On October 12, The New York Times posted an interview with Rihanna covering several topics including what it was like for the Bajan superstar to be black in the business world. Miranda July, the interviewer, asked if she perceived her race differently when she arrived in New York from Barbados at sixteen. “You know, when I started to experience the difference — or even have my race be highlighted — it was mostly when I would do business deals”, Rihanna explained.
She acknowledges that it’s down to how the media represents black people, so people will “assume something of me without knowing me”. Apparently the prejudices still happen, but they only serve to motivate rather than deflate her: “It almost excites me; I know what they’re expecting and I can’t wait to show them that I’m here to exceed those expectations”. Read the full interview here.
#Peace.Love.Rihanna
