Rihanna Recounts Surviving Immigration Raid As A Child: ‘It’s Hard To Turn A Blind Eye’ To Injustices

In a very candid interview for the latest issue of British Vogue, Rihanna discussed all of the things her fans want to hear about, from her creative process to the inspirations behind her fashion and beauty brands to, of course, her highly anticipated ninth studio album. And while the pop star has always been an open book, she does share the details of a traumatic event that has helped shape her world view.

During her chat for the magazine’s May 2020 issue, Rihanna said that when she was growing up in Barbados, she witnessed discrimination against immigrants from her mother’s native Guyana, adding that it’s one of the reasons she relates to “Mexican or Latino people who are discriminated against in America.”

While the Bajan beauty’s mom moved from Guyana legally, it did not protect her from experiencing the poor treatment of illegal immigrants.

“I know what it feels like to have the immigration come into your home in the middle of the night and drag people out. I’ve witnessed it. I’ve been in it. I was probably, what, eight-years-old when I experienced that in the middle of the night. So I know how disheartening it is for a child – and if that was my parent that was getting dragged out of my house, I can guarantee you that my life would have been a shambles.”

Rihanna said it was one of the many reasons why she can not “stay silent” or “turn a blind eye” to injustice around the world, a mindset which led to her being presented with the President’s Award at the NAACP Image Awards in February.

Elsewhere in the Vogue feature, Rihanna discussed the new era of her life, in which her primary role is that of a businesswoman. The mogul heads three highly successful and critically acclaimed brands — Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty, and Fenty Maison. The latter holds the distinction of not only being the first LVHM brand to be crafted from the ground up, but also the first to be helmed by a woman.

Of course, no conversation with RiRi would be complete without touching on the subject of music. Sadly, she’s still not ready to offer fans a release date for her next album, which has been nicknamed R9. There has been speculation that the project will feature heavy West Indian influences, a rumor fueled even more by a photo of Rihanna and reggae legend and Roc Nation label mate Buju Banton just days after his release from prison in 2019. However, she said that she shies away from creating music with a theme, rather choosing to make music that feels good to her.

“I feel like I have no boundaries. I’ve done everything – I’ve done all the hits, I’ve tried every genre – now I’m just, I’m wide open. I can make anything that I want.”

Now 32, Rihanna is also beginning to turn her attention and energies inward. The songstress, who sees herself with ‘three or four’ kids in ten years, also revealed the crazy schedule that fuels her creative process and admits that she’s doing it now so that she can rest in the future. She also recognizes that she gets “overwhelmed too much.”

“When you’re overwhelmed, you need to start cutting things out,” she stated. “And I’m overwhelmed too much. What’s happening now is that I’m going back to black and white. My grey area is shutting down.”

While we may not have a date for new music, Rihanna did make an appearance on Canadian singer PARTYNEXTDOOR’s new album last week, as The Inquisitr reported.