After years as a Pop puppet, Rihanna is finally ready to snip the strings.
As reported, the vocal deviant departed Def Jam last year to sign on to Universal’s new Roc Nation label.
Already a firm fixture at the Jay-Z helmed company (which she was signed to in a management capacity), it was naturally expected that she’d defect now that the Roc’s business interest include a fully fledged label.
Interestingly, following the surprise debut of the diva’s new single ‘FourFiveSeconds‘ last night, it has become apparent that her new deal
Following a precedent set by rival Beyonce (whose Parkwood Entertainment company conjured up the entire ‘Beyonce’ project), Ms. Fenty has released the song on her newly created imprint – Westbury Road Entertainment:
Like Parkwood for Bey, Westbury Road is the name of the area Rih grew up in back in Barbados.
Granted the similarities are uncanny, we’ll applaud her for making a boss move. In an industry dominated by males, this sees the Puma model claw back some of the power “in her name” in a smart way. Because, if we’re thinking along the right lines, this essentially means she’s functioning independently (with her own team) and could plausibly take her distribution deal to another major label in the future.
One has to wonder what the inner workings of the deal are with Roc are, though. Strictly distribution? A creative partnership? Perhaps that was the cause of all those disastrous delays?
In any case, kudos!