The wait for Rihanna’s new album may soon be over.
According to a new report (via HipHop-N-More), the singer is set to release her ninth album this year. On Friday (Sept. 6), Universal Music France held its annual “Open Session” in Paris where Olivier Nusse, the CEO of Universal Music France, announced the label’s slate of album releases for 2019. That includes Rihanna, whose long-awaited album will supposedly arrive in December.
While there has been no official confirmation, Rihanna has been working on her first album in almost four years, which is said to be reggae-influenced. Earlier this year, she told Interview magazine that she was eager to release it.
“It really does suck that it can’t just come out, because I’m working on a really fun one right now,” she said. “I’m really happy with a lot of the material we have so far, but I am not going to put it out until it’s complete. It makes no sense to rush it, but I want it out. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m like, ‘Even if I don’t have the time to shoot videos, I’m going to put an album out.'”
During the UMG conference, it was also announced that Drake’s new album will arrive in November. The Canadian rapper has been in the studio working on the follow-up to last year’s Scorpion, and announced in June that he was back in “album mode.”
Other UMG artists including The Weeknd, Migos, and Kanye West are reportedly set to release new albums in November as well. However, the information is questionable considering that Kanye previously announced a Sept. 27 release date for his album Jesus Is King.