Rihanna Revealed the Meaningful Family Tradition She Continued With Her Sons: ‘This Is Our Lost History’

Rihanna wasted no time in passing down an important tradition to her sons RZA, 22 months, and Riot Rose, 7 months, who she shares with A$AP Rocky. She opened up about the meaningful reason why she was so keen to share this family tradition with her boys in a new interview.

The “Diamonds” singer graced the April 2024 cover of Vogue China, where she showed off her long, braided hair in a video on Instagram. In the interview, she shared how learning about the history of braiding from different regions and ethnic groups with Rocky cemented the “power of hair” for her.

“This is a form of protection of our roots, and a tradition left by our ancestors … [it] makes us realize where we’ve come from,” Rihanna told Vogue China in a snippet from the interview. “This is our lost history. I immediately wanted my children to have their hair braided … it’s something in our blood.”

Braids are an “integral part of Black culture,” according to ESSENCE. Zinga A. Fraser, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Brooklyn College, previously told the outlet, “African women have a rich history in terms of the ways they adorn their hair.” Certain styles could indicate what group of people you belonged to, your marital status, your age, and more. During slavery in America, braids served as an intricate system to help slaves communicate vital messages that often led to freedom.

The Grammy winner is from Barbados, a place that has its own history of braids. It’s so cool to see her passing on this family and cultural tradition to her babies already! (And we can’t wait to read Rihanna’s full interview with Vogue China to hear what else she has to say on the subject.)

Although she keeps her family life very private, the Fenty Beauty founder has shared some tidbits about parenting. She told Entertainment Tonight in Dec. 2023 that being a boy mom was “the best.” She added, “Having a house full of boys. I mean, I thought I was a girl mom [but] I’m a boy mom. I love this. I love it.”

And Rocky loves it, too. In an interview with Complex in November, the “Gangsta” rapper shared, “If me and my lady was to collab what could we team up and just, like, just f*cking smash and go crazy on? I think we do a real great job at collaborating making children,” he said. “I think that’s our best creation so far!”

He added, “Nothing is better than [RZA and Riot] out there. I mean, we had a third designer come and help, a ghost designer named God, [who] shaped everything. And we had these beautiful angels, so that’s the best collaboration.”

No arguments here!

Before you go, check out what these celebrity parents have shared about raising their Black and multi-racial children.

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