Rihanna is letting her inner political bad gyal show. The “Lift Me Up” singer’s billionaire status and wide-spanning business empire afford her endless luxuries. Still, some things are out of Rihanna’s reach, such as voting in US elections due to her non-resident status.
With the dozens of celebrity endorsements in the 2024 presidential campaign cycle, Rihanna appears to have shared her own. Today (November 4), Rihanna took to Instagram with a joke about the lengths she is willing to go to in order to cast her vote seemingly for Vice President Kamala Harris.
“When protecting pussies and firing pussies can happen all in one vote #votecauseicant #TanSuitSeason,” read the post’s caption.
But the subtext placed over the video has followers literally laughing out loud. “POV: me trying to sneak into the polls with my son’s passport #votecauseicant,” wrote Rihanna.
In all seriousness, voter fraud isn’t a laughing matter. However, the nature of Rihanna’s lighthearted line and humor personality users online could help but chuckle.
To avoid Rihanna’s upload being viewed as a potential legal matter, some fans have sent messages to Rihanna’s partner and fellow musician Asap Rocky, whom she shares two sons to keep a close eye on her.
No one wants to see Rihanna fighting a deportation case before her long-awaited album is released.
ASAP Rocky is driving fans crazy with the long wait for his new album Don’t Be Dumb. Despite a couple of singles, announcements, press runs, and promises, the album seems no closer to landing on our doorstep. What’s more is that recent reports have his die-hards losing even more hope, relegating the project to its mythical status once more after fans actually thought it would drop this year. According to Dro, @99Vinyl_ on Twitter, the Harlem rapper and his team began to send out refunds to people who pre-ordered the LP on vinyl, seemingly serving as a nail in the coffin that places it back in limbo.
Of course, fans reacted in all sorts of ways to this, whether that was joking about their desperation, scathingly criticizing this rollout, clowning folks for believing in Don’t Be Dumb in the first place, or bringing up other narratives such as the rap beef with Drake as another jab. Take this with a grain of salt, though, as A$AP Rocky could definitely change this narrative by announcing it with a short wait time-span or just releasing it out of the blue.
As for why these vinyl pre-orders resulted in refunds, A$AP Rocky probably had to delay the album once more, which could be for a whole host of different reasons. Perhaps it’s due to sample clearance issues, volatile and shifting label release schedules, waiting for other rollout elements like live performances and press opportunities to roll around… Who knows? Also, another big factor to consider is his alleged assault case over the shooting of A$AP Relli, which definitely made him pretty busy and understandably focused on that to some degree. But there’s no telling at press time whether that impacted Don’t Be Dumb, an album whose title ironically and sadly reflects what a lot of people are saying to his fans about believing in its release.
Meanwhile, for other fans, teasing an album and never following it up is a family tradition. A$AP Rocky’s boo Rihanna is in the same boat with fans, and they most likely know this. Maybe everything would be water under the bridge if they definitively unveil both albums at the same time. But for all the theories we could spout out about them, we can do nothing else but wait and see what happens.
Fans of Drake and Future’s reconciliation celebration parade was short-lived. According to Uproxx’sElliott Wilson the former collaborators mended their friendship.
During The Bigger Picture‘s latest episode (viewable here), Wilson claimed that the hip-hop heavy weights’ feud was official over. “I have it on good authority that Drake and Future have at least gotten on the phone and resolved their differences,” he said.
However, shortly after HipHopDX posted the confessional clip (viewable here), another industry figure came out to refute the remark. On his own platform, online commentator Akademiks shared insider knowledge to the contrary. “I’ve spoken to extremely credible sources on both sides, and Drake and Future have not been on the phone,” he said (viewable here courtesy of NFR Podcast).
Both Wilson and Akademiks have deep ties to rappers and their close affiliates. So, this has quickly become a case of he said, he said. Users across X (formerly Twitter), have expressed their frustration with these opposing recounts.
“See now this is what we aren’t gonna do, have two different stories over and over again. We need answers,” wrote one user.
Others have begun to question why Drake and Future were at odds to begin with. Hip-hop fans can understand Drake’s disdain for Metro Boomin, Kendrick Lamar, and Asap Rocky. But the supposed tension between Drake and Future has some stumped.
Today (October 22), the “Tailor Swif” rapper’s pretrial hearing for his alleged assault of former associate ASAP Relli (real name Terell Ephron) was held at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles, California.
During the hearing, Judge Mark Arnold rescheduled A$AP Rocky’s trial for the supposed assault according to AllHipHop. The previous court date was set for November 12. Following the judge’s decision, Asap Rocky’s new assault trial date will now begin on January 21, 2025.
