Rihanna is back in the recording studio, and the person breaking the news is her partner, A$AP Rocky. In an interview on The Jason Lee Show posted on Wednesday, 5 August, Rocky was asked what Rihanna is up to. His answer: "She's in the studio right now." He added that she is "working" and "cooking" — a phrase that, in studio parlance, means new material is actively being made.

Billboard, which reported the comments, said it had reached out to Rihanna's representatives for comment on the studio claim. No further confirmation has been issued. (Billboard)

The news lands after a long wait for fans. Rihanna's most recent album, ANTI, came out in 2016 and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — the chart that ranks the most popular albums in the United States. Her last standalone music release was "Friend of Mine," a contribution to the Smurfs Movie soundtrack in 2025. The as-yet-untitled project fans have been calling R9 has been the subject of teasers, rumours and magazine-profile non-answers for years.

Hints have been accumulating. In February, Rihanna posted a day-in-the-life montage on social media that included footage from a recording session, with the caption: "I have to go to the studio after this." She had previously teased that she and A$AP Rocky were "cooking up something new" in music, according to a January 2025 report. There was also a video circulating that showed her in a studio with the sound off — a glimpse, but not a confirmation of anything finished.

She returned to the stage in July at Jay-Z's Extra Innings show at Yankee Stadium, performing "Run This Town" and "Bitch Better Have My Money." It was her first live performance in years and reignited speculation that new music was imminent. (Billboard)

Away from music, Rihanna and A$AP Rocky have been building a family. The couple share two children and revealed in May 2025 that Rihanna was pregnant with their third, arriving at the Met Gala in New York City to debut the news. By January 2026, Rihanna had already hinted at wanting a fourth child in an Instagram comment. A$AP Rocky spoke to Vibe for their summer 2026 issue about how the couple spent the hours before welcoming their children. In a separate Billboard interview published 4 August, Rocky described how Rihanna was the person who got him to settle down. (Billboard)

Rocky has had his own banner stretch: his latest album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, and Rihanna publicly praised him for it. (People)

For fans, Rocky's words are the clearest signal yet that the longest gap between Rihanna albums is closing. There is no release date, no tracklist, no single announced. But "she's cooking" is, at minimum, a green light for anyone who has been waiting since 2016.