Rihanna has been hard at work, building an empire with her makeup line Fenty Beauty and starring in Ocean’s 8, but she hasn’t stopped making music. Unfortunately, though, fans shouldn’t expect any Drake and Rihanna collaborati…
Rihanna has been hard at work, building an empire with her makeup line Fenty Beauty and starring in Ocean’s 8, but she hasn’t stopped making music. Unfortunately, though, fans shouldn’t expect any Drake and Rihanna collaborations anytime soon. In the cover story for the June issue of Vogue, RiRi opened up about her friendship with Drake, which, right now, doesn’t sound too good.
It all seems to stem from the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards when Drake professed his love for Rihanna while giving her the Video Vanguard Award. You may also remember that night as the one where Drake didn’t get a kiss from Rihanna. Well, Rihanna implied that it’s his speech, in which he said he had been „in love“ with her since he was 22, that put her rift in their relationship. His speech made that night all about him. She’s not wrong, since a lot of publications couldn’t help but make her win about their „will they or won’t they“ relationship, which was definitely romantic according to Drake, but according to Rihanna, not so much. She always portrayed her connection with Drake as being one that very much existed in friend territory.
“Waiting through that speech was probably the most uncomfortable part. I don’t like too many compliments; I don’t like to be put on blast,“ Rihanna told Vogue, before revealing the status of her relationship with Drake. “We don’t have a friendship now, but we’re not enemies either. It is what it is.”
For fans, this may be a little sad to hear, since Drake and Rihanna have made some amazing music together. They’re basically music’s ultimate work couple, topping the charts with recent collaborations like „Work“ and „Too Good,“ which might be an apropos send-off being that it’s all about a couple who feel like their love is being taken for granted. Even when AubRih’s relationship status was „it’s complicated“ — and honestly, when wasn’t it? — professionally Drake and Rihanna were thriving together. In 2016, they were the king and queen of music by becoming the world’s most streamed male and female artist, according to Spotify.
In the new Vogue interview, Rihanna confirmed she’s dating Hassan Jameel, the Saudi businessman who was caught under her umbrella this summer, which may or may not be the reason for Rihanna’s not friends/not enemies status with Drake. There’s no doubt that musically, Rihanna will be more than alright all on her own. After all, Rihanna became the first female artist to ever surpass two billion streams on Apple Music, according to Billboard.
RiRi told Vogue that she’s working on her ninth album, which would be her follow-up to 2016’s Anti. It’s reportedly a reggae album that, as of now, will not include Drake. It’s in the early stages, so Vogue reported, „one early influence may be Supa Dups, the Jamaican-born record producer who has worked with such dancehall greats as Beenie Man, Sean Paul, and Elephant Man.“ Rihanna’s also a Bob Marley superfan, so it’s likely he’ll also be an inspiration behind her new tracks.
Drake is releasing a new album, Scorpion in June, and while he hasn’t given away much about it, it seems clear from Rihanna’s Vogue comments that it won’t include her. Though, it doesn’t mean she won’t get a mention. In Drake’s track „Diplomatic Immunity“ from earlier this year, he rapped, „Caterin‘ is from Giorgio Baldi, Robyn’s favorite / Sh*t is nice, but I prefer Madeo.“ Robyn just so happens to be Rihanna’s real name.
Now, of course, Rihanna talking about Drake adds an extra level of intrigue to his new album. There is hope that the two could work things out. Either way, fans will all be looking to see which Drake lyrics are about Rihanna when Scorpion drops next month.
