A violent childhood
Robyn Rihanna Fenty was born on February 20, 1988, in the parish of St. Michael. Her mother, Monica Braithwaite, is an accountant and her father, Ronald Fenty, is a warehouse supervisor. She spent her childhood with her two brothers in a residential neighborhood in the north of Bridgetown, not far from the Shallow Draught, a marina where pleasure catamarans are moored. It's a rather quiet, modest neighborhood, lined with small, traditional wooden houses in the chattel house style. At the end of the street is the large Westbury cemetery, where the little girl likes to fly kites. Perhaps to escape the atmosphere at home? Ronald, the father, is an alcoholic, addicted to crack and violent with his wife, and occasionally with the little girl. This cycle of abuse is finally broken when Rihanna's parents separate, but maintain an intermittent relationship until the divorce. Robyn was then 14 years old. Throughout these tumultuous years, she suffered from violent migraines that perplexed doctors despite numerous scans, and which stopped shortly after the divorce. The young girl is an introvert who keeps everything bottled up inside and, looking back, the adult Rihanna attributed these migraines to the stress caused by domestic violence. As a result, Monica finds herself a solo mom, working full-time to support the family financially. Robyn, meanwhile, helps her mother, especially with raising her youngest brother, Rajad.
Discovery by Evan Rogers
At school, Robyn is the victim of harassment, particularly on account of her skin color, which is lighter than that of her classmates. But music was to help her overcome all this. In 2003, with two friends, she formed a girl band. In 2004, without yet having a name for their group, they auditioned for New York producer Evan Rogers (producer of Christina Aguilera, among others), who was on vacation in Barbados. He was immediately struck by the 15-year-old's charisma, but could she sing? It was finally during a performance of Destiny's Child'sEmotion that Rogers was convinced he'd found a rare gem. He and his wife succeeded in convincing Monica of her daughter's potential. Over the next year, the two travelled back and forth between Barbados and the Rogers' home during the school vacations, honing her skills and recording two demos: Pon De Replay and The Last Time. That same year, Robyn was signed by Rogers and Carl Sturken's production company, Syndicated Rhythm Productions, and on the advice of the producers, used her middle name as her artist name. Robyn becomes Rihanna.
Signing with Def Jam and debut albums
Rogers and Surken send Rihanna's demos to Def Jam Recordings, a label known for hosting big names in hip-hop and RnB. They end up in the hands of Shawn Carter, aka Jay-Z, the label's newly appointed CEO. On hearing them, he was rather skeptical, but decided to bring Rihanna to New York to audition with another of the label's heavyweights, L.A. Reid. In addition to singing her demos, Rihanna regaled them with a Whitney Houston cover, For The Love Of You. After the audition, Reid advised Jay-Z not to let her go until she had signed a contract... for 6 albums.
Rihanna immediately moved to the U.S. to live with the Rogers family (she was only 17 and still a minor), and the next three months were devoted to recording her debut album, with the Evans-Sturken duo producing most of the songs. Everything came together very quickly. Pon De Replay was the first single from the album to be released, as it was considered ideal for summer. It quickly became a hit, especially in the clubs. Rihanna followed this up with her first studio album, Music of the Sun, a mix of dance-pop, dancehall and R&B. Although the album was a modest success, it brought Rihanna to the attention of an international audience. Her second album, A Girl Like Me (2006), with the hit SOS, propelled her to the forefront of the music scene.
The consecration with Good Girl Gone Bad
Good Girl Gone Bad hit record stores on May 31, 2007. For this third album, in addition to the Rogers-Sturken duo, Rihanna is surrounded by big-name producers such as Tricky Stewart and Timbaland. This musical shift is reflected in a resolutely pop, dance and RnB sound, abandoning the Caribbean tones that had marked her debut. Launched as a scout, the single Umbrella propelled Rihanna into orbit. Music history tells us that the song had been proposed to Britney Spears and Mary J. Blige before landing on Rihanna's doorstep after they turned it down. The result? The song reached No.1 in the charts in 13 countries. Three more singles followed: Shut Up and Drive, Hate That I Love You (with Ne-Yo) and Don't Stop the Music, a perfect dancefloor hit with a heady sample of Michael Jackson's Wanna Be Starting Something. In September 2007, Rihanna went on tour, and in 2008 won a Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance with Jay-Z for their collaboration on Umbrella.
Relationship with Chris Brown, Rated R, Loud, Talk that talk
In 2009, Rihanna went through a difficult period after being assaulted by her boyfriend at the time, Chris Brown. The incident caused a media storm. Of the five tracks on the album, Rude Boy is the most successful, and the most critically acclaimed of all her albums to date.
