GQ Magazine with Rihanna on the cover is out in stores today! Check out the photoshoot from this issue. Or click “Read more” for the article.
You can view more scans in our gallery!
Good Girl Gone Badass
Yes, Rihanna’s back: With a new album, a new willingness to speak about Chris Brown, and a new look so sexy that…well, take a peek yourself. Lisa DePaulo sits down with Pop’s reigning princess to talk about all of that—and to ask a few tough questions she hasn’t answered anywhere else.
By Lisa DePaulo
rihanna is running late. Several hours late. Her fluffy bronze poodle, Oliver, arrives before she does, with his own entourage. There is much fussing over the dog (“You smell like your mommy”) outside the soundstage in Burbank, where the musicians and crew for her upcoming world tour are waiting and pacing. Almost everyone but the poodle is chain-smoking cigarettes. It’s been one of those weeks. A few days before, Rihanna spilled her guts to Diane Sawyer about the “whole Chris Brown thing,” as the musicians call it, and though the interview hasn’t aired yet, the buzz is on. She has also been saying things like, “I’ve put everything I’ve wanted to say for the past eight months into my music,” which might explain some of what’s emanating from the studio. Is that Rihanna, the sweet girl from Barbados, dropping the N-bomb? Her new album, Rated R, is, to put it mildly, edgier than the under-my-umbrella stuff that sold 12 million records. One song, called “G4L” (Gangsta for Life), sounds like a revenge fantasy, with her homegirls arming themselves with guns to go out and fuck somebody up. On another track, she talks about getting her hair pulled during sex. She’s made her point.
But apparently not enough. Rihanna’s image—so carefully crafted and handled and managed from the moment she was plucked, at age 15, from a girl group in Barbados by a producer who would squire her to his home in Stamford, Connecticut, get her a record deal with Def Jam, and send her on her way to superstardom—had gotten all twisted up in the “Chris Brown thing.” In the record business, domestic violence isn’t just a tragedy; it’s an image crisis. So now Team Rihanna had to decide how to “handle it.” Their plan was this: She’d talk about it for the release of the album. She’d do Diane and Glamour and announce that she wanted to help young women who’d been in her position. Even if that meant addressing what really happened that ugly night last February, when she and Chris Brown left a pre-Grammy party, gorgeous, smiling, and posing, got into his car, and she later emerged bloody, bruised, and bitten.
Before I even meet Rihanna, I feel for the girl. It’s bad enough to have the guy you’re madly in love with beat the shit out of you. It must be quite another thing to have this whole apparatus surrounding you (and your poodle), making you confront this horrible episode on public terms. And then what? If you say you want to help young women, can you really stop talking after the publicity blitz is over? And should you have to go through any of this? Not to get all domestic-violence preachy, but what Robyn Rihanna Fenty endured, at the tender age of 20 (when Chris Brown beat her up, she was two weeks shy of her twenty-first birthday), is not something that is likely to go away after the world tour.
On the lot in Burbank, the star’s new single, “Wait Your Turn,” keeps blasting through the walls of Studio 10. And finally, a flurry of excitement outside. Rihanna has arrived, in the backseat of an Escalade. Her driver pulls up to the double doors of the soundstage and idles for a good ten minutes while she slowly, extravagantly, applies mascara. Then she emerges, in the dramatic fashion that stars like Rihanna do naturally when exiting vehicles. The pause, then the ta-da. Like there are paparazzi waiting. (There aren’t.) The first impression is pure tough girl. The overly zippered jeans, the black boots, the gray hoodie, the big silver metallic bag that she swings over her shoulder like it’s a weapon, and the new hair (shaved and brown on the sides, pineapple blond on top). “That is the fucking bomb, that hair,” one of the crew tells her. I introduce myself. “Sweet,” she says, not very sweetly, and turns toward the studio. She wants to be alone first to say hello to her crew. “I’ll meet you down there, okay?” she says. Okay. “Sweet,” she says again.
“Down there” is another huge studio, filled with naked mannequins—something about the promo for the album launch. And now she is ready. Her manager, who is dressed in a faux version of Rihanna (boots, jeans, hoodie), accompanies her. We each take a seat on a wooden crate. Except for the manager, who stands two feet away. And stays there.
You’ve had a crazy couple of days.
