Rihanna covers the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar. Bazaar dropped the cover just days after Rihanna’s partner, ASAP Rocky, was acquitted of all charges in his felony assault trial. I guess Rihanna was really confident about Rocky’s chances, because this cover story seems like a victory lap (even though the interview happened last December). You can read the Bazaar piece here – she makes a lot of vague promises about her long-awaited ninth album, she talks about business and motherhood, and of course she talks about how much she loves Rocky. Some highlights:

Musical doubts: “I had a lot of doubts. Actually, after Music of the Sun … doubt grew every album. You actually think you have to have a number-one album to be successful or to think you made it. You feel like you failed if your album became anything less than number one. That was the era of music at that time.”

How does she have the energy to do all of this as a mom of two: “I don’t. I can’t believe you’re saying that. I am exhausted. I am tired. I am done, over it. Sometimes I’m just hungry. I went to Giorgio’s the other night in my Savage onesie. I was like, the only thing I’m going to do right now is put heels on, and that’s it. I just want to eat. Why do I have to dress up for that? I just want the food.”

Postpartum fashion: “I feel like getting dressed is a fight on its own [now]. Everything is so … logical. What makes sense? What’s easy? What’s fast? I try not to overthink all that stuff, but you’re leaving the house. It kind of stops you from going out. How much energy do I have to put into getting ready? Doing my makeup, doing my hair, and then going to the closet and figuring out which three things in this entire room make sense together? You go through a fog. And fashion is so much fun, and I miss the fun… My fashion has always been driven by my mood, and my mood was on mom mode for a minute.”

Her sons: “RZA is just an empath. He’s so magical. He loves music. He loves melody. He loves books. He loves water. Bath time, swimming, pool, beach, anything. And Riot, he’s just hilarious. When he wakes up, he starts to squeal, scream. Not in a crying way. He just wants to sing. And I’m like, ‘Okay, here we go!’ He’s my alarm in the morning! He’s not taking no for an answer from anyone. I don’t know where he came from, dude.”

ASAP Rocky the father: Rihanna tells me that the “greatest thing” about Rocky “is seeing him be a dad. His pureness. His charm. I’m annoyed because my sons sometimes just live for him more than they live for me. And I’m like, ‘Did you know who cooked you? Do you know who pushed you out?’ And they love him, but when I see it, oh, it’s the best.”

Rocky & Rihanna started out as friends: “That’s a big thing for us and actually a really big thing for him. He always reminds me, no matter how hard everything is that we’re dealing with in our life, in our careers and as parents, he’s like, ‘Remember when we were friends? Remember when we just used to have fun as friends?’ ”

What’s next in her empire: “I want to do furniture. Home design. You know what? I think I’ll do wine later in my life. Because I respect the art of it all, and we would want to have our own family vineyard.”

R9 is not a reggae album: “Way off! There’s no genre now. That’s why I waited. Every time, I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour.’ After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, this much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears. It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre. After waiting eight years, you might as well just wait some more.”

Getting older: “Getting old is sh-t, but it’s also a blessing. My legacy is right now. That’s all I have the most control over. My legacy is what I do with my time at this moment. How am I present with the people around me? How am I grateful? How am I making this a happy moment? How am I making a memory? I’m even in the space of not even spending my money on things, but I’ll spend my money on an experience. That’s something no one can take from me. Somebody could rob me right now of everything I have, [but] they will never take a memory, an experience, a feeling, a scent that reminded me of that moment. There’s just things that mean more when you grow up.”

[From Harper’s Bazaar]

About R9… the way she’s talking, we’re not going to get that album for a while, if ever. She’s lying to herself, it’s not like she’s just lying to her fans. She still thinks that she’s going to do R9 and she just… won’t. As for the rest of it… she seems cool. Motherhood has shifted her perspectives, but she still cares about all of the stuff she cared about before, including fashion. I love that she sounds so happy with Rocky and their babies, and it definitely seems like Rihanna and Rocky are best friends in addition to being lovers and partners.

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