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Rihanna continued to tease her forthcoming album by revealing she's been 'really experimenting' on the long-awaited project, which she believes will surprise her fans.

Rihanna fans have been not-so-patiently waiting for her ninth studio albumfor half a decade now, and it doesnt look like the Bajan beauty is in any rush to release it. I like to antagonize my fans a little bit, she jokedlast year. When the album does eventually arrive, however, fans are in for a surprise. During a recent interview with Associated Press ahead of her Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3 in Los Angeles, Rihanna revealed shes been really experimenting on her eagerly-anticipated project, which she says will be completely different from the rest of her catalog. Youre not going to expect what you hear just put that in your mind, she said when asked for an update on her forthcoming album. Whatever you know of Rihanna is not going to be what you hear. Im really experimenting. Music is like fashion: you should be able to play. I should be able to wear whatever I want and I treat music the same way. So Im having fun and its going to be completely different. Tentatively titled R9, Rihannas ninth studio album will serve as the long-awaited follow-up to 2016s ANTI , which topped the Billboard 200 and received two Grammy nominations on its way to going triple platinum. Details surrounding the forthcoming project remain scarce, but one thing fans do know is that it wont feature an appearance from reggae sensation Shaggy who revealed he turned down an opportunity to work on the record. They approached me for the Rihanna project, he told the U.K.s Daily Star last year. Theres a lot of great people involved, but for me, I didnt need to audition to be on the record, Ill leave that to younger guys. He added, From what I hear, it should be good. Read more