Rihanna On Not Dating, Success & Racism: It’s the thing that makes me want to prove people wrong.

On when she first learned about sex:

Well, there’s always this human instinct about that, even from a very, very young age. But by like age 11, girls were talking about what they had and hadn’t done. I hadn’t even kissed a boy yet, so it always made me feel insecure, like I was never gonna be good or ready or know what to do — I didn’t even have boobs.

On what impresses her mother, Monica Fenty:

She’s always impressed when she sees me being a little sassy or sharp, when she sees me defending myself. It makes her feel safe, like she doesn’t have to worry about me.’’

On if she had suddenly felt aware of race in a different way when she moved to New York:

You know, when I started to experience the difference — or even have my race be highlighted — it was mostly when I would do business deals. And, you know, that never ends, by the way. It’s still a thing. And it’s the thing that makes me want to prove people wrong. It almost excites me; I know what they’re expecting and I can’t wait to show them that I’m here to exceed those expectations…. But I have to bear in mind, that those people are judging you because you’re packaged a certain way — they’ve been programmed to think a black man in a hoodie means grab your purse a little tighter. For me, it comes down to smaller issues, scenarios in which people can assume something of me without knowing me, just by my packaging.’

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