Rihanna is opening up about her most successful albums, revealing her favorite project was the fan-favorite 2016 album 'Anti.' The singer-turned-businesswoman explained that she can have an "out-of-body experience" while listening to her album and admitted that she always felt "shame" about listening to her own music.
"I listen to Anti from top to bottom with no shame," she said of her eighth studio album during an interview with Harper's Bazaar. The 2016 project includes multiple hit songs, including "Work," "Needed Me" and "Love on the Brain."
"I used to always have shame," she said to the publication about her other albums. "I actually don’t like listening to my music, but Anti—I can listen to the album."
She also explained why 'Anti' feels different to listen. "It’s not me singing it, if I’m just listening to it. That’s the one album that I can have an out-of-body experience where it’s not like … You know when you hear your voice in a voicemail, and it’s like, ‘Ugh.’"
Rihanna went on to say that 'Anti' is inspiring the direction of her highly anticipated ninth studio album. "I think music is my freedom. I just came to that realization. I just cracked the code on what I really want to do for my next body of work," she told the publication.
The singer and businesswoman revealed that the new album has "no genre" at the moment and is aware of the expectations of her fans. "After a while, I looked at it, and I was like, this much time away from music needs to count for the next thing everyone hears. It has to count. It has to matter. I have to show them the worth in the wait."
She explained why it had taken so long to record her new album. "Every time, I was just like, ‘No, it’s not me. It’s not right. It’s not matching my growth. It’s not matching my evolution. I can’t do this. I can’t stand by this. I can’t perform this for a year on tour,'" Rihanna admitted.