After having what is likely the most successful year of her career, Rihanna is already in need of some serious rest and relaxation. The music, fashion, and beauty mogul posted an Instagram selfie (side note: has Rihanna ever taken a bad picture?) with a mysterious caption that has fans in a tizzy. “to all my friends/ family/ coworkers who I have yet to get back to in the past months...please forgive me,” the ANTI singer wrote. “this year has been quite an overwhelming one, and I’m working on that ish called Balance. Brb.”
One cursory glance at the caption, and most would deduce that Rihanna, the hardest working woman in the entertainment industry, was kindly giving us a heads-up about her possibly taking a break. But any discerning member of the Navy (the global community of Rihanna's diehard fans), can decode a massive hint about her upcoming album.
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In the caption, Rih says that she's currently "working on that ish called Balance." She could be talking about trying to achieve a necessary level of work-life balance — we're all in search of that, sis — but more likely, Rihanna just dropped a major clue about her music. Could it be that "Balance" is the name of the dancehall album we've been waiting three years for?
Fondly referred to as "R9," Rihanna's ninth studio album has taken the backseat as the singer focused on world domination. In the long, cold three years since she dropped ANTI, widely considered her best work, Rihanna has been expanding her empire and taking over the worlds of beauty and fashion.
2017 marked the launch of her game-changing cosmetics company Fenty Beauty; the beauty brand led the charge for inclusivity by releasing 50 different shades of foundation in its first global release. The years that followed solidified Rihanna's place in the fashion game, with Savage X Fenty and luxury brand FENTY finally giving us a chance to look like the "Pon de Replay" singer.
If our hunch is right, Balance could very well be the dancehall-inspired album that Rihanna has been teasing for quite some time now. The Barbados beauty has already given us a few songs channeling the Caribbean with "Rude Boy" and the 2016 summer bop "Work," but the bad gal energy will probably be very strong with this upcoming project.
If we're wrong, we are still excited for whatever Rihanna has cooking in the lab. Even if it's more makeup. Take our money, Rih.