Africa Is a Country

Rihanna: Back in Blackface?

Africa Is a Country Podcast
African Five-a-Side Podcast

Rihanna: Back in Blackface?

By
Sonja Sugira

In the music video for her latest single, "Rockstar 101," singer Rihanna appears in what looks like blackface.

A still from the music video for "Rockstar."

Apparently not content with her (failed) attempt at igniting controversy last year with her questionable spread in Italian Vogue, Rihanna has decided to try her hand yet again at the latest epidemic – that of blackface – sweeping the globe. This time through her new and, let’s be honest, particularly boring video for “Rockstar 101.” In it, she doesn’t wear much, she writhes around, she impersonates Guns N’ Roses drummer Slash, as well as someone who may or may not be Vogue editor Anna Wintour.  Oh, and in some scenes (perhaps as an ode to the pioneering work of Tyra Banks?), her entire body is covered in what looks to be black body paint or makeup … while she is wearing chains.

What is known as blackface.


So what is Rihanna doing in “Rockstar 101.” Good girl gone real bad or “fierceness out of control”? You decide. But, next time maybe she should have a look at what is Blackface before she proceeds next time.

 

 

Further Reading

Kenya’s vibe shift

From aesthetic cool to political confusion, a new generation in Kenya is navigating broken promises, borrowed styles, and the blurred lines between irony and ideology.

Africa and the AI race

At summits and in speeches, African leaders promise to harness AI for development. But without investment in power, connectivity, and people, the continent risks replaying old failures in new code.

After the uprising

Years into Cameroon’s Anglophone conflict, the rebellion faces internal fractures, waning support, and military pressure—raising the question of what future, if any, lies ahead for Ambazonian aspirations.

In search of Saadia

Who was Saadia, and why has she been forgotten? A search for one woman’s story opens up bigger questions about race, migration, belonging, and the gaps history leaves behind.

Binti, revisited

More than two decades after its release, Lady Jaydee’s debut album still resonates—offering a window into Tanzanian pop, gender politics, and the sound of a generation coming into its own.

The bones beneath our feet

A powerful new documentary follows Evelyn Wanjugu Kimathi’s personal and political journey to recover her father’s remains—and to reckon with Kenya’s unfinished struggle for land, justice, and historical memory.

What comes after liberation?

In this wide-ranging conversation, the freedom fighter and former Constitutional Court justice Albie Sachs reflects on law, liberation, and the unfinished work of building a just South Africa.

The cost of care

In Africa’s migration economy, women’s labor fuels households abroad while their own needs are sidelined at home. What does freedom look like when care itself becomes a form of exile?

The memory keepers

A new documentary follows two women’s mission to decolonize Nairobi’s libraries, revealing how good intentions collide with bureaucracy, donor politics, and the ghosts of colonialism.

Making films against amnesia

The director of the Oscar-nominated film ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’ reflects on imperial violence, corporate warfare, and how cinema can disrupt the official record—and help us remember differently.