10 Years Later, Rihanna’s ‘Anti’ Still Hits. That’s Why I Don’t Need 'R9.'

Rihanna already made her statement album, and her existence has been enough ever since.

(Screenshot, Academy Awards)

You know how artists often say things like, If you want to hear my music, listen to my old stuff (usually when fans complain about the length of time between projects)? Yeah, I think that’s where we are with Rihanna at this point. I was perusing the internet, thinking about what albums turned 10, 20 or even 30 years old, and happened upon Rihanna’s 2016 album, Anti—her last offering—which turns 10 on Wednesday.

Fans in real life and across social media have been waiting for a new musical project from Rihanna, and I sometimes, kind of, wonder…why? While I realize that the previous sentence might seem like shade, it isn’t intended that way at all. In fact, I actually mean that as a compliment for two reasons: 1) Anti was good enough of an album to revisit over and over without really needing her to add to her catalog, which by that point was already eight albums deep; and 2) Rihanna’s existence should be good enough for us all.

Yes, I genuinely mean that.