It’s been over six years since Rihanna released her last album, Anti. While fans have been anticipating something new from the Barbadian singer, Anti is filled with great songs that can hold them over until the next project. Rihanna may have a tough time making an album better than Anti, as she calls it her most “brilliant” and “cohesive” album.
Rihanna’s ‘Anti’ broke Billboard records
While it’s hard to measure her most commercially successful album due to streaming, none of Rihanna’s previous albums dominated the charts as Anti did. The album only had one No. 1 hit with “Work,” but it peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed there for two weeks. It then remained on the Billboard 200 for 354 weeks, becoming the first alum by a black artist to remain on the chart for over 300 weeks.
Any artist would want to continue riding that success, but Rihanna doesn’t want to put music out unless she believes it’s better than the last. In an interview with Vogue, the “Love on the Brain” singer says she puts a “toxic” on herself to make music that consistently improves.
“There’s this pressure that I put on myself. That if it’s not better than that then it is not even worth it,” Rihanna shares. “It’s not the right way to look at music because music is an outlet and a space to create, and you can create whatever. It doesn’t have to even be on any scale. It just has to be something that feels good. It could just be a song that I like. It literally could be that simple.”
Rihanna calls the album her most ‘brilliant’ and ‘cohesive’
Throughout her career, Rihanna has made waves in several genres, such as R&B, hip-hop, pop, and soul. Anti was a unique album because it brought many genres into one complete album. Each song has a different style and sound, which might be why Rihanna believes Anti is her most “brilliant” and “cohesive” album.
“In hindsight, it really is my most brilliant album. I say that because in the moment, I didn’t realize it. But it always felt like the most cohesive album I’ve ever made. When you break it down and you realize this album goes from ‘Work’ to ‘Kiss It Better’ to ‘Needed Me’ to ‘Love on the Brain’ to ‘Sex with Me’ to ‘Desperado’. And somehow it all fits, and not for a second did you glitch?”
The ‘Work’ singer wants to release new music in 2023
Rihanna is slowly making a comeback to music in 2023. In 2022, she released “Lift Me Up” for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and is nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards. She recently performed at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show, where she also revealed she is pregnant with her second child. Rihanna tells Vogue that she wants to release new music this year, but her pregnancy could complicate her timeline.
“I want it to be this year,” Rihanna states. “Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year. But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos. And I need the right background music with the visuals. I can’t just go shoot a video to me talking.”
