While Drake and Rihanna have collaborated on many songs for both of their respective albums in the past, the singer shared in a candid interview with playwright Jeremy O. What we do know is that one former collaborator definitely will not be appearing on R9-and that’s none other than Aubrey Drake Graham. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that Koffee is writing for R9, it would be a fitting choice given that Rihanna’s new album is reggae-inspired. As for new collaborators, Vogue revealed in its interview with Rihanna that she has a collaboration with “Old Town Road” wunderkind Lil Nas X coming up, but that it might not be music rapper Haiti Babii, an artist endorsed by Rihanna herself, revealed in an interview with BET that in a FaceTime conversation with Rihanna in May 2019, she said the up-and-coming reggae artist Koffee is one of her writers. In an interview with Hollywood Life, longtime collaborator producer The-Dream, who helped make Ri’s mega-hit “Umbrella,” confirmed that he was “definitely” working on the new album, although he wasn’t sure when the music would be coming out. For R9, it appears that Rihanna will be working with collaborators both old and new. Rihanna has had many notable collaborators over the years, including SZA, Jay Z, and perhaps most notoriously, Drake, with whom it was rumored she shared a romantic interlude. Even though I’ve explored other genres of music, it was time to go back to something that I haven’t really homed in on completely for a body of work.” Who are Rihanna’s collaborators for R9? It doesn’t matter how far or long removed I am from that culture, or my environment that I grew up in it never leaves. “Reggae always feels right to me,” she said. Rihanna confirmed to Voguein October 2019 that her new album is “reggae-inspired or reggae-infused,” noting that it’s “not gonna be typical of what you know as reggae, but you’re going to feel the elements in all of the tracks.”Įlaborating on why she chose this direction for her new album, Rihanna, who hails from Barbados, declared that the genre was an important part of her becoming who she is. In the humorous post, she used a picture of her with eager fans at a Fenty Beauty launch overlaid with a meme-like graphic with text that read: “When your fans keep asking you for new music.” In the caption to the post, she called the pressures she faced over the new album, the “R9 chronicles.” Rihanna referred to the new music as R9 in an Instagram post in October 2018, where she joked about her fans’ dedication to getting new music. The term is a reference to the fact that the project will be her ninth studio album. R9 is what Rihanna and fans are calling her upcoming album. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m like, ‘Even if I don’t have the time to shoot videos, I’m going to put an album out.’” What is R9? It makes no sense to rush it, but I want it out. “I’m really happy with a lot of the material we have so far, but I am not going to put it out until it’s complete. “It really does suck that it can’t just come out, because I’m working on a really fun one right now,” she said. In an interview with Sarah Paulson for Interviewin June, Ri confirmed that the album was underway and that it’s “really fun,” but that she will not be rushed. However, Rihanna has also made it clear that she won’t be releasing the music until she feels it’s ready.