Rihanna's powerful take on ageing is a wake-up call to live in the present
"My legacy is what I do with my time at this moment"
Singer Rihanna has described her experience of getting older as “shit, but also a blessing”.
The 37-year-old, whose real name is Robyn Fenty, said she is focusing on living in the moment in an interview with fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar.
The Barbadian singer said: “Getting old is shit, but it’s also a blessing.
“My legacy is right now. That’s all I have the most control over. My legacy is what I do with my time at this moment.
“How am I present with the people around me? How am I grateful? How am I making this a happy moment? How am I making a memory?
“There’s just things that mean more when you grow up.”
Rihanna
“I’m even in the space of not even spending my money on things, but I’ll spend my money on an experience. That’s something no-one can take from me.
“Somebody could rob me right now of everything I have, (but) they will never take a memory, an experience, a feeling, a scent that reminded me of that moment.
“There’s just things that mean more when you grow up.”
Rihanna had her first son RZA, who she describes as “an empath” in 2022.
“He’s so magical. He loves music,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “He loves melody. He loves books. He loves water. Bath time, swimming, pool, beach, anything. And Riot (born 2023), he’s just hilarious. When he wakes up, he starts to squeal, scream. Not in a crying way. He just wants to sing. And I’m like, ‘Okay, here we go!’ He’s my alarm in the morning! He’s not taking no for an answer from anyone. I don’t know where he came from, dude.”
When speaking about her partner A$AP Rocky she said the “greatest thing… is seeing him be a dad. His pureness. His charm. I’m annoyed because my sons sometimes just live for him more than they live for me.”
“And I’m like, ‘Did you know who cooked you? Do you know who pushed you out?’ And they love him, but when I see it, oh, it’s the best.”
Rihanna went on to dispel rumours her unreleased ninth album would be a reggae record and added that it could be a while until the LP is released.
She added: “There’s no genre now, that’s why I waited.
“Every time, I was just like, ‘no, it’s not me, it’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour’.
“After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, this much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears.
“It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre.
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“After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more.”
Beginning her career in 2003, Rihanna has gone on to achieve nine UK number one singles and four UK number one albums, along with nine Grammy Awards.
The singer is best known for songs such as Umbrella, Shut Up And Drive and What’s My Name?
