Rihanna Unveils the Cover and Art Behind Upcoming ANTI Album
Navy Army, it is time to stand up and rejoice! Our Barbadian princess has at last delivered to us the preview of her upcoming album ANTI! We still do not have a precise date of when the album will be released, but nonetheless Rihanna has indeed assured us it is coming!
Rihanna’s previous album Unapologetic, which was released in November 2012, surely shows there’s a large time gap between her album’s, and this gap is likely the longest in her music career. The Barbadian singer had a very busy 2014. She worked on multiple projects, including her involvement in the DreamWorks animated film Home. She crafted the soundtrack for the film, and became the new face of DIOR. All while still working behind the scenes for her upcoming album!
It is safe to say Ms. Fenty has indeed had her hands full within the past few years. In November 2014, Rihanna announced that her album should come out “very soon.” Throughout the year 2015 we have received three singles and four snippets of four different songs that will be included on the album. The first single, released in January, was “Four Five Seconds” featuring Kanye West, and Paul McCartney. The single Bitch Better Have My Money (BBHMM) was the second release. Rihanna performed the song for the first time at the 2nd iHeartRadio Music Awards on March 29. “American Oxygen,” her third single, debuted on Tidal April 5 and will be featured on the album as well.
On Oct. 7, Rihanna held a private viewing for fans and press at the Los Angeles’ Mama Gallery where she unveiled the official art work and title for the album ANTI. The album cover art was designed by Israeli artist Roy Nachum.
As she introduced him, she states, “He sees things beyond the surface, which is why we even decided to collaborate…It felt like there was another spirit, another layer to the art. After we met, we talked about what I wanted visually, what would make me the happiest girl in the world. This is my favorite album cover ever.”
The album cover displays Rihanna as a child taken on her first day of day care, while holding a balloon in her left hand, a gold crown covering her eyes, with a smidgen of red paint.
Nachum stated to Rolling stone “The crown over the eyes is a symbol for the music. Here I painted the young Rihanna bringing something new.” The back of the cover is similar to its front; Rihanna as a child, just from behind. The back art also features braille.
What makes this album cover even more unique is a poem written on the cover in Braille by poet Chloe Mitchell entitled “If They Let Us.” On her choice of using the Braille, Rihanna stated, “Sometimes the ones who have sight are the blindest.”
Mitchell explained to Rolling Stone: “It’s about being misunderstood, but still standing out and doing what you feel is right for you. It’s about not conforming to what society says you should be and being a leader in your own right. Sometimes we feel out of place because we don’t look the same, we don’t dress the same, we don’t speak the same. But being different is not a bad thing. Being misunderstood is not a bad thing. Everyone won’t understand what you’re trying to do when you have a genius. If you stand your ground and are comfortable with who you are, nothing else matters.”
This is the first album to feature the use of Braille physically.
Throughout the year, we have been given three hit singles and four snippets of four different songs (Higher, James Joint, Kiss it Better, Only if for a Night) for ANTI, and now the Navy Army can only hope to sit back and patiently wait for the big announcement of when ANTI will be released!
