Rihanna Breaks Record for Most Diamond Singles by a Female Artist

Rihanna at the 2nd Annual Diamond Ball, held at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, USA, on December 10, 2015.

Photo Cred: Tinseltown

By: Joshua Martin

Rihanna once again makes history, as the now mother of two has earned four new diamond certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Her latest recognition sets a new record for female artists with seven diamond-certified titles in total. 

“Needed Me,” “Work,” (feat. Drake) “Umbrella,” (feat. JAY-Z), and “Stay” (feat. Mikky Ekko), all joined the coveted diamond club towards the end of May. In April, “Diamonds,” and “We Found Love” hit the career milestone. Previously, “Love the Way You Lie,” (feat. Eminem) earned a diamond plaque in May of 2013. 

ain’t no back n forth pic.twitter.com/hXnIN7ZGap

— Rihanna (@rihanna) May 31, 2024

While the Grammy Award winner continues to make history, she hasn't produced a proper album since 2016’s “Anti” project. Which features her diamond certified collaboration with Drake entitled “Work.”

The Barbados-native at the moment has not set a release date for any new album or single. In April, she shared her thoughts on anticipated new music.  

“It’s gonna be amazing. 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? 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.”

— Rihanna, Extra

The multi-talented business mogul has remained quite busy despite the halt on new music, expanding her world-renowned Fenty enterprise. SAVAGE X FENTY, her lingerie brand, and Fenty Beauty, her inclusivity-themed cosmetics line, combined is worth over 1 billion dollars.

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Rihanna Launches Savage X Fenty Maternity Collection For Moms & Moms-To-Be

New York, NY - September 12, 2019: Rihanna makes an appearance at the 5th Annual Diamond Ball to support the Clara Lionel Foundation, held at Cipriani Wall Street.

Credit: Lev Radin/Shutterstock

By: Gentel Sharrie

Rihanna continues to add to her Savage X Fenty Collection by launching her maternity collection for all the moms and moms to be. The maternity collection will include “Make More Babies” graphic tees, along with three fresh bralette designs. Rihanna created this line to bring confidence and comfort to moms at every stage of her journey. Rihanna told Vogue magazine that “I want to remind people that you can still channel sexiness and feel good while being a parent.”

Fenty is a popular lingerie brand created by Rihanna. It offers a wide range of stylish and inclusive lingerie options for all body types. The brand is known for its bold designs, diverse models, and inclusive approach to beauty and fashion.

Rihanna is a highly successful and influential singer, songwriter, actress, mother and businesswoman. She has achieved global recognition for her music, which spans various genres such as R&B, pop, and reggae. Rihanna has released numerous hit songs and albums throughout her career, earning multiple awards and accolades and just performed at the 2023 Super Bowl. 

Rihanna is known for her unique style, empowering lyrics, and philanthropic efforts. In May of 2023 Rihanna and her superstar boyfriend ASAP Rocky welcomed their first baby, a son named RZA Athelson Mayers, and the couple now has baby number 2 on the way. 

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Rihanna Is The Face of Pharrell William’s Louis Vuitton Campaign

By: Gentel Sharrie

Pharrell Williams is making major moves with Louis Vuitton after being named the Men’s Creative Director. Pharrell even dropped a major billboard with Rihanna being the face, standing proud in front of it. Pharrell’s post comes a week before Paris Fashion Week.

Pharrell gained recognition in the late 1990s as one-half of the production duo The Neptunes, alongside Chad Hugo. The Neptunes produced numerous hit songs for artists across various genres, including Britney Spears, Nelly, Jay-Z, and Justin Timberlake. They became one of the most successful production teams in the music industry.

Hip Hop Artist Pharrell

Photo: Johnny Nunez/Getty Images

In addition to his work as a producer, Pharrell also pursued a solo career as a recording artist. In 2003, he released his debut solo single, "Frontin'," which achieved commercial success. However, his breakthrough as a solo artist came in 2013 with the release of the worldwide hit song "Happy" from the soundtrack of the animated film "Despicable Me 2." The song topped charts around the world and earned Pharrell numerous awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

Virgil Abloh Photographed by Sebastian Kim, Vogue, October 2015

Pharrell has released several successful albums as a solo artist, including "G I R L" (2014), which featured the hit singles "Happy" and "Come Get It Bae." He also had a single with Rihanna called Lemon.

Before Pharrell was named the Men’s Creative Director the late Virgil Abloh, Pharrell was head of the department before he passed away.

