Who is the island gyal we love who goes by the name Rihanna or Rih-Rih for short? We were introduced to the Barbados native in 2005 with her single “Pon de Replay” that had us asking “who is this Caribbean beauty?” The singer has taken over since her discovery in 2003 by producer Evan Rogers, who happened to be vacationing in Barbados with his wife. What are the odds? Rihanna moved with Rogers and his wife to their home in New York to begin recording “Pon de Replay” and from then, things only looked up for Rih.
At the age of 16, she was signed to Def Jam records. Her debut studio album Music of the Sun got us well acquainted with the Barbados beauty. Her second album A Girl Like Me which featured hits “Unfaithful” and “We Ride” sold thousands of copies its first week and was number one of the Billboard charts. Her third album Good Girl Gone Bad, which was released in 2007, featured her number one hit single “Umbrella.” Rated R, Loud, Talk That Talk, and Unapologetic were all successful and featured some of our favorite jams such as “Rude Boy,” Only Girl (In The World), and “What’s My Name?” featuring Drake. Rihanna’s Anti is the most talked about album which features our fav track “B*tch Better Have My Money” and is scheduled to be released very soon.
Don’t get it twisted, Rih-Rih isn’t just keeping our playlists poppin’. The singer has also dabbled in the big screen as well. Battleship, which was released in 2012, is the first feature film which starred our girl Rih and is where we see her acting skills. She also made a cameo in Bring It On: All Or Nothing in 2006. Home was the first animated movie the singer starred in alongside Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin.
We can’t talk about Rih and not mention her swag. The singer teamed up with River Island in 2013 where she debuted her spring collection. Not to mention she is the new creative director for Puma in which she runs the women’s line. Let’s not forget she is not the face for Dior. Did I mention she is the first black woman to be the spokeswoman for this high end line?
Our girl is definitely doing her thing. If singing, acting, and fashion isn’t enough, our island wonder woman has worked on an array of cosmetics and fragrances. “Reb’l Fleur,” “Rebelle,” “Nude,” and “Rogue,” and “RiRi” are her fragrances for women and her first male fragrance “Rogue Man” all complement her eclectic style. Rih has been the face of Vita Coco and has released a fall, summer, and holiday makeup line through Mac called “RiRi Hearts MAC” in 2013.
Ms. Rihanna Fenty has yet to disappoint us since the start of her career. She is unstoppable and no matter what obstacle or business venture we might throw her way, she tackles it like the star she is.
By: Simone Grant
