It’s been three and half years since Rihanna released Unapologetic, the longest gap between albums in her career. Fortunately, fans of the pop goddess won’t have to wait much longer for her eighth LP, Anti. According to Billboard, the album “will finally arrive this week, likely as a surprise release before Friday.”
Anti was initially set for a May 2015 release, according to Billboard, but the album was delayed several times since then as Rihanna had difficulty finding an appropriate radio single. She finally settled on a track called “Work” featuring Drake, which will reportedly arrive on Wednesday morning.
“Work” follows previously released teaser tracks including “Bitch Better Have My Money”, “American Oxygen”, and “FourFiveSeconds”. A source told Billboard that Anti “is more diverse than her prior releases, with a wide array of styles that move the overall product away from ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ territory.”
Yesterday, Rihanna hinted at the impending release via Twitter:
For the release of Anti, Rihanna has signed a $25 million deal with Samsung, which will be sponsoring the album and supporting world tour. As part of the collaboration, Rihanna and Samsung launched a mobile website called ANTIdiaRy, which offers insight into her creative process via a series of videos meant to represent different eras of her life.
The Anti Tour kicks off in February and features shows with The Weeknd, Big Sean, and Travi$ Scott.