Yeah. [nervous giggle]
Now that you’re talking about everything, is it hard, or is it liberating?
Very liberating. It’s relieving. Because it was built up for so long, and all these thoughts and emotions have been running through my mind for the past eight months. And now it’s like I finally get to let go and move on.
Is it therapeutic to talk about it?
Um, I don’t like talking about it a lot. But every time I do, it’s better; it’s easier each time.
Because you said something about wanting to give some insight to young women.
Mm-hmm.
And that’s a brave thing. You could have said nothing.
Mm-hmm.
What made you decide that this was the right thing to do?
Because I wanted to move on. And I knew that was the only way I could have done it. And I wanted people to move on with me. ‘Cause the last big thing they know about me is That Night. And I don’t want that to be what people define me as.
Before I came here—I live across the street from a pretty tough public school in New York City. And I went to talk to the girls there.
Oh, wow.
Just to say, “Hey, I’m going to meet Rihanna. What would you like to know?” And it was interesting, because a lot of them had been in your situation, and they wanted to know how you handled it. Are those the insights you’re talking about?
I guess definitely. I just knew I’d be good one day. I just knew it. So I just kept waiting for that day. Like, you know, even though it was tough the entire time, there were ups and downs, I just kept knowing: I’m gonna get over it one day. I’m gonna get over it.
Who helped you through it?
Nobody.
Really?
The Hovering Manager interrupts for the first time. “Ri, can you come over here for two seconds?” she asks. Rihanna looks at her quizzically. “There’s an issue with a track,” says HM. “What track?” says Rihanna. HM’s eyebrows raise. “Can you just come over here for a second?” she says tersely. Rihanna obeys. The two move a few feet away. Much whispering ensues, but there’s no communication with the people working in the soundstage. Then Rihanna returns to her wooden crate. The first thing she says is “I’m sorry.”
You were saying, before you had to walk away, that nobody helped you through it. Really?
Nobody. Really just music. And working. ‘Cause I didn’t really want to be around anybody, for them to stare at me and stuff, and feel sorry for me. So I just—I stayed in the house a lot. Then I started to get cabin fever. I was like, I’m going crazy in here.
But what about all the friends you’ve met…you have a great relationship with Jay-Z. With Justin Timberlake. Were all these people supportive of you through the past eight months?
Absolutely.
But you still felt alone?
Me and Jay-Z, we have a very close relationship, so he was there helping me through it and giving me advice and guidance, and just words of support. Like, strength.
Were you in shock?
Initially. I would say the first…the first seventy-two hours after I realized, it hit. The entire thing was kind of a daze. I was confused. It was a little weird, but…but then, after, I was getting bored of being in the house and sittin’ around. I called Jay Brown—he’s my A&R—and I was like, “I want to get back to the studio. I want to get back.”
In one of the tracks on the album, you sing about thinking you might die…did you think you would die that night?
No…no. [long silence]
It must take a lot of strength to deal with all this. I mean, just the basic things. Like, how did you have the presence of mind to call 911?
I didn’t call 911. No. I know everybody thinks I did, but it was someone else…It was…
Rihanna looks at the Hovering Manager and then mutters something about having just spoken to Diane Sawyer about all this. But here’s the weird thing: You get the feeling that Rihanna still has a lot to say. Her eyes are wet when anything Chris Brown-related comes up. She has a tendency to stare off into the distance when she talks about It—but then she meets the glare of the manager. Maybe she does want to go there—and can’t. Or perhaps it is dawning on Rihanna that to really step out and be the kind of advocate she says she wants to be is another burden altogether.
When you say you want to give insight to young women—what was the biggest insight you got? What did you learn?
Um…really really really that love is blind. It took a lot of strength to pull out of that relationship. To finally just officially cut it off. It was like night and day. It was two different worlds. It was the world I lived for two years, and then having the strength to say, “I’m gonna step into my own world. Start over.”
What was harder, the physical pain or the emotional pain?
Definitely not the physical pain. The physical pain comes and it goes. The bruises fade away. But the thing that stays with you is the emotional scars.
You were in love.
Yeah.
And you were a kid.
Yeah.
Do you think you two will ever be friends?
Mmm. Maybe in like ten years, you know? But it’s not something that I’m depending on. I’m not depending on his friendship.