The outlet claims the reason for the shift boils down to the presiding judge taking Asap Rocky’s performance schedule into account, specifically his upcoming set at Rolling Loud Thailand on November 22. While Asap Rocky’s lawyer Joe Tacopina reportedly argued other reasons for the judge to consider for a postponement including the “upcoming holidays” and “issues with discovery.”
Outside of the courthouse, Tacopina answered questions by the press regarding the change in trial date (viewable here). “We set the final and definitive trial date which is now January 21, 2025,” he said. “Everyone just decided it’s best to do this in January. It’s a firm date. It’s a real date. He’s really eager to get this done, to get this behind him. So, [he] was not really looking to push this off that far, but it’s standard stuff that happens when you’re doing trials.”
Rihanna and ASAP Rocky are always providing insights into their relationship, but they’re usually pretty light or general comments on their family dynamic, relationship, and parenthood. Fans still want to know other specifics, though, especially when it comes to whether they will tie the knot… Or if they already have. On that last point, social media once again launched marriage rumors thanks to a recent E! News interview that the Barbadian superstar participated in at a Savage X Fenty event in Nordstrom in Los Angeles. When the reporter expressed that she loves seeing Riri as a mother, she had this to say: “Motherhood, wifehood-ish – wife-ish-hood.”
“Just being a home body, I love it,” Rihanna said of her and A$AP Rocky’s overall family dynamics. “I love to be a home-maker. I have a lot of women in my home right now. And I just like to to be exciting and celebrate things. I’m trying to build new traditions for our little family that we built.” “Hello?! Spooky season,” she replied when the interviewer asked about some of the family traditions she’s excited to maintain. “That’s up, upfront. Next is Thanksgiving with my in-laws, ’cause that’s not a thing in Barbados. And then Christmas is a very, very big thing for us. So we’re going to do it up. All the thing you’re going to do, girl. I ain’t no different.”
“That’s my family for life, regardless,” the “Diamonds” singer clarified when the reporter asked about that “in-laws” title suggestively, yet another speculative hint about marriage. Regardless of all the theorizing, fans are just happy to see Rihanna and A$AP Rocky build their life and celebrate each other and their family. Also, it’s not like a ring is the end-all, be-all factor of a healthy and loving relationship.
“It’s crazy how we find balance with our chaotic schedules,” ASAP Rocky told Billboard about Rihanna. “[The relationship] is going great. I don’t think there’s a more perfect person because when the schedules are hectic, she’s very understanding of that. And when the schedule’s freed up, that’s when you get to spend [the] most time together. It’s all understanding and compatibility.”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art announced today that the 2025 Met Gala will be co-chaired by Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, Pharrell Williams, and Anna Wintour, with LeBron James serving as honorary chair. According to Vogue, the star-studded event will occur on May 5, 2025, with the Costume Institute’s spring exhibition, Superfine: Tailoring Black Style, as its centerpiece.
Inspired by Monica L. Miller’s book Slaves to Fashion: Black Dandyism and the Styling of Black Diasporic Identity, the exhibition will showcase garments, paintings, photographs, and more, highlighting the influential style of Black men from the 18th century to the present day.
The Met Gala, chaired by Wintour since 1995, has long been one of fashion’s most anticipated events. The 2025 edition will focus on the enduring legacy of Black fashion and culture. The exhibition will open to the public on May 6 and run through October 26, 2025. The official dress code will be revealed in early 2025, setting the stage for an unforgettable evening of fashion and culture.
ASAP Rocky’s last album, Testing, reminds me a lot of The Bear. In the recently concluded third season of the genre-defying FX restaurant dramedy, Carmen, the proprietor of the titular beef sandwich stand-turned-Michelin-star-hopeful hot spot, insists on a constantly changing menu of experimental and effortful dishes. It’s a strategy aimed at generating enough buzz and critical acclaim to turn The Bear into one of those generational, culture-shifting eateries that defines the shape, look, and flavor of fine dining for a decade to come. It shouldn’t count as a spoiler to point out that this strategy does not go well.
In the same way, ASAP Rocky really swung for the fences in 2018, doing his best to both subvert and redirect the flow of hip-hop from crowd-pleasing but repetitive Atlanta trap productions to something more psychedelic and vibey, like Grateful Dead for heads who grew up on The Notorious B.I.G. and Three 6 Mafia. As with Carmy’s restaurant ambitions, it seems that Rocky’s reach exceeded his grasp.
