Rihanna Terrifies Fans By Casually Teasing Her Retirement

Rihanna knows what she’s doing. She dropped a classic album in 2016 with Anti, and has kept fans on the hook ever since. The pop superstar has had two children, bolstered her fashion empire, and played the Super Bowl Halftime Show in this nearly decade-long drought. 2024 seemed as though it would be the end of the drought, but RiRi has fans thinking otherwise after she stepped out on June 6. She was seen wearing a graphic t-shirt, and the text on it provides a terrifying possibility for her Navy.

Rihanna was photographed in New York City. The full text on the t-shirt was obscured by her purse, but the main text was crystal clear: “I’m retired.” Fans did manage to find the exact shirt she was wearing on the internet, though. The text underneath allegedly reads: “This is as dressed up as I get.” It’s very much meant to be a tongue-in-cheek shirt, not to be taken seriously, but given who is wearing it, and how long its been since her last album, fans were more stressed than usual. “Welp she never doing music again,” one distraught X user wrote. “I don’t feel good,” another wrote. “She better be joking.” Some fans took the stance that Rihanna is actually teasing the title of her upcoming album, which would be I’m Retired.

Rihanna has, admittedly, been hyping up her comeback album in 2024. She confirmed that she’s been in the studio with her boyfriend, ASAP Rocky, who has also been working on his first album since 2018. The biggest thing Rihanna wants to convey to fans is artistic growth. At least, that’s what she told Extra back in April. “It’s gonna be amazing,” she told the outlet. “It has to be — that is the only reason it’s not out yet. If I’m not feeling it and I’m not feeling like it represents the evolution, the time I spent away. There should be a show of growth, right?”

While Rihanna confirmed that her and ASAP Rocky have been working closely, she maintained that the new album will not be filled with guest features. If anything, the singer wants to error on the side of less features, so as to give fans more of her. Especially after nearly a decade away from the industry. “I’m not a big collaborator,” she explained. “It has to be very intentional, so I’ll know when I have the record.” RiRi is playing up the notion that she’s retired in public. That said, she’s made it very clear that she’s hard at work on new music behind closed doors.