Right. How do you ever trust again?
I can trust. I mean, I don’t like to stereotype; I believe everybody’s an individual. You can’t judge someone based on someone else’s actions. There are people in the world who will love you and people in the world who will hurt you, and there are people in the world who will do both.
Do you think a man who does something like that can change?
Absolutely. Yeah. Some of them won’t change and some of them will—but you know, very few of them change.
By the way, did you ever graduate high school?
No. I wanted to. I just got really busy.
You know, when I talked to those high school girls…and this illustrates how difficult a problem it is: Their first question was “What did she do to get hit?”
Mm-hmm.
And I thought, Oh God, how awful is it that they’d ask that question.
Mm-hmm. After everything happened, it was a wake-up call to me…I didn’t realize how much of an effect it had on young girls’ lives, and that’s part of the insight that I wanna give. Stop blaming yourself for that outcome. There’s nothing you can do, ever, to excuse a man’s behavior like that.
Did you blame yourself?
Initially? I mean…actually, no, I never blamed myself, but I wondered what, what did I do to provoke it?…
This is the breaking point. Hovering Manager chimes in with “You’ve exhausted it now.”
Okay. Well then. How did the cover shoot go? I heard the pictures are really hot.
[giggles] It’s very sexy, yeah. At one point [chairman, Island Def Jam Music Group] L.A. Reid came into the shoot, and he was like, “Rihanna, put some fucking clothes on!”
These are pretty. [She is wearing a couple of dozen bangle bracelets.]
Thank you.
They’re very Michelle Obama.
Yeah? I love her. She’s so fly.
Tell me about these tattoos. Here [in her left ear, the one Chris Brown bit] we have a star. And this one [on her ring finger] says “love”? And you have a gun, too, right?
Mm-hmm. It’s here. On my side. [opens her sweatshirt; it is under her right armpit] You see it?
What was up with that? A gun?
You know, I just…I think I’m too cool for school.
Didn’t it hurt?
Yeah, tattoos hurt. But when you want something, you will take the pain.
Let’s hope not. [HM hovers closer] So what do you want to put out there that you haven’t gotten a chance to talk about?
Uh, there’s nothing that I, like, specifically think to put out there. There’s not a lot more that I can possibly put out there. Everything’s out there. I mean, people are just, you know, they misperceive me.
How so?
They just don’t understand me. I just think people straight up don’t know who I am; they just know what I look like, they know the idea of me. But—they’ll learn more this time, because now I let my guard down, and I’m more comfortable just being myself. That’s exactly what I want to be. And even on the album, you definitely get a gist of my personality.
More than with your previous songs?
Definitely. Definitely. It tells my story a lot.
Because in a weird way, no one should have to go through anything that bad to get to another level, but it does seem to have gotten you to another level.
It absolutely does.
But I’m curious. What exactly do you think people think about you that’s wrong?
It’s not really anything that’s wrong. It’s just weird when I read about myself. Like how one simple thing can be turned into something different.
Like when people were talking about communicable diseases?
Hmm?
When people were bringing up herpes, for instance. Saying that’s why he hurt you—
Right. And it’s not true. It’s a fucking scar. On my lip. That’s there every day of my life.
It must be hard reading that kind of stuff.
It’s not like it’s hard. It’s more ignorant. At first I was like, Are you serious? First I thought people were gonna definitely know that that’s not…But when I read it, and I see that people just buy into that…Like, the minute they see it, it forms something in their head.
And that was all over the Internet.
Mm-hmm.
But you read it all.
Mm-hmm.
Why?
Because. I learn a lot from reading it. A lot.
So how do you keep grounded? Everyone I talked to before you got here all commented on how nice you were to work with.
Oh, nice! You’re asking me how I—
Yeah, how do you do that?
I’m just me. Like, I don’t feel a reason to change.…But that means a lot. For you to tell me they said that. That’s cool.
Is there anything else you want to throw out there, Rihanna?
“No, I don’t think so,” says HM, adding, “We need to wrap this up.”
Is there anything else you want to throw out there?
Your shoes are cute.
Thanks, honey. It’ll be fun to watch what happens to you.
Thank you so much. [big hug] And that’s sweet what the band said. But they totally lied. I’m such a bitch.
lisa depaulo is a gq correspondent.