In an interview with GQ, he admitted to being “emotionally discouraged” by its early lukewarm reception among fans, while expressing belief that his hardcore followers would grow into it. While the album wasn’t a complete disaster (neither was The Bear), it didn’t turn out to be the paradigm-shifting smash success Rocky evidently believed that it would be.
Now, with Don’t Be Dumb, his first album in six years sitting on the launchpad and fueling up for release, there’s one item on Rocky’s readiness checklist that absolutely must be a non-negotiable: He needs to go back to basics, or watch his comeback album also get stuck in the inner atmosphere, falling well short of his cosmic goals.
When he first appeared on the national scene with his breakout 2011 single, “Peso,” Rocky enamored himself to rap fans with a smart, unexpected blend of Memphis trap aesthetics, East Texas murk, and Uptown New York swagger. Although the seeds of his future sonic experimentation could be heard in the druggy, slowed-down morass of his UGK and Three 6-inspired sounds, those sounds were familiar enough to rap fans of all stripes that they were immediately accessible in the melting pot atmosphere that bubbled up from the digital underground of the late noughties. It launched him into the stratosphere, putting him on par with fellow breakouts like Big KRIT, Big Sean, Drake, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Mac Miller, Meek Mill, Pusha T, Tyler The Creator, and Wale.
In the years since then, though, he’s taken a number of detours through the worlds of fashion and television — and a Scandanavian jail — while ending up only fractionally as productive musically as his onetime peers. As of this writing, he’s only got three full-length albums to his name, along with his debut mixtape, Live. Love. ASAP, and his contributions to the handful of releases from his former clique, ASAP Mob. While he’s popped up on a few high-profile collaborations with the likes of Japanese designer/part-time DJ, Nigo, Tyler, and producer Metro Boomin, it has seemed that Rocky’s attentions have mostly focused on building a family with longtime girlfriend/possible wife Rihanna.
Which explains the hype for Don’t Be Dumb, Rocky’s first album since the misunderstood and oft-maligned Testing. DMB represents not only his first real collection of music since 2018, but also his opportunity to recognize and return to the traits that made his output so beloved in the first place. He’s always been a stellar rapper, but rap has plenty of those; what made him stand out was his willingness to combine unexpected elements to create alchemical results more than the sum of their respective parts. Think real-life chef Roy Choi’s ingenious invention of the Los Angeles food truck, Kogi BBQ, which combined taco truck staples with the Korean cuisines Choi grew up with in LA’s Koreatown.
It’s understandable why Rocky, someone who was so lauded for his own unusual combinations, would want to prove he could continue to push the boundaries with Testing. As he told New York radio fixture Peter Rosenberg for Complex’s Open Late, “I want to take a different approach, and I want to challenge the viewer who is tired of hearing the same old shit… I’m just trying to test my viewers and listeners and see if they’re ready to evolve and grow with me.”
But what made his first experimental musical dishes work was their simplicity. They took straightforward questions and answered them: What if Big L had rapped on “Sippin on Some Syrup?” What about a Mase guest spot on “Pocket Full Of Stones?” It turns out, these are things that work together. Testing, however, combined way too many elements without considering whether any of this made any of these things work better than they would on their own. While we do like surprise and innovation, folks don’t necessarily want to have their tastes challenged, broadly speaking.
Testing tried a lot — maybe too much — to impress fans who never really wanted that from Rocky. He’d gone from giving them roast beef and peppers on French bread to a full-on French fusion menu. With Don’t Be Dumb, fans might be ready for palate-widening flights of fancy, but truthfully, what many (most, even) want from Rocky is the feeling that made him a superstar in the first place. Late career resurgences aren’t all that uncommon in hip-hop anymore, but all of them have hinged on delivering on fans expectations without the demands — think Nas and Hit-Boy’s stellar run, Rick Ross’s glittering luxury rap, or Lil Wayne’s relentless punchline onslaught.
Rocky, too, can have such a renaissance. Obviously, as an artist, his vision should be the only thing that matters to him — although it does sound like he’s focusing on making good rap records again. Maybe he can top himself. Maybe he can figure out a way to polish the ideas he hinted at on Testing and really make them fly. But if he wants the praise, accolades, and appreciation of being a fan favorite, he’s going to have to tamp down on some of his ambition. Fundamentals are called that for a reason. The basics work; sure, fine dining is nice every once in a while, but nobody ever turns down a really good sandwich.
The iHeartRadio Music Festival is this weekend in Las Vegas, and concertgoers can look forward to a full lineup including Big Sean, Camila Cabello, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, Gwen Stefani, and more, with headliners Chris Martin and The Weeknd. However, they will be missing out on a third headliner, ASAP Rocky, who today announced he is dropping out of the festival due to illness.
