Rihanna is teasing her retirement, and fans are not here for it.
The Bajan superstar has managed to keep fans hooked throughout her nearly decade-long musical hiatus, as she has solidified her superstar status in other industries. The singer, fashion, and beauty mogul, and mom of two has earned some undeniable bragging rights since she hit pause on her music career, consistently overachieving at everything else she has dipped her toes in during the break. Now a billionaire with an uber-successful fashion and makeup empire and a mother of two happy boys, Rihanna is teasing that she is retired.
The singer was photographed in New York City this week donning an unassuming t-shirt that left fans’ jaws on the floor when they paid closer attention to the words it bore. While the entire text wasn’t visible as Rihanna’s designer bag covered most of it, the first two words were bold and loud. In a large white font, the shirt read: “I’m Retired” which was enough to make the Rihanna Navy’s hearts fall into their stomach. Being the tenacious fans that they are, however, they were quick to find the shirt online as they just had to see what the rest of it said. Below the shocking revelation was the text, “This is as dressed up as I get.”
Most fans exhaled a sigh of relief when they realized that the shirt was meant to be more on the cheeky side than to be taken literally. However, some others fear that there may be some truth to it. For a long time, Rihanna had seemingly hung up the mic and would become irritated when fans constantly quizzed her about her next studio album, dubbed “R9.” It did seem for some time there that she had no desire to ever return to the music industry. Lately, however, the star has been more vocal about her upcoming album, and she seems to be very excited about it. Some fans now believe that she is teasing the title of the project as they speculate that it’s going to be “I’m Retired.”
The singer is yet to reveal a title or release date, but she gushed about the project at a recent event. “It’s gonna be amazing,” Rihanna told Extra in April at the launch party for Fenty Beauty’s new Soft’lit Foundation. “It has to be — that is the only reason it’s not out yet. If I’m not feeling it and I’m not feeling like it represents the evolution, the time I spent away … There should be a show of growth, right?”
She went on to express that she’s excited to have fun with the music and make her hiatus count for something by showing fans how far she’s come. “I want to play, and I feel like music is a playground, and I want to have fun with it and show truly where I am at,” the singer added.
“I’m Retired”. Rihanna out in NYC ? pic.twitter.com/11o9ZEvE5i
— ??? (@gabgonebad) June 7, 2024
On the topic of collaborations, the singer admitted that she’s not much of a collab girl, but we do know from previous reports and sightings that she has been in the studio with rapper and longtime partner ASAP Rocky, with whom she shares her two children. “I’m not a big collaborator,” the singer explained. “It has to be very intentional, so I’ll know when I have the record.” The couple will be forced to decide which songs goes on whose album after all the magic Rihanna regards as “so good” that they’ve created.
The ANTI hitmaker is also slated to go on a major world tour following the release of two albums’ worth of new music, according to sources. So, while she has fun with the conspiracies concerning her retirement, it’s safe to say if that is truly on the horizon that she would be going out with a monumental bang.