Rihanna returns in November 2010 with Loud, a counterpoint to the darker Rated R, featuring collaborations with Eminem, Nicki Minaj and Drake. Resolutely dance-pop and RnB, the album spawned seven singles, including The Only Girl (in the World), which won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording, and S&M.
Her sixth album, Talk That Talk, released in 2011, continues Loud' s dance trend and incorporates electro elements, thanks in particular to DJ Calvin Harris. The single We Found Love becomes a huge hit, topping the Billboard charts and winning a Grammy Award for Best Music Video.
"Unapologetic, Anti and career break
In 2012, Unapologetic will be Rihanna's first album to reach #1 directly in the US charts. Frenchman David Guetta, who had previously collaborated with the singer, was one of the producers this time. The gem of the album (which won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Music Album) is " Diamond ", one of the artist's most iconic tracks.
Following the success ofUnapologetic, the years that followed were devoted to collaborations (with Shakira, Kanye West and Paul McCartney, among others). She also left Def Jam to join the label her mentor Jay-Z had just founded: Roc Nation. At the end of January 2016, Anti finally released, to the delight of fans, a more experimental album mixing pop, dancehall, alternative RnB and psychedelic soul, with the hit Work co-interpreted with Drake.
Since the end of her world tour following Anti, Rihanna has been concentrating on her business and private life. Coupled with ASAP Rocky since 2021, she is now the mother of two children. Nevertheless, she makes occasional reappearances, collaborating with other artists, releasing the lead single from the soundtrack of the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (the beautiful ballad Lift Me Up, nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar) and in 2023, where she provides the intermission show at the Super Bowl. While we await the release of her 9th album (which fans have dubbed "R9"), all that's left to do is eat her heart out.
Rihanna, the businesswoman
After launching a fragrance line and becoming one of the partners of Tidal, the music streaming service launched by Jay-Z, Rihanna is moving into fashion in 2019 with her Fenty label, in collaboration with the LVMH group. This makes her the first woman and the first woman of color to head a house linked to the group. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Fenty closed its doors. This will be one of Rihanna's rare fashion failures. In 2017, she had launched, again with LVMH, Fenty Beauty (then Fenty Skin), an inclusive cosmetics line that from the outset launched a range of 50 shades of foundation to match all skin tones. A small revolution in the world of beauty. Her lingerie, sportswear and loungewear label, Savage x Fenty, follows the same guiding principle: inclusivity. All body types are successfully celebrated.
Appearance on the big and small screens
Rihanna's film career is not quite as brilliant as her music career, but she did appear in Battleship (in the role of a soldier), Valérian et la Cité des Mille Planètes and, above all, in the 100% female version ofOcean's 11: Ocean's 8, where she played the role of the token hacker. On the series front, she played the iconic role of Marion Crane in the5th and final season of Bates Motel.
Rihanna, the philanthropist
In addition to her partnerships with UNICEF, Rihanna supports numerous causes, such as the fight against AIDS, cancer, girls' education and environmental protection. But it is through the Clara Lionel Foundation, created in tribute to her maternal grandparents, Clara and Lionel Braithwaite, that she plays an active role in philanthropy. The foundation supports health, education (including scholarship programs) and climate resilience in Barbados and around the world.
Following in Rihanna's footsteps in Barbados
Quite simply, there's no avoiding it. No sooner have you set foot in Barbados than you'll hear one of Rihanna's songs. In Bridgetown, you'll meet her face in National Heroes Square, as the singer was honored to be named one of Barbados' eleven national heroes. A monument is erected in her name at the intersection of the street where she grew up (New Westbury Rd) and Westbury Cemetery. It's an opportunity to immerse yourself in the atmosphere in which the young Rihanna spent her childhood. Further down the street, now named Rihanna Drive, you can even see her childhood home. You can't miss it, as it's surrounded by a fence. Even though her bittersweet childhood is long behind her and she has long since settled in the United States, Rihanna remains viscerally attached to Barbados. Rumor has it that she has an apartment in the luxurious Sandy Lane complex, where she comes to vacation, and if you're in Barbados on the day of the Grand Kadooment (the Bajan carnival), chances are you'll see her taking part in the parade. Her dedication was reflected in her nomination speech as a national heroine: "You know how proud we Barbadians are. We are the proudest people I know. And wherever I go in the world, I take that pride with me. No matter where we go, the world will know that we are Bajans to the core. Whether it's our accent, the fact that we constantly miss Chefette and the sun, the people... You guys are the real heroes of Barbados and you're with me wherever I go."
