Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
As one of the best-selling artists of all time, there is no questioning Rihanna’s ultimate success in the music business. Along with many other accomplishments, her title as the youngest and fastest solo artist to earn 14 #1 singles on Billboard Hot 100 still remains a profound feat. As fans listen to their favorites “Work,” “Love on the Brain” or “Diamonds,” they typically are not reminded of the really freaking cool things she does for this world as well. What we do not hear about is her unique upbringing and remarkable acts for humanity.
Rihanna, or Robyn Rihanna Fenty, grew up in Barbados with her Afro-Guyanese accountant mother and without her father of Afro-Barbadian and Irish descent. She had two brothers, Rorrey and Rajad Fenty, then two-half sisters and a half-brother as well from her father’s previous relationships.
Their family shared a three-bedroom bungalow in Bridgetown where she sold clothes with her father in a stall on the street. Her father’s addiction to crack-cocaine and alcohol severely distressed her childhood as well as her parent’s marriage. CT scans were not unusual for her because of excruciating headaches she experienced. By the age of 14, her parents divorced and her health started to improve. Rihanna began singing at the age of seven as she listened to reggae music. She was also an army cadet in a sub-military program. She wanted to graduate from high school but chose to pursue a musical career instead.
Rihanna’s heart for children is inspiring as she started the Believe Foundation to assist terminally ill children in 2006 and she was named one of the Cartier Love Charity Bracelet Ambassadors. Later in 2008, she performed a series of charity concerts called “A Girls Night Out” to benefit the Believe Foundation. The concerts were made free for the public and money from sponsors and advertisers were donated to get medical supplies, school supplies and toys for kids in need.
Another spot of altruism for her is cancer. Contributing to the song “Just Stand Up!” with other female artists on stage during the “Stand Up to Cancer” TV special, she helped the television special raise $100 million for cancer research. Rihanna also was the founder of the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) in 2012 which was named after her grandparents. Clara Braithwaite Center for Oncology and Nuclear Medicine at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Barbados as well as education programs are programs that this foundation includes. But it does not stop there. CLF hosts an annual Diamond Ball charity fundraiser event which has raised over $2 million, then over $3 million the second time. In order to raise money for the Children’s Orthopaedic Center and the Mark Taper-Johnny Mercer Artists Program at the Children’s Hospital, she performed at a benefit show at the House of Blues.
Taking action against HIV and AIDS, Rihanna and other public figures designed clothing for the February 2008 H&M Fashion Against AIDS line to combat and raise awareness for the disease. She was also a part of the MAC Viva Glam campaign, which benefits women, men and children living with HIV/AIDS. Along with all these amazing causes that she cares for, Rihanna also takes action when she sees need in a community. She gave $100,000 to a food bank donation for Hurricane Sandy in November 2012.
In 2017, Rihanna was named Harvard University’s “Humanitarian of the Year” by the Harvard Foundation. During Rihanna’s third annual “Diamond Ball,” our very own Barack Obama lauded her work by saying “You’ve become a powerful force in the fight to give people dignity.”
Wow. Rihanna seems to be much more than a stunning, tenacious singer right?