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Rihanna Drops Teaser For Her Upcoming Super Bowl Halftime Performance

Rihanna | Credit: Andrea Raffin via Shutterstock

By: Adonis Armstrong

The Super Bowl is weeks away and is highly anticipated because headliner performer is Rihanna. Fans have desperately asking the star singer for new music since it’s been a decade since she’s been on stage, which is why fans don’t know what to expect. Though from the teaser she will give a incredible performance on one of the biggest stages next month.

Rihanna dropped the teaser a little after midnight on Twitter ahead of the Super Bowl. The video starts with her walking down a lit path in a dark room. She is draped in the finest of designer and wearing stylish jewelry, and a fashionable hairstyle. We hear voices of fans and journalists addressing Rihanna’s presence in the empty room all throughout the video. As the noise gets louder, the video stops and a bright spotlight is on the icon herself, Rihanna. She places a finger to her lips to symbol hush. Then, before she walks off screen, her hit single “Needed Me” plays. An Apple Music icon appears in between the words Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show, then fades to black.

“It’s been 2,190 days… ,” “Dude, Rihanna, we’ve waited for you… ,” “It’s been over six years since the nine-time Grammy winner… ”

Although it’s been a few years since she has released any type of solo project, it hasn’t stopped the Fenty Beauty creator from being a real busy woman. Rihanna recently just became a new mother and first child last year in May 2022 with rapper A$AP Rocky. Last October 30, 2022 she shocked fans when the release of the her single “Lift Me Up” exclusively for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.

🤫

#SBLVII #AppleMusicHalftime pic.twitter.com/rfZgTrX103

— Rihanna (@rihanna) January 13, 2023

The Super Bowl is set for Feb. 12 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

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The Most Anticipated Hip Hop Releases Of 2020

By: James Teague

There’s going to be major life changes occurring all around us in this new decade and what better way to help us embrace these changes than through new music releases! New music this year will serve as our personal life soundtracks towards all newfound memories. The 2010’s started out smoking hot and progressed as the years passed. We’ve been blessed with some classic works that will be part of our lives. Even though it personally felt like the music in 2019 was lacking longevity, there were still some solid musical releases I personally enjoyed.

As we’re just now starting 2020, I'm looking forward to some of the artists we haven’t heard from in some time providing us listeners with some new vibes. I’ll be starting my 30’s in 2021 and I'm eager to know how impactful music will be to my taste and my life as I elevate in this new journey. Here is my list of artists whom I’m personally excited about that's rumored to release new music. 

Noname, Smino, & Saba aka “Ghetto Sage”

Back in October, Chicago rapper NoName announced that her, Saba, & Smino had announced that they were forming a rap supergroup called “Ghetto Sage” and went on to debut their first group sound called  “Haagen Dazs”. Each of these artists have dropped great albums at the end of the decade; NoName with Room 25, Saba with Care for ME & Smino with Noir. Even though “Haagen Dazs” is the first debut song for the group, they’ve collaborated 2 more times before becoming an official group. There’s been some talks about the group maybe having a project together but we will see as time progresses on.

The Weeknd 

The last time that we’ve heard from Toronto Native The Weeknd was back in 2016 when he had released his last album Starboy. Since then we’ve gotten sights of Abel doing features for rappers such as Future & Trouble. If we didn’t hear him through music, then we would hear about his personal dating matters on and off. The Weeknd decided to surprise the fanbase by dropping two new singles. His single “Heartless” is produced by Metro Boomin. No information has been released yet for his new album but I’m looking forward to this next batch of new music coming.

Partynextdoor 

These days you can find Toronto native Partynextdoor playing the songwriter role. The last time we heard new music was when he released his project called “Seven Days back in 2017.” Back in August, Drake said for us to expect new music coming soon from Party. In November, Party hinted on his IG that new music was coming out that Friday and proceeded to release two new singles, “The News” and “Loyal” with Drake.  Awhile back before he went behind the scenes, Party mentioned that his next album would be titled “Club Atlantis” but there’s no confirmation on whether or not that album title still stands. For now Party has been teasing us about new music that’s coming. There’s still a special place in my heart for Party’s first two albums and i’m excited to hear what he’s cooking up with this new album at the top of the year.

G-Herbo 

Out of all the acts in the city, G-Herbo is considered one of my top favorite acts to come out of Chicago in the last couple of years. His last collaborative album with Southside, Swervo, is still in my music rotation since the day it released. Before the 2019 ended, Herbo had said he is currently working on his next project, PTSD. He didn’t specify when the album was coming but after surprising his fans with dropping a short but sweet project, Sessions, one can only assume that he plans to release PTSD later on sometime this year.

