Are you eagerly awaiting new music from Rihanna? A report in Rolling Stone today has all but confirmed something we first heard in the singer’s June cover story for Vogue: She’s hard at work on a dancehall- and reggae-inspired project that taps into her Caribbean roots and apparently incorporates contributions from “every artist, every producer, every songwriter in Jamaica or of Jamaican descent,” according to one of Rolling Stone‘s anonymous sources. Her team has solicited “no lie, 500 records for this project,” according to another, but it seems just nine or 10 will make the final cut. In addition, it appears Rihanna may also be working on a companion pop-oriented album; details on that half of the project remain scarce.
Back in June, Vogue reported that it was “too soon to name a full list of collaborators” on Rihanna’s upcoming “reggae album”—no kidding, considering the apparent length of the list. One name the cover story did float: Supa Dups, a.k.a. Dwayne Chin-Quee, the Jamaican-born, Miami-based producer who previously worked on the cover of “You Don’t Love Me (No No No)” that appeared on Rihanna’s 2005 debut, as well as Drake‘s Views track “Too Good,” which features Rihanna. Two sources have now confirmed Supa Dups’s involvement on Rihanna’s new project to Rolling Stone. Other associated names reportedly include duo R. City, Stephen “Di Genius” McGregor, Linton “TJ Records” White, Ricky Blaze, Tyshane “Beam” Thompson, Kranium, and Chronixx, though that’s clearly far from the complete lineup.
Supa Dups himself apparently failed to respond to a request for comment, which makes perfect sense under the circumstances. Consider this quote he once gave Headliner Magazine: “I never talk about what’s going to come out because honestly, you don’t know if it’s going to come out. I will literally do 100 songs a year, and then maybe five will come out.” Take that grain of salt and read Rolling Stone‘s full report here.