BEAUTIFUL!!!
Comment by Annie — December 14, 2009 @ 11:09 pm
HATERS ALREADY ON THEIR JOB. LOVING MS FENTY
Comment by LURKER — December 14, 2009 @ 11:14 pm
LOL LOVE IT!
i just wish she wouldnt be naked so much
Comment by kiara — December 14, 2009 @ 11:16 pm
whoa
Comment by LOVE LOVE — December 14, 2009 @ 11:18 pm
I had to hurry and scroll those pics, cause Iam at work…LOL! But I like her interview..
Comment by Cammie — December 14, 2009 @ 11:20 pm
Her eyes are wet when anything Chris Brown-related comes up.
______________________________________________________________
Awww u feel so sorry for her. She really loves him but it's obvious that he hurt her really bad on an emotional level. i always thought that they were too young to have such a serious realationship especially being in this type of industtry. I knew that they would break up sooner or later but not they way it ended. I feel sorry for both of them as they are so young. Hopefully they can be friends sometime down the road being as though they don't have any hate in their hearts for each other. Hopefully they would both learn from this.
I didn't even know she didnt finish highschool.
Comment by Rihanna Bihanna — December 14, 2009 @ 11:25 pm
Beautiful + SUPER BEAUTIFUL SHOOT
Comment by TK-75523 — December 14, 2009 @ 11:41 pm
Screw this. So I'm on twitter the other night and one of Chris Brown's delusional fans has decided to photoshop a goat's head onto the body of Rihanna on the Rated R cover so me… I'm thinking last night…. and well to sum it all up I have a early Christmas present for all of my fellow Rihanna fans!!!
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=2m3p4xd&s=6
Comment by KayB33 — December 14, 2009 @ 11:43 pm
The interviewer sounds like a disguised hater. love the pics!
Comment by Dani — December 14, 2009 @ 11:47 pm
she looks so fit
Comment by callum loves riri — December 14, 2009 @ 11:48 pm
Kiara I agree with you. I love the pics but I also wish she wasn't so naked all the time now. As an artist she can do better and be better than that in photoshoots. I mean look at Alicia Keys, she is a WONDERFUL artist and she doesn't do photos like that to promote an album or her new image for that album.
Comment by Jessica — December 14, 2009 @ 11:49 pm
RIHANNA IS A WOMEN NOW!!!!! ITS CLEAR FROM THE INTERVIEW AND BY THE PICTURES….SHES IS VEWI SEXUALI AND THAT WAT SHE WANTS TO DO NOW!!! THAT WAT SHE SAYS… SHE WANTS US TO GROW WITH HER!!!
Comment by shemoon — December 14, 2009 @ 11:52 pm
Gorgeous !!
Comment by RiRi — December 15, 2009 @ 12:01 am
Super HOT pics….
The interviewer does across as b!tchy, although she was probably annoyed cos Rihanna was a few hours late, it made me laugh that her dog got there before her though..LOL…..
In a different magazine interview she said her New Year's resolution is to stop being late for everything….
When does this mag come out in the UK?
Comment by Lizzy.la.la — December 15, 2009 @ 12:04 am
Damn even L.A. Reid told her to put some clothes on.
Comment by JB — December 15, 2009 @ 12:09 am
did anyone go get the 3 cd box release and if so from where and how much??
Comment by RussianRoulette — December 15, 2009 @ 12:21 am
She ain't thinking about that little boy. I guess she's saying that since the world already knows what she looks like nude thanks to that little boy (yep he did it), she really doesn't have anything to hide. I'm good as long as she doesn't start showing her vajayjay. Now that would be too much.
Comment by TakeABow2 — December 15, 2009 @ 12:30 am
GODDESS!!! love love love ri ri.. her style is HOT!!!
Comment by rere32 — December 15, 2009 @ 12:33 am
THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HATERS GET READY!!!!!!!!!!!
Comment by maison martin margie — December 15, 2009 @ 12:38 am
sexciiii!!!!
sexcii as hell!!!!
RiRi just pose for PLAYBOY now!!!
