Pop star Rihanna shared some deep thoughts about dealing with life’s ups and downs.
In a new Harper’s Bazaar cover interview with Lynette Nylander, RiRi looked back on her journey and got real about feelings she’s struggled with.
“As a child, I could only handle so many emotions. And the one emotion I could never handle was disappointment,” she said. “I didn’t know where to put that. It was a feeling that was so disheartening, and it actually pulls a lot of emotions into that box. You’re sad, you’re angry, you’re hurt. And I didn’t know how to handle disappointment.”
She then dropped some wisdom about how she handles those tough moments now.
“[What I know] is that you’re carving your journey. And every disappointment, letdown, hurt, good, weird, uncomfortable—it’s all for you,” Rihanna said. “All of your experiences, they’re actually preparing you for the next step.
“I look at my childhood and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, God already knew that this is how my life would look. And if I didn’t go through this or if I didn’t do that or if my family didn’t have that sense of humor, comments online would probably hurt my feelings,'” she continued. “It’s like I was being prepared for this all along.”
The interview also gave fans some tea about her much-awaited album, R9.
“I think music is my freedom. I just came to that realization,” she shared. “I just cracked the code on what I really want to do for my next body of work. I am actually feeling really good about this. I know I kept saying this over the years.”
She shut down those reggae album rumors too.
“There’s no genre now. That’s why I waited. Every time, I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour,'” she said.
“After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, this much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears,” Rihanna added. “It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more.”