Tory Lanez 

Even though he just recently just dropped his album Chixtape 5, Tory is always consistently working and releasing new music, whether singles or guest features. Tory has already said that he has some upcoming projects that are in the works. There are currently no release dates assigned to these new projects at this time, however one can hope that maybe Tory could drop a project maybe such as The New Toronto 3. Personally, The New Toronto series is a preferred favorite series out of the others for me.

SZA 

Periodically on Social Media, via Instagram, you can catch a glimpse of TDE songstress SZA out and about living life to the fullest. She has updated us through Twitter that she is currently working on her next upcoming album. The 3 year anniversary of CTRL is around the corner and this album sounds as fresh as it did the first time it was released. No information yet has been released about the album but we’re looking forward to hearing what SZA has to say this following go round. 

Isaiah Rashad 

Recently on Twitter, Isaiah has hinted on being in a better space mentally to release the music that he loves. The last time we heard from TDE’s own was back in 2016 when he dropped his sophomore effort The Sun’s Tirade. It’s clear that Isaiah has been working on music but he’s reportedly said he was having a hard time finding his stride in making the type of music he loves. Recently he’s hinted at finding his stride out and also teased a possible collab record with Schoolboy Q with Kenny Beats on the production side. We don’t have any album information but we’re patiently waiting on Zaywop to bless us with new heat soon.

Migos 

It’s been awhile since we last heard new music from Migos. Following the release of Culture 2, the rap group from Gwinnett County decided to go in a different direction by releasing their solo albums. Even though each of the members have their unique talents, we quickly realize that all three of these members are much better as one unit compared to being solo acts. Culture 3 is currently in the works, and it was mentioned that there was a chance it could be dropping sometime in the first quarter. We’ll stay tuned.

Future 

The Wizard has already kicked off the new year 2 for 2 with “Life is Good” with Drake and “Federal Fed” with Moneybagg Yo. If there’s one thing you can always count on every year is a brand new Future project dropping. Theres no other information on plans of Future’s next album endeavors but with “Life is Good” being released, one can be certain that Future is planning to drop soon at some point. Now whether it’s going to be another Future album or the rumored sequel to “What A Time to Be Alive,” I’m always looking forward to new projects being distributed out by The Wizard Himself.

Griselda (Westside Gunn & Madlibb/Conway) 

The Infamous crew hailing from Buffalo, New York is coming fresh off a great 2019. Members of Griselda; Benny the Butcher, Conway, & Westside Gunn have held their own in each of the latest projects released. Once the group signed with Roc Nation with the help of Jay-Z, the rap group knew what time it was. Two Projects from Westside Gunn and Conway’s collaborative effort with Madlib are planning to drop sometime this year. Westside Gunn ended up making a bold start on the end of year Rap Radar Interview with Elliot Wilson and Bdot by saying Griselda had a much better year in 2019 than TDE and Dreamville.

Rihanna 

These days trying to get a global icon like Rihanna to drop new music is almost equivalent to pulling teeth. Rih has been busy collecting her bag with her company Fenty. There’s not a lot of information that’s out about her album outside of hearing that this next upcoming album is supposedly reggae influenced.

Drake 

Whether you love him or you hate him, Drake always has a way of making the masses remember him, whether through his chart topping hits, gossip blogs/news, or finding him supporting platforms such as Rap Radar and Shop Talk. Drake seems to have moved past all of the ills that occurred from 2018 during the release of his last album Scorpion. In usual Drake fashion, he’s announced via tour that he has been hard at work on his next upcoming album. No telling when this album will come out but I can bet you he will have something out right around the summertime.

J. Cole 

Cole has already confirmed about his next upcoming album following up from KOD titled The Fall Off. He’s already been working on that album. In between time he’s also been busy giving out feature verses to rappers like Young Thug, Royce, Gangstarr, & his Dreamville roster. His team all created a moment by creating and releasing Revenge of the Dreamers 3 compilation albums featuring the members of the Dreamville roster and friends. Cole said that he’s finished with giving out feature verses and has returned back into the lab to finish up on The Fall Off. This album is set to come out sometime this year. 

