Rihanna covers the latest issue of W Magazine, and the child she’s holding is her daughter Rocki. Baby’s first magazine cover! Rihanna and ASAP Rocky had three children in quick succession in less than four years, and Rocki is their youngest and the only girl. Rocki’s big brothers, RZA and Riot, were not included in W Magazine’s photoshoot. Just as well! We know that Rihanna is thrilled to have a girl, and she’s probably been waiting to do these mother-daughter photoshoots for years. Meanwhile, the W piece isn’t an interview with Rihanna, but the magazine did ask Rihanna’s friends, collaborators and family to talk about her. I’m including ASAP Rocky’s musings and Sarah Paulson’s stories.
A$AP Rocky on how Rihanna has changed: “She has changed a lot because she became a mother in that time span, and that certainly changes you. But this woman has always been magic. Philosophically, the way she operates is on another level. She is the most charming and genuine person on Earth. Her energy is unmatched—one of a kind. I just adore her.
Rocky on what they like to do together: “We have so many of the same interests. We were addicted to watching documentaries, like the Bob Marley one. Watching films together is so fun. We must’ve watched El Cantante 15 times.
Sarah Paulson’s first impression of Rihanna: It was on the set of Ocean’s 8 [in which Rihanna played Nine Ball, a computer hacker], and I remember thinking she was the single most electrifying creature I’d ever laid eyes on. She seemed reserved, and that surprised me. She hadn’t done a ton of acting at this point, so I was struck by how much listening and watching she was doing. She was taking it all in, like a wise person.
Paulson’s stand-out memory of Rihanna: My partner, Holland Taylor, visited me on set when we were shooting the heist scene at the Met. Rihanna was in this beautiful red dress, and when Holland saw her she let out a yelp, like, “Holy God.” Rihanna said to her, “You know what? You’re the MVP.” Holland went, “Why?” And she said, “Because you’ve got to put up with her,” and she pointed to me. Holland to this day will say to me, “Remember—even Rihanna knew what I have to deal with with your ass.” And I can’t argue with it. It was the most correct assessment. There was a part of Rihanna that I knew enjoyed how crazy I was—we laughed a lot. I was always freestyling, trying to come up with songs that I thought could be her next No. 1. She would look at me like, “You can’t sing. Your lyrics aren’t bad, but what you’re doing vocally is upsetting.”
“What you’re doing vocally is upsetting” is great. Poor Sarah, I can’t sing either. I remember all of the Ocean’s 8 promotion too, Paulson and Rihanna were attached at the hip.
Incidentally, there are tons of rumors that Rihanna is expecting her fourth, but she recently denied it. The photos below are from April 6. Rocki was born last September… so, yeah, I don’t know. I’ll wait for her to confirm anything.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, cover courtesy of W Magazine.