Comment by jeremy — December 15, 2009 @ 12:41 am
@Bee Shut the hell up with that BS
Comment by chick — December 15, 2009 @ 12:41 am
nice shoot but the new era is not as good as the previous one….shes getting too naked, hate this part…that doesnt mean i dont like her songs or that im a hater, so whoever says sth like that is just stupid
Comment by bill — December 15, 2009 @ 12:50 am
DOnt like the interview(er) .. but nice shots :)
Comment by Summer — December 15, 2009 @ 12:52 am
Omgash. Hot pix. I'm a girl and they are making me hot LMAO
Comment by Wendy — December 15, 2009 @ 1:16 am
@MMM, ROFLMBAO!!!! @ This is SPARTA!!! YOU ARE TOO EFFIN' funny!!!
Comment by Annie — December 15, 2009 @ 1:19 am
Gawd, That interview was awkward. The interviewer was digging too deep at points.
Comment by Wendy — December 15, 2009 @ 1:29 am
@ Wendy! I agree. No homo, but Rihanna is hawt as hell!! And I personally love seeing her with no clothes on in photoshoots that is!! It certainly does not come across the same if she were attending a public function in no clothes, but it damn sure works in these magazine spreads!!!
Comment by Annie — December 15, 2009 @ 1:31 am
@MMM I see you!! I thought Rihanna's cover looked good. Yep people will hate what's so ironic is that the same bloggers hatin on Rihanna are the same ones biggin up Amber Rose respecting her all of a sudden come up. I digress.
Comment by ♥A — December 15, 2009 @ 1:41 am
Lookinh Sexy
Comment by I love Rihanna — December 15, 2009 @ 1:43 am
I think the interview came off awkward cause Rihanna smelled the bullshit coming from the reporter but those are great shots and gotta love RiRi with mentioning what LA Reid said!
Comment by Sherrick — December 15, 2009 @ 1:51 am
I love these pics but I do agree with L.A. Reid please for 2010 let's get back to putting clothes on. I don't want her to be seen as just some type of sex symbol and people start ignoring the music, which by the way is great!!!
Comment by BREAKITOFF — December 15, 2009 @ 2:09 am
I THINK RIRI AND DRAKE SHOULD HOOK UP 4REAL..CUZ I JUST WATCHED A INTERVIEW WITH THE UK ITNERVIEWIN DRAKE .AND WHEN THEY ASKED ABOUT RIRI HE GOT A BIG ASS SMILE ON HIS FACE..AWWW YEP THEY SHOULD GET TOGETHER AND I LUV THIS INTERVIEW WITH RIRI JUST WISH PEOPLE WOULD STOP ASKING HER ABOUT CHRIS..
Comment by ILUVRIRI — December 15, 2009 @ 2:11 am
i dont like the bitch who kept interrupting
Comment by golong — December 15, 2009 @ 2:11 am
Oh yeah and I think the interviewer was a little pissy about the HOURS she had been waiting on RiRi LMAO. I like how her manager was there to keep her from going to deep in detail because that interviewer is only about the story and doesn't worry about the emotions that those questions are brining back.
Comment by BREAKITOFF — December 15, 2009 @ 2:13 am
I am on twitter & some folks really think that pic of her with her legs open are nasty & desperate. I don't think it's that bad but it aint my fave, i aint gonna lie.
You never wanna get to the point where you being without clothes bores ppl. If rihanna keep up, that is going to happen. she needs to do this kinda stuff once & a blue moon.
and hell no, she aint doing this for no CB. I think after those pics leaked she just don't give an F!! BUt still, her L.A. Reid should tell her to COOL IT!
Comment by Swag4Me! — December 15, 2009 @ 2:18 am
If you go over to Lipstickalley right, certain chicks on their came to hate Rihanna yet they always the first to post thread about her..Go look into their celebrity news thread section..I wish Rihanna didn't admit she hadn't Graduated because certain people are using that against her. Rihanna keeps certain chicks on their toes, they say they hate her, yet they same to be stalking her, they know her every move. Check for her latest interviews..It's a trip really
Comment by Cammie — December 15, 2009 @ 2:19 am
@ILUVRIRI…
I like Drake he seems very laidback and mature, he is a thinker, Alot of people find him ugly,but he is cute in his own way. I think he would be good for Rihanna, but I don't think Rihanna is feeling him in that way…
Comment by Cammie — December 15, 2009 @ 2:22 am
I don't like this pictures..Because Rihanna is (my little girl forever) naked..So I don't like it..But her physic is very beautiful :D Anyway..By the way,I like Drake :D
Comment by RieLa — December 15, 2009 @ 2:48 am
@ILUVRIRI, I like Drake too but isn't he short?!!!
