A$AP Rocky says Rihanna is recording new music ‘right now’

Rocky says the singer is “cooking” in the studio but offered no timeline for her long-awaited next album.

A$AP Rocky says Rihanna’s new music is being recorded right now, giving fans another sign that her long-awaited return is moving forward. The update follows her latest studio tease earlier this year and a record-breaking catalog milestone that showed the strength of her music nearly a decade after “ANTI.”

People reported that Rocky shared the update during an Aug. 5 appearance on “The Jason Lee Show.” Host Jason Lee suggested that Rihanna’s relationship, children and business ventures might help explain why she has not released another full-length album, but Rocky rejected that idea.

“She in the studio right now,” Rocky said. He added that she was “working” and “cooking,” then joked that he might get in trouble for revealing the information without her permission.

The comments confirm active studio work, but they do not establish that Rihanna’s ninth album is complete or close to release. Rocky did not provide a project title, collaborators, musical direction or release date.

Rihanna offered her own glimpse of the process in February. In a video documenting a long workday, she said she still had to visit the studio after a late-night Savage X Fenty meeting. The footage later showed her working there around 2:30 a.m., with the audio muted so the music could not be heard.

Her most recent studio album, “ANTI,” arrived in 2016 and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The project produced “Work,” “Needed Me” and “Love on the Brain.” In 2025, it became the first album by a Black woman to spend 500 weeks on the chart.

Rihanna has released individual songs since “ANTI.” She recorded “Lift Me Up” for “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” in 2022 and “Friend of Mine” for the “Smurfs” soundtrack in 2025. She also returned to the stage for the 2023 Super Bowl halftime show and joined Jay-Z at Yankee Stadium in July.

Fans commonly call her anticipated ninth album “R9,” but Rihanna has not announced that as an official title. For now, the clearest development is that Rihanna’s new music remains in progress, with Rocky confirming current studio work but offering no timetable for when listeners will hear it.