WASHINGTON — Freshly off the heels of an epic Super Bowl halftime show, Rihanna graced the March cover of British Vogue alongside A$AP Rocky and her 9-month-old baby boy.
The nine-time Grammy winner revealed she was pregnant with baby number two on Sunday during the halftime show, as she floated above the stadium with a visible baby bump.
In an interview with British Vogue, the Barbadian singer explained her decision to take on the Super Bowl, talked motherhood and teased when fans might get new music.
Rihanna says yes to the Super Bowl
Rihanna shared the reason why she finally accepted the offer to perform on one of the biggest stages after years of declining. She had previously turned down the NFL's invitation in 2018 in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick.
"There’s still a lot of mending to be done in my eyes,” the 34-year-old told the magazine. “But it’s powerful to break those doors, and have representation at such a high, high level and a consistent level.”
“You know, representing the urban community, globally. It is powerful. It sends a really strong message," she added. “Of course, raising a young Black man is one of the scariest responsibilities in life. You’re like, ‘What am I leaving my kids to? This is the planet they’re gonna be living on? All of those things really start to hit differently.”
The Oscar nominee and makeup mogul said her decision to say yes was also emboldened by motherhood.
"But you’re geeked on a challenge like that because you know what your body just did. You feel this sense of ‘Nothing is impossible,’” Rihanna said. "I have not been on stage in seven years. From zero to Super Bowl? That’s mental.”
Motherhood
In the in-depth interview, Rihanna touched on the details of her recent entry to motherhood, calling it "legendary."
The singer shared that she and A$AP Rocky were launched into parenthood early on after bringing her son home "cold turkey."
"Essentially, from one person I became two. You walk into the hospital as a couple and leave as a family of three. It’s nut," she said. "We came home, cold turkey, had no one. It was just us as parents and our baby. Man, you’re a zombie for the most part."
The Barbadian musician said since having her baby boy in May 2022, her and A$AP Rocky have never been closer.
“We’re best friends with a baby," she told the magazine.
Rihanna, who has never shied away from fashion statements even during her pregnancy, said the hardest part was dressing during postpartum. She said the weeks after giving birth, she didn't know what to put on.
"Everything is too small or too big," she said. "You kind of just gotta wait it out otherwise you end up buying so many clothes you’re not going to use. Well, unless you get pregnant again.”
New Rihanna Music?
It has been more than six years since Rihanna last came out with an album.
With her Super Bowl halftime show announcement back in September, many fans thought it meant they would receive new music or a new album. Instead, the singer used the stage to reveal her second pregnancy.
On the topic of release new music, Rihanna shared her struggled with following up on her last album, "Anti." The star said she considers her 2016 album as her "most brilliant" and that she has kept recording music all these years.
"But there’s this pressure that I put on myself. That if it’s not better than that then it is not even worth it," the singer said. "It’s not the right way to look at music because music is an outlet and a space to create, and you can create whatever."
Despite having a hard time, Rihanna said she wants to release new music this year.
"Like, honestly, it’d be ridiculous if it’s not this year," she shared. "But I just want to have fun. I just want to make music and make videos.”