RIHANNA RISING!

By Jahlisa Harvey

Caribbean sensation and international pop star Rihanna has, without a doubt, tattooed her mark in the US and shows no signs of slowing down or bowing out. WhereItzAt continues to follow the gallant works that this philanthropist continues to do, however subtle and under the radar.

The Bajan superstar, born Robyn Rihanna Fenty in Saint Michael, Barbados, began her lust for the spotlight from an early age participating in a beauty contest and talent shows. Rihanna crashed onto the U.S music scene in 2005 with the still popular hit song, “Pon De Replay”.

Adding to her already long list of recognition, last month Harvard University presented Rihanna with the 2017 Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award for her prominent charity work and generous efforts across the globe, adding her name to the many noblemen and business tycoons to have walked the halls. Speaking to the cheering crowd she said: “As I stare into this beautiful room, I see optimism, I see hope, I see the future.”

Her work includes the construction of a state-of-the-art center for oncology and nuclear medicine to diagnose and treat those with breast cancer in her home country of Barbados, along with her Clara Lionel Foundation which grants scholarships to students attending college in the U.S. and the Caribbean.

The mission of the foundation is the belief that “in the fight against injustice, inequality, and poverty, access to education and health is, our most powerful weapon.”

Upcoming projects for Rihanna include a lead role in the remake of the popular George Clooney and Brad Pitt film, Oceans 11. In the new film set to be released in the summer of 2018, Oceans 8 follows a criminal mastermind played by Sandra Bullock and seven other female thieves, including Rihanna and Anne Hathaway, who try to pull off the heist of the century at New York’s annual Met Gala.

With such an amazing year and surely more to come, it is clear that Rihanna is running the town.