A$AP Rocky has confirmed that Rihanna is currently in the recording studio, giving fans the strongest hint yet that new music may be on the way. In an interview on The Jason Lee Show, posted on Wednesday, August 5, Rocky told host Jason Lee that Rihanna is "in the studio right now." When asked about a new album, he replied: "she cooking" (Billboard, Complex).

Rocky reportedly said he would "get in trouble" for sharing the news, which suggests it was not part of a planned promotional rollout — the kind of organized marketing campaign that usually comes before an album drops. He described Rihanna's studio work in casual terms: "working, cooking, no funny sh*t" (Instagram). He did shut down one rumor, though: when asked if the two would release a joint album together, Rocky said no (BBC).

This matters because Rihanna has not released a full album since 2016's Anti. That is nearly ten years. In that time, she has occasionally teased that new music was coming, but nothing has arrived. In February 2024, she told a Harper's Bazaar reporter she felt "really optimistic" about a new album and said, "I feel like I've finally cracked it, girl!" (BBC). But like Rocky's comments now, that statement did not include a release date or album title.

She has released some music since Anti. In 2022, she put out the song "Lift Me Up" for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever movie soundtrack. The song was nominated for an Academy Award and reminded people of her star power. Outside of music, Rihanna has built a massive business empire. Forbes estimates her net worth at over a billion dollars, thanks to her Fenty Beauty cosmetics line and Savage X Fenty lingerie brand (BBC). She and Rocky share three children (BBC).

The couple's relationship has been tied to talk about working together for years. Back in July 2021, a source told Entertainment Tonight that Rihanna "is very inspired" by A$AP Rocky and had returned to the studio with him (Entertainment Tonight). Around that same time, the two were seen riding together in a Rolls Royce (Entertainment Tonight). Five years later, not much has changed: Rocky is still her creative partner and, without meaning to, a source of public updates on her music.

At the 2026 Met Gala on May 4, Rocky called Rihanna "shining like a diamond" — a reference to her 2012 hit song "Diamonds" (Billboard). During the Jason Lee interview, he also refused to say whether he and Rihanna had gotten married, leaving that question open (BBC).

The broader context here is that Rihanna has spent the past decade focused on building businesses rather than making music. Every time she hints at returning to music, people weigh it against the fact that she makes plenty of money without recording anything at all. A billionaire who hasn't put out an album in ten years doesn't face the usual pressure from a record label. Whatever she records will come out when she decides it's ready. That is what makes Rocky's comment worth paying attention to — not as proof that an album is imminent, but as the clearest sign in months that she is actually working in the studio, not just talking about it. The gap between Rihanna's 2024 "I've finally cracked it" and Rocky's August 2026 "she cooking" is more than two years. Whether this round of studio time leads to a finished album is the question nobody can answer yet. But this confirmation, casual as it was, is the most concrete evidence so far that the long wait may be nearing its end.