A$AP Rocky confirms Rihanna is working on new music, according to BBC. Here's what DC music fans need to know about the long-awaited follow-up to Anti.
In brief
A$AP Rocky has confirmed that Rihanna is actively working on new music, according to a report from BBC. The announcement is the clearest signal yet that the global superstar — who has not released a studio album since Anti in 2016 — is back in creative mode. No title, release date, or additional details have been disclosed.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
A$AP Rocky publicly confirmed Rihanna is working on new music, per BBC.
Rihanna's last studio album, Anti, was released in 2016 — a decade-long gap.
No release date, album title, or featured artists have been announced.
What A$AP Rocky Said — and What It Means
The confirmation came from A$AP Rocky, Rihanna's partner, and was reported by BBC News. While the source article does not detail the specific context in which Rocky made the statement, the declaration carries weight: Rocky is among the closest people to Rihanna personally and professionally. For a fanbase that has waited years for new material, the statement lands as significant news.
Rihanna's last full-length studio project, Anti, arrived in January 2016 and produced the diamond-certified single "Work." In the years since, she has built the Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty empires, delivered a headline performance at the Super Bowl LVII halftime show in 2023, and welcomed two children with Rocky. Music, for a stretch, appeared to be on the back burner.
Why This Matters in Washington
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DC's music scene has always moved in conversation with what's happening at the top of the charts, and few artists command the city's attention — from the clubs on U Street NW to the arenas in Southeast — the way Rihanna does. Howard University students, Go-Go producers in PG County, and industry tastemakers embedded across the DMV have been among the most vocal members of the decade-long chorus demanding new Rihanna music. When it drops, expect DC venues to feel it immediately. For more on the artists and sounds shaping the capital right now, see WDCM's Culture coverage.
The Long Wait — Context on the Decade Gap
Ten years is a generational gap in pop music. Since Anti, entire careers have risen and plateaued. Streaming has restructured how albums are released and consumed. Rihanna's silence made her absence feel more like mythology than hiatus. Now, with Rocky's confirmation reported by BBC, the conversation shifts from if to when.
No collaborators, producers, or sonic direction have been named in the source reporting. What exists, for now, is confirmation — and for a fanbase running on a decade of patience, that alone is news.
The bottom line: A$AP Rocky has told the world that Rihanna is making music. The details will come. Until then, the anticipation — already at a sustained roar — just got louder. Track DC's culture pulse and best of DC for what the city is listening to right now.
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FAQ: Rihanna New Music 2026
Q: Is Rihanna working on a new album? A: According to BBC, A$AP Rocky confirmed that Rihanna is working on new music. No album title or release date has been announced.
Q: Who confirmed Rihanna is making new music? A: A$AP Rocky, Rihanna's partner, made the confirmation, as reported by BBC.
Q: When did Rihanna last release an album? A: Rihanna's last studio album, Anti, was released in 2016.
Q: What else has Rihanna been doing since Anti? A: Rihanna has built the Fenty Beauty and Savage X Fenty brands and performed at the Super Bowl halftime show. The source article does not provide additional detail beyond confirming new music is in progress.
Q: Where was A$AP Rocky's confirmation reported? A: The confirmation was reported by BBC.
WHAT TO WATCH NEXT: Listen for any official announcement from Rihanna's own channels, and watch whether a release date or single drop follows Rocky's confirmation. WDCM will update as details emerge.
Reporting drawn from: BBC. Washington DC Magazine provides original analysis, DC-specific context, and editorial perspective beyond the source material.This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by WDCM editorial staff. Washington DC Magazine is committed to accuracy, transparency, and editorial integrity. If you believe any information in this article requires correction, please contact editor@washingtondcmagazine.com.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
