Source: Christopher Polk/Getty Images Entertainment / Getty
Whew, okay so Rihanna turned down the Super Bowl Halftime Show last year in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. She’s made no secret that she’s down for Kaep since his subsequent protest of police brutality caused him to be effectively blackballed from the NFL.
Last year, she posted an illustration of Kaep on her Instagram page with the caption, “For those of you who thought I was watchin super bowl… we beefin.” Now in a recent interview with Vogue (where she did allude to not only long-awaited R9 album but also a follow-up), she further explained why she didn’t perform at last year’s Super Bowl in Atlanta.
“Absolutely,” she told the magazine. “I couldn’t dare do that. For what? Who gains from that? Not my people. I just couldn’t be a sellout. I couldn’t be an enabler. There’s things within that organization that I do not agree with at all, and I was not about to go and be of service to them in any way.”
The quote comes on the heels of Roc Nation, Rihanna’s label, partnering with the NFL in regards to halftime entertainment and more. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira were announced last month as the performers for the Super Bowl coming up in 2020.
Now, about that album?
“I like to look at it as a reggae-inspired or reggae-infused album,” Rihanna told the magazine. “It’s not gonna be typical of what you know as reggae. But you’re going to feel the elements in all of the tracks.” I ask why reggae feels right for this moment, and she says, “Reggae always feels right to me. It’s in my blood. It doesn’t matter how far or long removed I am from that culture, or my environment that I grew up in; it never leaves. It’s always the same high. Even though I’ve explored other genres of music, it was time to go back to something that I haven’t really homed in on completely for a body of work.”
RELATED: Rihanna Is Releasing A Visual Autobiography
RELATED: All The Sexy Photos From Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Fashion Show
Rihanna On Why She Turned Down The Super Bowl Halftime Show: “I Just Couldn’t Be A Sellout” was originally published on theboxhouston.com