Comment by Annie — December 15, 2009 @ 2:49 am
@Cammie.
I wouldn't worry about it because Rih can always graduate. Funny thing is, she's smarter and more articulate than their faves who do have their high school diplomas.
Comment by TakeABow2 — December 15, 2009 @ 2:59 am
Djbabyasshole (Fist Dj) is still trying to run that Walmart blackball bullshit..First Walmart isn't the only store that has Chris CD, Second..His fans can order on Amazon, So DJ baby Asshole can stop with the lame excuse for Chris weak sales. I don't see how Rihanna could tolerate being around DJ babyasshole…
Comment by Cammie — December 15, 2009 @ 3:00 am
@Annie
Drake is actually tall ..about 6 or 6'1
Comment by Cammie — December 15, 2009 @ 3:02 am
I think the CD pics and these type of pics show the toll that this last year has taken on RihRih in a certain way. She's been exposed to such a degree that she doesn't feel the need to be as private. It's kinda sad but kinda liberating at the same time. I dont know….it's hard to judge. All I know is, I like the Glamour cover way better than this one. I just think RihRih lost A LOT of her innocence in a short period of time. She was forced to be harder, tougher and more exposed.
I think this is just a stage she's at right now, and althou' it aint for everyone, she'll grow out of it and mature. JEnnifer ANniston regularly poses topless or butt naked (Rolling Stone, GQ!) The last time all she had on was a TIE! & don't get me started on Britney's covers or some of Christina Aquilera's covers. Beyonce was on all fours on and on. RihRih aint the only one.
As for as Drake, he's tall but he looked shorter in that pic w/her cuz she had on some heels. He's taller than her.
I used to think she didn't like him but I got a diff. impression now. She seemed to warm up to that rumor the DJ asked her about him in an interview…. Rih downplayed everything but i feel she toys with the idea…it would not suprise me at all if she end up hookin up w/drake cuz out of all the dudes he is the only one she actually spent time with. I think she is testing him to see how he acts…if he gotta big mouth. she taking her time. But he is SMART & and older and that can mean more than just a pretty face.
Comment by Swag4Me! — December 15, 2009 @ 3:25 am
I don't think these pictures are that big of a deal, only when Rih does it becomes a big deal , as for Drizzy I really don't know what to think at one point things seemed a lil suspect but whatever I like Drake and he has been very supportive to Rih and said nothing but good things about her
Comment by 387175 — December 15, 2009 @ 3:39 am
Re: the role model thing.
Rihanna has said that there’s nothing she wants more than for people to be themselves. In other words, celebs should not be your role models. The end.
Comment by TakeABow2 — December 15, 2009 @ 11:55 am
Drake and Rihanna would be a dope ass couple
Comment by chick — December 15, 2009 @ 3:55 am
@Cammie Shut up you are so dang annoying
Comment by chick — December 15, 2009 @ 3:58 am
Waouh, she is fucking hot, thnaks for the pics !!
Comment by XStyleBeauties Nude — December 15, 2009 @ 4:10 am
Rihanna never graduated school?!
Comment by Woahx3 — December 15, 2009 @ 4:11 am
Whoever is interviewing her is being realy rude and disrespectful!!!!!!!! idont like this interview!
Comment by Marcel — December 15, 2009 @ 4:22 am
Chick…the feeling is mutual…
Comment by Cammie — December 15, 2009 @ 4:25 am
“No, I don’t think so,†says HM, adding, “We need to wrap this up.â€
I find that annoying when other people speak for people, whoever that was was annoying i know they were just doing their jobs but SHUT up your not the star Rihanna is geez….
Comment by LOVE LOVE — December 15, 2009 @ 4:39 am
lotta ppl seem to get excited over drizzy & rihrih. They would set the city on FIRE!!! lol Look how that DJ, she was practically drooling ove the thought of them bwhaha!!
i saw a tweet that said "dont Rihanna's 'Hard' kinda have the same beat as Drake's 'Foever'
and it got me to thinkin'…
They can say whatever
Ima do whatever
No pain is forever Yup!
