Rihanna on how motherhood influenced her, ‘Raising a young Black man is one of the scariest responsibilities’ MGG

Rihanna recently made headlines with her highly-anticipated 2023 Super Bowl Halftime Show performance. After all, the singer was returning to the stage after a gap of 7 years, and that too, just 9 months after giving birth to her first child. It should be noted that Rihanna had previously turned down the offer to perform at the NFL Halftime Show in 2019, in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick. So, what made her change her decision this time around? In an interview with British Vogue, the 34-year-old singer superstar revealed that it had a lot to do with representation of the Black community, and becoming a mother. Read on.

Rihanna on why she agreed to perform at the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show

Although Rihanna declined the offer to perform at the Super Bowl previously, the Grammy Award-winning singer opined that it was important that Black artists were getting the opportunity to represent the global urban community at such a high level. Last year, the Super Bowl Halftime Show was headlined by Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Mary J Blige, and Kendrick Lamar. “It is powerful. It sends a really strong message,” she said.

Apart from representation, another key difference this time around was that she is now a mother to a 9-month-old baby. She welcomed her son with ASAP Rocky in May 2022. Reflecting on this thought, Rihanna said, “Raising a young Black man is one of the scariest responsibilities in life. You’re like, ‘What am I leaving my kids to? This is the planet they’re gonna be living on?’ All of those things really start to hit differently.”

Rihanna on how motherhood encouraged her

Rihanna also opined on how motherhood has made her much more courageous to take up challenges – even the ones that seem impossible and ‘crazy’. “It’s this knowing that you can do anything, even things that seem the craziest, like, ‘I’m going to say yes to the Super Bowl in the middle of postpartum?’” she said. “But you’re geeked on a challenge like that because you know what your body just did. You feel this sense of ‘Nothing is impossible.’” The Fenty Beauty founder added.