Kendrick Lamar 

We’re on the cusp of hitting the 3 year anniversary mark of Kendrick Lamar’s last solo album DAMN. Granted he’s followed up with curating The Black Panther soundtrack, its been very quiet for the Compton rapper. Outside of hearing news about him having his first child with his woman, he’s stayed off the scene for quite sometime. Also what’s more telling is how there hasn’t been as many guest verses from Kendrick as before within the last few years. Things have been quiet until this past weekend, Billboard columnist and former editorial director, Bill Werde, took to his twitter and present some interesting news regarding Kendrick’s next coming album. He mentions Kendrick’s next album may be more rock influenced however he follows up clarifying that “just because recording had hit a point where folks believe it may be finished — albums go back to the studio all the time after this point, and for a million different reasons.” At this point, all we can do is just wait until the TDE superstar decides to release his album. All that we can do now is wait patiently until the TDE superstar decides its time for us to hear what he has to say.

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Is Drake The Biggest Artist Of Our Generation?

By: Omar Cook

In 1964, The Beatles racked in 11 top 10 singles on Billboard’s Top 100 chart. Well that record has been untouched until now. Bad Bunny's "MIA," featuring Drake came in at #5 on the Hot 100 giving Drake his 12th top 10 song of 2018. It’s been over 50 years since that record has been broken, so to say it’s been a great year of success for Drake would be an understatement. Take a look at all of the songs this year that Drake has put in the top 10.

No. 1 (11 weeks), "God's Plan," Feb. 3
No. 7, "Diplomatic Immunity," Feb. 3
No. 5, "Look Alive" (BlocBoy JB feat. Drake), March 3
No. 10, "Walk It Talk It" (Migos feat. Drake), April 14
No. 1 (eight weeks), "Nice for What," April 21
No. 6, "Yes Indeed" (Lil Baby & Drake), June 2
No. 2, "Nonstop," July 14
No. 7, "I'm Upset," July 14
No. 8, "Emotionless," July 14
No. 9, "Don't Matter to Me" (Drake feat. Michael Jackson), July 14
No. 1 (10 weeks), "In My Feelings," July 21
No. 5 (to date), "MIA," Bad Bunny feat. Drake, Oct. 27

This also becomes Drake’s 32nd Top song of his career which is the most for any individual male ever. With that being said, it’s hard to downplay his success. Drake is literally a walking hit maker and just about any song he hops on becomes a hit. It’s crazy to see the amount of success he’s built since the end the of Degrassi. I mean honestly, who would have predicted that wheelchair Jimmy was going to become one of the world’s biggest music artists?

Regardless of what you can say about someone else being a better singer or better rapper than Drake, the facts are no ones produces more hits than Drake and he’s more appealing musically to a broader audience. Even despite a beef with Pusha T that many people felt he lost and went about the wrong way for throwing out the white towel, he still managed to put out a hit album after that and is still breaking records.

Even among artists such as Beyonce or Rihanna, Drake has managed to position himself as consistent headliner. From Drake’s first project Room For Improvement, he’s consistently managed to evolve his music style to keep up with trends and stay atop the charts. it’s extremely difficult for an artist to remain in the spotlight or “relevant” for an extended time period, but Drake has done it for the past decade. No hating over here, we have to give respect where it’s due; Drake is the biggest artist of our generation.

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Rihanna Saying No To The Super Bowl Is The Stance All Black Entertainers Need To Take

By: Omar Cook

With the 2019 Super Bowl being hosted in Atlanta, you would think that with all of the musical talent Atlanta has to offer, the NFL would at least book a big time artist from there. Instead, we’ve been left to wonder how Maroon 5 ended up being the headliner. Atlanta…Maroon 5…how? Turns out, Rihanna was the NFL’s first choice but Rihanna did her part for the culture and turned them down.

A source told Vulture publication, "The NFL and Fox really wanted Rihanna to be next year’s performer in Atlanta. They offered it to her, but she said no because of the kneeling controversy. She doesn’t agree with the NFL’s stance. She supports Colin Kaepernick.” This is huge because black people who have influence need to realize the kind of statement they can make by not only speaking out on issues, but avoiding events that are coordinated by the people who stand against us.

I’m sure just any and everyone would have loved to see Rihanna perform at the Super Bowl, but this is bigger than a performance. Saying no sends a message, that we’re not here for the bullshit. Other entertainers, and the athletes themselves need to take notice and get the memo. Black people have major influence over American culture, especially in entertainment and not being apart of these events is a way to take our power and voice back.

It still amazes me that with the majority of the NFL being black, there hasn’t been a major statement such as boycotting a game. I would love to see the players come together and make a stand because the NFL can’t play one game without the black players. The NFL has been extremely unsupportive of the statements made by black players, so salute to Rihanna for standing tall for her own beliefs. Black people united are powerful, and the message is very clear…we aren’t going to tolerate the blatant racism anymore.

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