You know this
Tougher than a lion
Aint no need in tryin
I live where the sky ends Yup!
You know this
Never lying
Truth teller
That Rihanna reign just wont let up
All black on
Black top shades
Black top maybach
Ima rock this sh*t
Like fashion
As in goin till they say stop
And my runway never looked so clear
But the hottest bit** in heels right here
No fear
And while youre gettin your cry on
Im gettin my fly on
Sincere
I see you aiming at my pedestal
I better let you know
That I, I, I, I’m so hard
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, I’m so hard
That I, I, I, I’m so hard
All up on it
Know u wanna clone it
Aint like me (that chick to flaunt it)
Ride this beat beat beat (like a pony)
Meet me at the top (top) top
(Getting loaded)
Who think they test me now?
Run through this town I shut it down
Brilliant resilient fanmail from 27 million
And I want it all
Gonna take more than that
Hope that I know you got
I need it all
The money the fame the cars the clothes
I cant just let you run up on me like that (all up on me like that) yeah
Drake:
It may not mean nothing to y'all
But understand nothing was done for me
So I don't plan on stopping at all
I want this shit forever, mayne (ever, mayne)
I'm shutting shit down in the mall
And tellin' every girl she the one for me
And I ain't even planning to call
I want this shit forever, mayne (ever, mayne, ever, mayne)
Last name ever, first name greatest
Like a sprained ankle boy, I ain't nothin' to play with
Started off local, but thanks to all the haters
I know G4 pilots on a first name basis
In your city faded off the brown, nino
She insists she got more class, we know
Swimming in the money, come and find me, Nemo
If I was at the club you know I balled, chemo
Dropped a mixtape, that shit sounded like an album
Who'd of thought a country wide tour be the outcome
Labels want my name beside an X like Malcolm
Everybody got a deal, I did it without one
Yeah, niggas, I'm about my business
Killin' all these rappers, you would swear I had a hitlist
Everyone who doubted me is askin' for forgiveness
If you ain't been a part of it, at least you got to witness
LMAO!!! These two is a match made in heaven!!!! ;-)
Comment by Swag4Me! — December 15, 2009 @ 4:49 am
DAMN!!!!!!! I was so exicted to read this interview but this was horrible. I'm sorry. It seems so awkard. I can imagine how uncomfrontable Rihanna was. Hell, I was uncomfrontable just reading it. Drake and Rihanna would be awesome, though. Ppl call him ugly but it is not always about looks. He is a deep thinker and you can tell that just from reading his lyrics.
Comment by vivienne — December 15, 2009 @ 5:00 am
the photo's were nice.
Comment by lilly — December 15, 2009 @ 5:12 am
@ Swag4me lol!! wow, them together would be the ultimate
Comment by 387175 — December 15, 2009 @ 5:18 am
I see we have some sqweemish fans on RD today. First GQ is a mens magazine, there is nothing wrong or vulgar with those pictures How much you wanna bet that this issue will be a best seller?
As far as twitter and blogs are concerned I am so tired of fat out of shape, jealous, lazy and lonely bi*%#s hatin.
Comment by zazzytink — December 15, 2009 @ 5:25 am
ı love them but ı see something again ; Good Girl Gone Bad
Comment by Burak — December 15, 2009 @ 5:32 am
She shows to much skin these days. She’s really beautiful but she’s not marketing MUSIC with this. She becoming more of a ’sex sells’ only image. It’s ‘monkey business’ but not for real people! Where’s her class gone?
Read more: http://justjared.buzznet.com/2009/12/15/rihanna-c…
Comment by amelia — December 15, 2009 @ 5:38 am
Some might think these pictures are a little too sexy, but I feel like they're so classy! She does show a lot of skin, but not in a slutty way. It's more ''weird'' fashion. I think it is a piece of art.
Comment by Lisa — December 15, 2009 @ 5:39 am
I love ri but wen does it stop? First of all its becoming so hard to be a fan when we get these lack luster performances and over sexed images! Why doesn't she put that much effort into being a top performer? Rihanna is ahead of the game fashion wise and image wise but when it comes to her ACTUAL profession, she has gotten worse even since 2007 her performances have gone down hill and she is losing fans left and right. Rihanna is not going to be an artist that can carry a sexual image because she does not perform well enough for anyone to take this as a woman who is on top of the game yet sexy. She is just sexy.
