to a sex symbol status with dance-influenced Good Girl Gone Bad record in 2007.
However, it's been a while since the last time we heard any new music from the singer. Her last album, Anti, was released in 2016 to a warm welcome from the music community for her versatility. Since then, she's ventured into savvy business in her beauty line and done some more other stuff. To recap everything, here's what Rihanna has been up to since her last album.
10 Embarked On A Worldwide Journey To Promote 'Anti'
To promote Anti, Rihanna embarked on the Anti World Tour, a three-legged world tour after her hiatus from performing since the Diamond World Tour in 2012. Accomplishment-wise, Anti World Tour has amassed an impressive box office gross of $110 million worldwide. She was joined by the likes of Travis Scott, Big Sean, and DJ Mustard.
9 Hopped On A Track With Kendrick Lamar
In 2017, Rih and rapper Kendrick Lamar hopped on "Loyalty" cut from the rap star's Pulitzer-winning album Damn. Ironically, since then, neither of these two were "loyal" to their fans and released any new albums. Lamar has been busy building his "pgLang" company while Rihanna's often-dubbed R9 album hasn't seen an official release date or tracklist.
8 Made Her Musical Comeback With PartyNextDoor
However, here's a little hope for BadGalRiri's comeback to the music. Last year, she joined PartyNextDoor for a smooth R&B track titled "Believe It" from the Canadian's Partymobile album. Although the song didn't enjoy quite an amazing debut on the chart (number 23 on the Billboard Hot 100), it's a promising comeback for the singer.
7 Geared Up For 'R9'
For years, Rihanna has been teasing her dubbed R9 album. First, she confirmed a "reggae" project was in work in 2019. Next, on an Instagram post, she teased that the project has been finished with a video of an adorable-looking puppy jamming to House of Pain's "Jump Around," captioning, "Update: me listening to R9 by myself and refusing to release it." Nobody knows exactly when the record will hit the stores except for the singer.
6 Starred On 'Valerian'
Rihanna has also been taking her acting career to a whole new level. She co-starred the likes of Dane DeHaan, Cara Delevingne, and Clive Owen on the movie adaptation of Valérian and Laureline in 2017.
In this dystopian movie, Rihanna plays a shapeshifting Glamopod dancer and entertainer. What's crazy about this movie is that, despite not being linked with any big studio, it did score a record as the most expensive independent film ever made with over $180 million production budget.
5 Dated Hassan Jameel ...
In the same year, Rihanna also started dating Hassan Jameel. The couple broke the internet after the paparazzi spotted the singer with a mysterious man before being unveiled as a 31-year-old businessman from Saudi Arabia. The two set the fans crazy for years and gave not a bit of shyness in showing in-your-face PDAs wherever they went.
4 ... And Broke Up With Him
Unfortunately, after three years of relationship, both Rih and Jameel have called it quits. The split rumor sparked in 2018 when the singer's insider stated that it was a "good relationship, but now it's over. She gets tired of men sometimes." Per 2020, reports revealed that their distinct lifestyle played a major part in their nasty breakup.
3 Launched Her Beauty Kingdom, Fenty
Rihanna still chases for the bag, though. In 2017, she launched Fenty Beauty, a cosmetics line that provides products across all skin tones and gender. Per 2018, the company has amassed an estimated revenue of $570 million, making it Time Magazine's best invention of the year. She often gives her fans little make-up tips on Fenty's YouTube channel, and it's worth checking out!
"I used to be afraid to step into the whole celebrity makeup world. I saw brands like Hilary Duff and Hannah Montana23 have so much success [in the aughts], but it got to a place where they were so oversaturated in the market that it diluted their personal brands," Rihanna shared in an interview with Time Magazine. "It made me think, 'I’m not going to do this, because you lose your respect and credibility,' and so every collaboration I did outside of music, I used Fenty so that you didn’t have to hear the word 'Rihanna' every time you saw something that I did. So Rihanna stayed the music, the person. But these other brands are called Fenty."
2 Founded Her Own Lingerie Line
She also launched a fashion house, Fenty and made herself the first woman of color to join the French-based multinational corporation, LVMH. Under this line, she launched the Savage X Fenty lingerie line for all skin tones and body shapes and sizes. Under her guidance, the company's value has risen $1 billion.
1 Dated A$AP Rocky
Lately, Rihanna shocked fans once again after she confirmed her relationship with rapper A$AP Rocky. It wasn't a surprise, though, as several reports before suggested the two have been vacationing together. On the latest cover story of GQ, the rapper called the Unapologetic singer "my lady" and the "love" of his life.
"She amounts to probably, like, a million of the other ones," Rocky, fresh out of Swedish jail, said. "I think when you know, you know. She’s the One," he said.