If 2026 Is the New 2016, Rihanna’s 'ANTI' Was the Blueprint

If ’26 is the new ’16, then it’s only right that Rihanna enters the chat. She was already well established by the time 2016 rolled around, but that was the year she dropped ANTI, her first album since parting ways with Def Jam in 2014. The 16-track LP, released under Roc Nation, wasn’t just another project. It was Robin Rihanna Fenty’s official reintroduction to her fans: unchained, unbothered and unapologetic. 

And while Unapologetic was the name of her 2012 album, it wasn’t until her eighth studio release that Rihanna stepped out of her sexy-but-safe pop star formula and into a savage, racy and independent persona — one that likes to experiment and set trends instead of following them. Her look and her sound became sultry. And her IDGAF attitude imprinted itself onto her dedicated fanbase, now known as the Rihanna Navy. That shift was immediate and undeniable, landing her the April 2016 cover of Vogue. 

From title to tracklist, ANTI laid out the blueprint for her mindset and motivation. The lyrics became the soundtrack to the year that changed it all. On Jan. 28, 2026, we celebrated the album’s 10th anniversary — and while it once felt like an ending, it’s clear now that she was only getting started.

ANTI first leaked on Tidal on a late Wednesday night (Jan. 27, 2016), just hours after “Work” premiered on streaming platforms. This rollout was unplanned and unconventional, yet perfectly branded for her breakout era. And her momentum was unfazed. According to the RIAA, the album went platinum within 15 hours of its release before being taken down and reposted the following day. 

Fans — myself included — immediately noticed that this project was different. Yes, it blended pop and R&B, but it also leaned heavily into her West Indian roots — Bajan dialect, dance hall beats, and produced an overarching musical monologue aimed at the industry, men playing games and anyone rooting against her. The message was clear: f**k you. Insert ANTI.

The album produced three top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart — “Work,” “Needed Me” and “Love on the Brain” — each reaching diamond status or higher as of Jan. 28 (quite the anniversary present, if you ask me). Each song sends a message, addresses an issue or confronts ghosts. Tracks like “Desperado” and “Woo” pair heavy basslines with poignant lyrics, capturing Rihanna’s frustration with love and relationships while letting her ruthless and savage instincts tell the story.

Lyrics like, “We've both had our hearts broke / Unh, hunh, take it easy / I'm not tryna go against yuh / I can be a lone wolf witcha” (“Desperado”) and “I bet she could never make you cry/’Cause the scars on your heart are still mine…I don't mean to even care about ya/I don't mean to really love ya/I don't mean to really care about ya no more/I don't mean to really care about ya no more” (“Woo”), make it clear — Rihanna was tired of holding it all in. This is quite possibly why she embarked on her ANTI era: anti-drama, anti-conformity, anti-heartbreak, anti-injustice and anti-doing-anything-she-didn’t-believe-in.

Halfway through her sonic tale, Rihanna uses “Same Ol’ Mistakes” as her thesis. “Feel like a brand new person” encapsulated where she stood. And to the fans, she truly was. Rihanna stepped into a level of confidence that we hadn’t seen before, holding her head high because she knew she wore the crown — in both music and fashion.

When it came to fashion, Rih took the throne and transformed her style into something classically daring, sensual and risque. Before 2015, her looks leaned sexy-but-safe — slimmer silhouettes, gloves and nothing too loud. Then there was the Met Gala in 2015. Gracing the red carpet, draped in an approximately 55-pound yellow cape designed by Guo Pei, Rihanna embodied royalty. The Chinese designer famously noted that “only women who have the confidence of a queen could wear it,” and she proved him right. 

Rihanna didn’t attend the 2016 Met Gala, but returned the following year, in 2017. She gave us a taste of her classic and rebelliously chic, bad gyal sense of fashion when she elegantly stepped into a Comme des Garçons floral fantasy look from the Fall 2016 runway and walked onto the coveted Met Gala red carpet. It was only up from there.

Even without any new music, Rihanna reminded fans of who she was — through fashion, social justice, and her dedication to the Black community worldwide. She also subtly told us that music was no longer the center of her world. 

Like many, I heard her, but I didn’t listen. I kept waiting for another “surprise” project, but it never came. Why? Presumably because when Rih said she “felt like a brand-new person,” she wasn’t lying, and it was apparent that she wanted to exist beyond music. 

Now, fast forward 10 years and she’s become America’s youngest self-made billionaire, and it had nothing to do with her music. From her 2015 partnership with Puma, released in the fall of 2016, to the launch of Fenty Beauty and Savage x Fenty, she rewrote the handbook for celebrity entrepreneurship. Today, she’s traveling the world and sitting front row at fashion shows with her three children and longtime partner, A$AP Rocky, by her side (rumor has it, she might be working on number four).

(You done good, gyal.)

If 2016 was the catalyst for greatness, then maybe it’s time to run that back for everyone to relive those moments once more — Rihanna included! ANTI wasn’t just an album, it was an unapologetic mindset. A timeless ode to bad girl energy. A reminder to chase confidence, bravery and self-worth.

And if ANTI taught us anything at all: don’t fight to be different. Fight to be ANTI. Then go get your crown.