Rihanna has been tapped to cover Vogue's November 2019 issue, accounting for her sixth cover for the publication. In addition to participating in a shoot with photographer Ethan James Green, RiRi sat down with writer Abby Aguirre to discuss her much-anticipated ninth album, her Fenty empire, finding love, Donald Trump, and more.
For the editorial, Rihanna is seen donning looks by Alexander McQueen, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, and of course, Fenty. Below, we've in turn highlighted standout excerpts from her interview with Aguirre and Vogue, as you can then read the piece in-full here. The November 2019 issue hits newsstands in New York and Los Angeles October 15, before releasing nationwide October 22.
On her upcoming album, R9:
“I like to look at it as a reggae-inspired or reggae-infused album. It’s not gonna be typical of what you know as reggae. But you’re going to feel the elements in all of the tracks … Reggae always feels right to me. It’s in my blood. It doesn’t matter how far or long removed I am from that culture, or my environment that I grew up in; it never leaves. It’s always the same high. Even though I’ve explored other genres of music, it was time to go back to something that I haven’t really homed in on completely for a body of work.”
On whether she would ever stop making music:
"Oh, nooo, music is, like, speaking in code to the world, where they get it. It’s the weird language that connects me to them. Me the designer, me the woman who creates makeup and lingerie—it all started with music. It was my first pen pal–ship to the world. To cut that off is to cut my communication off. All of these other things flourish on top of that foundation.”
On Fenty Maison, her Paris-based line with LVMH:
“I’m not the face of my brand, but I am the muse, and my DNA has to run all the way through it. I don’t want anyone to pull up my website and think, Rihanna would never wear that.”
On if she turned down the Super Bowl halftime show to support Colin Kaepernick:
“Absolutely. I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”
On mass shootings in the United States and Donald Trump's mental state:
“It is devastating. People are being murdered by war weapons that they legally purchase. This is just not normal. That should never, ever be normal. And the fact that it’s classified as something different because of the color of their skin? It’s a slap in the face. It’s completely racist. Put an Arab man with that same weapon in that same Walmart and there is no way that Trump would sit there and address it publicly as a mental health problem. The most mentally ill human being in America right now seems to be the president.”
On her romantic life:
“Yeah, I’m dating. I’m actually in an exclusive relationship for quite some time, and it’s going really well, so I’m happy.”
On if she wants kids:
“Without a doubt.”
Again, follow on over to Vogue for the entire interview with Rihanna.
