ASAP Rocky confirms Rihanna is back 'in the studio right now'
The rapper admits he could 'get in trouble' with his baby mama for revealing she's actively working on 'R9'
Published August 06, 2026
A$AP Rocky has given Rihanna fans the biggest update yet on the long-awaited arrival of her next album.
During a new interview on The Jason Lee Show, posted Wednesday, August 5, the rapper revealed that the Grammy winner is back “in the studio” and hard at work on new music.
Rocky also shut down the long-running theory that their relationship and growing family are the reason Rihanna hasn’t released a new album in nearly a decade. “Nah,” he said before accidentally spilling a secret. “Yo, she in the studio right now. Yeah, I said it. Sorry, babe. Like, bro, she working. She cooking, no funny s**t. Damn, I’ma get in trouble for this.”
The update is the clearest sign yet that Rihanna’s long-awaited ninth studio album, often referred to by fans as R9, is actively taking shape after years of speculation.
Rihanna’s most recent album, ANTI, arrived in 2016 and became one of the defining records of her career.
Since then, she has released only a handful of standalone songs, including 2025’s Friend of Mine for The Smurfs Movie soundtrack, while balancing motherhood, business ventures and occasional live performances.
