Rihanna Reveals The Truth About #R8 And *That* 'Better Have My Money' Video As She Covers The First Free Edition Of NME Magazine
NME Reveals Controversial Relaunch Cover Star (And We Love It)
Rachel McGrath— The Huffington Post UK
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NME magazine have revealed the cover star for their first ever free edition, and it’s none other than global megastar Rihanna.
In a move which has frustrated some music fans, the mag have opted to place RiRi on the cover of the landmark issue, and in the accompanying interview, she dishes the dirt on everything from working with Kanye West on her eighth album, to the ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ video.
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Amazing.
At present, music fans are eagerly awaiting RiRi’s eighth album, and we have to say we’re a little sad to find out that it won’t be released any time soon.
When asked about the record by NME, Rihanna “chortles”: “It’s not done! To me it’s never done until it’s done. Until the final moment.
“I have so many songs I love – and they’re so different – that it’s hard to actually put them all on the same album.
“No matter what I post online, within three comments there’s somebody saying, ‘Where is R8?’ But it makes me excited, because I can’t wait to give them something great.”
The ‘FourFiveSeconds’ singer has been working with Kanye West on her album, and during her chat with NME, Rihanna reveals that she won’t finish #R8 without him, stating: “We just have to wait to get back in the studio together. His schedule and mine are totally opposite right now, but I think this month we’ll be back in the studio.
“It’s easy to make an album full of great songs. But I want people to go for the ride. The songs have to make sense together.”
“I wanted people to feel like they’d got more than they’d expected. But not in a shocking way – in the sense of ‘wow, this is a real mini-movie’. You know? I wanted to go deeper,” she explains, before slightly cryptically continuing: “Mostly what I wanted was for people to get it.
“I was very happy with the reaction. Very happy. Well I mean now we’re reaching. I didn’t think about anything that had to do with that. Wow. And at the end of the day the women won. The bitch was the man. So I’m confused. Those are the people that didn’t get it.
“I’m not worried about those people. This was not a woman empowerment video. I was making a piece of art.”
However, the decision to put Rihanna on the cover of the mag hasn’t delighted everyone, namely indie music fans who think the publication - whose initials stand for ‘New Musical Express’ - should have opted for an up-and-coming act:
The first free issue of NME will available from various stockists across the UK on Friday 18 September. See a map of the distribution locations here.
To read Rihanna’s full interview, pick up your free copy of NME magazine this Friday.
Best Ever NME Covers
`1952: The First Issue (01 of12)
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It all began with this issue over 60 years ago.That year, the magazine launched the first ever UK singles chart, based on the US's Billboard one. (credit:NME)
August 1979: Joy Division(02 of12)
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Joy Division's Ian Curtis and Bernard Sumner graced the cover in 1979. Just 9 months later, Ian killed himself. (credit:NME)
December 1986: Madonna (03 of12)
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Proving that it's not just indie upstarts who can grace the cover, Madonna made the first of four appearances on NME's front page in 1986. (credit:NME)
November 1989: The Stone Roses(04 of12)
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Ian Brown and his band made their cover debut with a Pollock-inspired shoot in 1989. (credit:NME)
April 1994: Kurt Cobain Tribute(05 of12)
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The mag paid their respects to the Nirvana frontman with a simple, black-and-white cover. (credit:NME)
August 1995: Britpop's Stars Go Head-To-Head(06 of12)
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It was the chart battle that defined 1995, and NME added fuel to the fire with this cheeky cover. The release of 'Country House' was brought forward, and the track triumphed over 'Roll With It' in the charts, which led to... (credit:NME)
September 1995: Damon's Victory Cover(07 of12)
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The magazine's publishers prepared two versions of this front page, one with Oasis and this one featuring Damon. (credit:NME)
June 2002: The Libertines' Debut (08 of12)
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Pete Doherty and Carl Barat's band were already causing havoc on the London music scene, when they landed their first ever cover the week 'What A Waster' was released. (credit:NME)
October 2005: Arctic Monkey's debut (09 of12)
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Still looking like scruffy Sheffield lads, the band made their NME debut. Three months later, their debut album 'Whatever People say i Am, That's What I'm Not' was released, and became the fastest-selling debut by a British band. (credit:NME)
December 2009: The Grinch Who Stole Christmas(10 of12)
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In 2009, 'X Factor' boss Simon Cowell spoke to the mag, as a battle between a charity campaign to get Rage Against Machine's 'Killing In The Name' to number one gained pace. RATM eventually beat that year's 'X Factor' champ Joe McElderry to the top spot, and the band followed through on their promise to perform a free victory gig in London. (credit:NME)
July 2011: RIP Amy Winehouse(11 of12)
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Tragically, Amy Winehouse's first ever cover appearance came after her death in 2007. NME's editor at Mike Williams later discussed the page's conception, stating: "After an hour of playing with cover lines we took them all off and it all made sense.“NME’s picture director Marian Paterson described the lack of words as 'A minute’s silence.' She was right.” (credit:NME)
April 2013: Yeah Yeah Yeahs(12 of12)
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Karen O was back! The Yeah Yeah's made a triumphant return with 'Mosquito', and officially waged war on fans wielding smartphones and video cameras constantly at gigs. (credit:NME)