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A$AP Rocky Says Rihanna Is in the Studio Working on New Music
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Entertainment · 06 August, 2026 · 2 min read

A$AP Rocky Says Rihanna Is in the Studio Working on New Music

Happened

Rihanna is back in the studio actively recording new music. A$AP Rocky confirmed on The Jason Lee Show that Rihanna is in the studio.

Split on

Whether Rocky’s remarks deny Rihanna and Rocky doing a joint double album.

Left out

9 of 11 outlets skipped it: rocky says Rihanna showed up to comfort him after his father died.

11outlets compared

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Same story, two versions

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ELLEELLE

It’s official: Rihanna is back in the studio and working on a follow-up to her 2016 album, Anti.
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expreso.ecexpreso.ec

The confirmation did not come from the singer herself, but from A$AP Rocky
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ELLE states Rihanna is back in the studio; expreso.ec stresses it was Rocky who confirmed.

Studio update

Rihanna is back in the studio working on new music, A$AP Rocky said during an appearance on The Jason Lee Show, adding that she was “She’s in the studio right now.”

“She’s in the studio right now,” he said

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Rocky also said “she cooking” while rejecting suggestions that his relationship, family life, or Rihanna’s business commitments were responsible for delaying her next album.

Image from BBC
BBCBBC

The BBC reported that Rocky denied that the pair would collaborate on a double album, while noting that “she cooking” was his response to questioning about a potential new album.

Rihanna’s last full album was Anti, which arrived in 2016, and the new comments revived hopes that her first full album since 2016 may finally be moving closer.

What Rocky denied

Rocky told Jason Lee he was not the reason for the delay, replying “Not at all,” and then saying “Yes, I said it. Sorry, love.”

In the same interview, Rocky dismissed the idea that he and Rihanna were planning a joint double album, and the BBC said “Few details about the project were revealed” beyond that denial.

Image from Billboard
BillboardBillboard

Rapper Rakim Mayers—Rocky’s real name—also said he would “hate Rocky and Rihanna if they both did that,” in comments published by rova.

The BBC further reported that Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty, has not released a full album since 2016’s Anti, and that Rocky refused to comment on whether he and Rihanna had married.

R9 and next steps

While Rocky did not provide a release date, the BBC said “Little other information about the possible music was revealed in the interview.”

"Little other information about the possible music was revealed in the interview."

BBCBBC

The BBC also quoted Rihanna saying, “I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more,” in a February last year interview with Harper’s Bazaar.

Billboard reported that Rihanna’s last release was “Friend of Mine” in 2025 for the Smurfs movie soundtrack, and that Billboard sent a request for comment to Rihanna’s representatives.

Rihanna’s comments and Rocky’s studio update keep the focus on R9, a name fans use for her ninth album, even as she has not announced a release date or confirmed the final direction of the project.