“UNFORTUNATELY, I ENDED UP GETTING SICK & I WON’T BE ABLE TO PERFORM AT THE @iheartfestival,” he wrote on his Instagram Story. “IM SORRY TO MY FANS & THANKFUL TO @iheartradio FOR THE OPPORTUNITY! I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO PERFORMING SOME NEW MUSIC FOR YALL! ENJOY THE SHOW THE LINE UP IS ”
Look I don’t want to cast aspersions on anyone, but the Harlem rapper has had a bumpy 2024 when it comes to keeping commitments. After declaring an August 30 release date for his long-awaited album, Don’t Be Dumb, Billboard revealed that the project would be delayed in its feature on him. He’s been dropping songs that may or may not appear on the album, such as “Tailor Swif” and “Ruby Rosary” with J. Cole, but has not offered any updates on its release. While we hope he gets well soon, we also hope he’s using the weekend off productively.
Rihanna is often balancing her roles as a mother and… well, everything else these days, so it’s only natural that she needs to think about her fashion on the fly. Moreover, she recently celebrated the launch of Fenty Hair in the United Kingdom on Monday (September 16) and gave some tips to British Vogue as to how to flip stay-at-home into sexy when it comes to styling. “My lazy days consist of always wearing a scrunchie because I want [my hair] out of the way,” RiRi told the outlet. “So I find myself always wearing a scrunchie on my wrist. I want it out of my way. I don’t want it to be on my kids when I lean forward; just messy!
“Whether you have tendrils or whatever, you still gotta keep it together because when Rocky comes home, I don’t want to look busted either,” Rihanna continued. “There’s the first half of the day and then there’s the dad’s coming home [half]!” If you have any tips for Riot Rose’s parents when it comes to fashion advice of your own, make sure to drop them down in the comments section below.
But Rihanna and ASAP Rocky are so in love with each other that they probably look gorgeous to each other every millisecond of every day… and to most people, if we’re being real. “It’s crazy how we find balance with our chaotic schedules,” Rocky told Billboard recently. “[The relationship] is going great. I don’t think there’s a more perfect person because when the schedules are hectic, she’s very understanding of that. And when the schedule’s freed up, that’s when you get to spend [the] most time together. It’s all understanding and compatibility.”
Meanwhile, Rihanna and ASAP Rocky do plan to expand their family and share more great memories together. “I don’t know what God wants, but I would go for more than two,” she shared with Interview magazine. “I would try for my girl. But of course, if it’s another boy, it’s another boy.” We’ll see whether she chooses to reveal her third pregnancy on a Super Bowl-level stage, if it does happen.
ASAP Rocky is apparently just two weeks away from finally releasing his highly awaited fourth album, DON’T BE DUMB. Genius is claiming that September 20 will be the day, which is nearly a whole month later after fans were expecting it on August 30. After being left in the dark about the delay, Rocky cleared things up, saying, “LEAKS & SAMPLE CLEARANCES ARE DISRUPTING THE ALBUM. ITS BEEN 6 YEARS & I WANNA MAKE THE BEST ALBUM EVER. IM SORRY FOR THE WAIT”. While we all continue to impatiently wait for it, the A$AP Mob member has been tiding us over with a slew of singles.
The most recent of them is “Ruby Rosary” with J. Cole and producing legend, The Alchemist. Out of all of the tracks leading up to the project, this could be our favorite one. The production is dark, mysterious, and grungy in all the best ways, and Rocky and Cole put forth some dizzying and hypnotic flows. As with most tracks this year, the record was generating some potential diss buzz with Drake being the main target once again.
That could helping the streaming numbers a bit, but we don’t think Rocky’s concerned enough to send subliminals, especially someone he says he’s not worried about. “Ruby Rosary” is fantastic on its own without the “Drake stimulus package” and fans seem to agree. According to Hip Hop All Day, the single is already doing some pretty serious work on DSPs. At the time of writing, it has over 1.9 million streams and it debuted with 1.7. The hype is real once again and hopefully it will translate over to the album once it arrives.
What are your thoughts on ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, and The Alchemist ‘s “Ruby Rosary” raking in over 1.7 million streams in its debut? Will this go on to be one of Rocky’s best songs ever or just on DON’T BE DUMB? Is the strongest single so far? Does this get you even more ready for the album? We would like to hear what you have to say, so leave your thoughts in the comments. Additionally, always keep it locked in with HNHH for all of the latest news surrounding ASAP Rocky, J. Cole, and The Alchemist. Finally, stay with us for everything else going on in the music world.
Vinyl Collection (@99Vinyl_) 
