Rihanna Talks Her New Relationship; Explains Album Delay, Her Faith and More In New Interview

For the past 16 years, Rihanna has worked to become one of the biggest music artists of our generation, with nine Grammy Awards, 12 Billboard Music Awards, 13 American Music Awards, eight People’s Choice Awards and a Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. But, despite her overwhelming accomplishments in music, which surpassed her wildest dreams, it’s her creativity, and the ability to be creative, that keeps her going. 

“I had one dream, and that was for my music to be heard all over the world,” Rihanna explained in a new interview with Interview Magazine. “But the thing that keeps me passionate is being creative. With every business outlet, I’m making something from a vision to a reality, and that’s the thing I really enjoy. Music had led me to these other outlets, and to things that I genuinely love.” 

But now, with the Badgal’s ever-expanding empire, she revealed that she barely has time for anything else, including sleep. But, according to the superstar, with more work, she’s made it a point to make more time for play. 

“It’s only the last couple years that I started to realize that you need to make time for yourself, because your mental health depends on it. If you’re not happy, you’re not going to be happy even doing things that you love doing,” Rihanna told Sarah Paulson. “It’d feel like a chore. I never want work to feel like a chore. My career is my purpose, and it should never feel like anything other than a happy place. I’ve made little things a big deal, like going for a walk or going to the grocery store. I got into a new relationship, and it matters to me. It was like, “I need to make time for this.’ Just like I nurture my businesses, I need to nurture this as well.”

As she continued, she revealed she added much-needed personal days to her busy schedule to make time for those who are most important, including herself and billionaire boyfriend, Hassan Jameel, who she revealed to be in love with. But in the same token, she said it’s the reason why her album is taking more time than normal. 

“It’s the reason why an album isn’t being spat out like it used to,” she revealed. “I used to be in the studio, only the studio, for three months straight, and an album would come out. Now, it’s like a carousel. I do fashion one day, lingerie the next, beauty the next, then music the next. It’s like having a bunch of kids, and you need to take care of them all.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Rihanna opened up about having thick skin, her mother’s impact on her career in cosmetics as well as her love for her fans, The Navy. She also opened up about being shy, which she revealed is the biggest misconception about her, and her faith in God. 

“I’ve always been [a person of faith]. My first time praying and fasting was when I was 7 years old. I did that on my own, because I wanted to go to New York, and I knew that this was a sacrifice I had to make in order for God to make sure I could get there.”

“My grandmother was the one who started me on this,” she added. “She gave me a devotion book, a physical one. It was the last thing she gave me before she passed away. It got left on a plane and stolen, so I just said, ‘You know what? Somebody else is going to gain from that.’ And then I bought the same book on my iPhone. The only sad part was that her handwriting was in it, but someone is going to be blessed with it, so it’s fine.”