The Rihanna album rumor machine continues to churn at high speed following comments from Dash Radio host and industry insider DJ Skee. During his weekend update on his radio show, he revealed some very telling information about the upcoming Rihanna album via Complex. He announced that Rihanna took a few Def Jam executives to a top-secret location and played them 10 new songs for the album, saying that the album is "a lot closer than anyone realized," including her own record label. He hinted that the album might even be coming out in the fourth quarter of this year to try and take advantage of the holiday buying season. Skee also reported a possible name for an upcoming Rihanna single, the unwieldy; "I've Been Searching For Something To Ignite Me When I'm Alone".
A lot of this could be smoke and mirrors as Rihanna tries to keep up with the hype surrounding Beyoncé's upcoming release. This would be her first album release since the 2012 Grammy award winning Unapologetic.
We have started to hear comments about the album over the past few weeks from artists who have heard material on it including Ne-Yo and Calvin Harris. Ne-Yo in an interview said the album was "absolutely incredible", while Calvin Harris had a song, co-written by Tinashe turned down for the album.
A rumored tracklist leaked last month, but it conflicts with what DJ Skee is alleging. Nothing has been confirmed yet, but it appears that Rihanna has been busy in the studio lately and is getting ready to start releasing some new music. The process could take many twists and turns before its release and the label may want an elongated promotional campaign, but if the album is to come out in Q4, expect things to move very quickly within the Rihanna camp.