Comment by leffy — December 15, 2009 @ 5:47 am
zazzy
I agree the pictures are beyond beautiful. Who cares if she is showing skin? Pic of her naked body have already been plastered all over the internet. Horrible interview, but these pictures are amazing.
Comment by vivienne — December 15, 2009 @ 6:05 am
Tat cover is HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT ad beautiful.
Comment by Rap* — December 15, 2009 @ 6:25 am
@vivienne I'm so glad you agree it seems to me people only have a problem with her nudity when its in photos thats been released without her permission from an exboyfriend.
Comment by zazzytink — December 15, 2009 @ 6:53 am
i always buy magazines just for the person on the cover i really want this magazine because i luv rihanna she is my idol ,luv ya RiRi
Comment by Tiffany — December 15, 2009 @ 7:10 am
@amelia, the folks at Just Jared always make nasty comment about RihRih. Always. So I could care less what they have to say. the blog owner luvs her but the comments do not YET they stay commenting on every single move she makes. go figure! lol
i cannot believe how major RihRih is. almost every single media outlet got these pics, tmz, us etc. she is so MAJOR now!!!!!
Comment by Swag4Me! — December 15, 2009 @ 7:27 am
Luv ya RiRi
Comment by Tiffany — December 15, 2009 @ 7:37 am
I love Jared because he LOVES Rihanna. He always refer to her as the 'bajan beauty.' And, you guys really shouldn't care what those lunatics at JJ think. Have you ever enterd a thread about Brangelina? Creepy shit. I am a fan but their fanatical behavior is enough to make me questioned their mental stability. I mean, wtf says a 3 yr old child is 'freaking hot.' That's what they say about Shi. Rihanna isn't doing half the sh!t St. Angie was doing at 21. Until I see Rihanna locking lips with her brother, I will not be bother by some semi nude photos.
Comment by vivienne — December 15, 2009 @ 7:41 am
love riri !! her manager…was kinda… well bitchy during the interview. the manger was really kinda rude…
Comment by Carol — December 15, 2009 @ 8:42 am
I love these pics
Comment by glam — December 15, 2009 @ 9:18 am
At the end of the day its not the magazine covers that are going to sell albums… its her voice/talent. Look she sold millions of records with 'Good Girl Gone Bad'- and didn't show shit. She doesn't need to do this type of stuff. She ia already a world renound singer, a house hold name. This type of stuff only allows people to discount her true talent….she sang beautifully on Cheryl Cole show. That's what she needs to show people to sell albums. ROBIN what are you doing girl? Your are better than that!
Comment by RG — December 15, 2009 @ 9:56 am
yall notice if rihanna is willing to go naked that means she's confident of her body
Comment by mzrihanna4life — December 15, 2009 @ 10:21 am
Jennifer Anniston was naked on the January 2008 GQ over, she only had a tie on and no one batted an eye. Then on the inside JA was naked surrounded by naked guys. Rihanna pics are tame in comparison. Does Rihanna get all of this flak because she is black?
Comment by Jamie — December 15, 2009 @ 10:57 am
sorry it was the January 2009 GQ cover that Jennifer Anniston appeared naked on not 2008.
Comment by Jamie — December 15, 2009 @ 10:59 am
@Jamie
No, Rihanna gets all this flak because she is Rihanna. All that means is SHE HAS MADE IT. Just look back at Madonna's career and you will see the same thing. The same stuff ppl are saying about Rihanna, they said about Madonna. And, look at the kind of career she has. Ppl don't go crazy over nobodies. Rihanna is a legend in the making.
Comment by vivienne — December 15, 2009 @ 11:14 am
@ Vivienne agree
Comment by 387175 — December 15, 2009 @ 12:09 pm
@Vivienne. Thanks. I completely agree with you. I did not look at it this way before. I think you are right.
Comment by Jamie — December 15, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
aiii people campaigning for help for Rihanna to come to Brazil, the people here love her very much, and we'd love to watch a show it here. Rihanan please come to Teresina PI Brazil. bruna9rihanna@hotmail.com
Comment by Bruna Fenty — December 16, 2009 @ 12:52 am