^that is one of my favorite rihanna tweets.
it inspires me when i’m feeling a way with people.
i have watched them all fall for hurting me too.
i feel a connection to rihanna since “pon de replay“,
which is her first single from her debut album,
“music of the sun“.
i mean we come from the same island of barbados,
but it’s her defining moment that really inspires me.
i remember when she was on the way to being dropped from def jam.
everyone was hyping up teairra mari as the new r&b vixen.
i always felt people were “so/so” on rihanna back then too.
her issue is they tried to market her as an “island beyonce” so she had no identity…
yet.
i’ll never forget everything that surrounded “the incident” in 2009…

even with her battered face and plastered all over the nets,
people still took up for chris brown.
many vixens i know said she started it so she “deserved to get beaten“.
i remember when they gave chris a whole award at the bet awards that year.
many black folks in the industry (and out) shut rihanna completely out for chris brown.
rihanna didn’t look for outside sources for validation,
something that most of us do when people turn on us.
she kept her friends from barbados close and became completely rebellious.
what a perfect time to not give a complete fuck.

after that,
she started doing her own thing and creating different images.
like a chameleon,
she played with different looks that fit this new image.
all while this was going on,
chris brown was showing his ass and teairra vanished from the industry.
rihanna stayed consistent with the music and created a lane for herself.

it’s interesting to me in 2020,
the same folks who ostracized her are kissing and begging her ass to make appearances.
the same vixens who hated her want to be her and are buying her make up/skincare products.
stories like this always keep me going.
these days,
i feel like rihanna really heavy.
watching people ostracize me while they show love to other people.

as much as it makes me sad and confused,
i continue to stay close to my true friends and supporters who have my back.
things can turn around in an instant.
karma is a muthafucka.
what’s the quote?

“The last shall be first and the first last.”

if you stay consistent,
chase your dreams,
stay humble,
and get rebellious,
you will rise.
rihanna has been through a lot,
and she isn’t perfect,
but she has definitely found her place.
i am finding mine.