The 63rd annual Grammys, hosted by Trevor Noah, are taking place tonight, Sunday, March 14th in Los Angeles. While many big names will be there for the ceremony, a notably absent presence from tonight's events is none other than Rihanna. The Fenty CEO hasn't released new music in close to five years, which has left eager fans impatient as they await a fresh project. While she's teased fans for years about when the new project could possibly arrive, people close to Rih say her mogul-status and her desire for freedom have been delaying the release of R9.
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Bergdorf Goodman
When the New York Post reached out to a representative at her label Roc Nation about the status of the highly-anticipated project, the rep simply replied: “Don’t know … haven’t heard anything.” The publication also spoke with Memsor Kamarake, a stylist who has worked with the megastar, who explained her sporadic musical releases.
“You know how Sade drops an album, we love it and then she disappears to the English countryside every five or six years?” Kamarake said. “That’s Rihanna. She’s become bigger than the music.”
The publication also noted that on-air personality on the popular The Wake Up Show with Sway & King Tech Skyy Hook believes Rih enjoys the freedom working in fashion brings her. “Fenty … is why the album is taking so long to drop,” said Hook about Rihanna’s successful beauty and fashion brand.
“Rihanna understands her value,” said Hook, noting how, in the music industry, artists often have to pay back fees to labels for recording and promotion of an album. But with fashion, Hook explained, “There are not 50 people in Rihanna’s pocket before she even sees her profit. There are very little middle men in fashion compared to the music industry.”