Rihanna was only 16 when she signed her contract with rapper Jay-Z's music company. At 24, she bought her mom the mansion in Barbados.
Moms are incredible people and deserve all the good things in life, and sometimes, their children are able to give them those things. People don't have kids thinking about how the child will pay them back for all the love and care, but when a child is able to give a great gift to their parent it can only be a moment of pride. We may never be able to repay our parents in kind for all that they've done for us, but imagine being able to say thank you to them by buying them beautiful things. The smile on our parents' faces would make everything worth it.
Robyn Rihanna Fenty became successful at a young age after auditioning for record producer Evan Rogers in 2003. She was only 15 years old and living in Barbados at the time. She and her brother were raised by her single mom, Monica Braithwaite, who wasn't too excited about her audition.
"She didn't really get that her daughter had anything special. She was like, 'Well, if you see something. I just want her schoolwork to be done. Education is very important,'" said Rogers, as per Business Insider. Braithwaite, like a million other parents, would have wanted their 15-year-old to stay in school. However, her daughter, Robyn, who became Rihanna or RiRi for the world, just wanted to be a performer.
She was only 16 when she signed her contract with rapper Jay-Z's music company. The rest has been history. Coming from a violent childhood to reaching superstardom was a long journey for her, and at the mere age of 24, she was able to give back to her mom in the best way possible.
In 2012, Rihanna orchestrated a special moment for her mother when she invited Oprah Winfrey to Barbados. Winfrey told Braithwaite that she wanted to interview her, so the mother-of-two arrived at a palatial home in the island country. However, what Rihanna or Winfrey didn't reveal was that the singer had bought the home for her mom. The video of the surprise unveiling was recorded by Winfrey's team.
The Umbrella singer and Winfrey waited for the former's mom at the palatial home. When Braithwaite walked in with her son, Rajad, and sister, Winfrey and Rihanna welcomed them into the house. Then, Winfrey showed them around and finally in front of the swimming pool, she told her that the interview wasn't just the only thing for which she was invited. The talk show host told the superstar's mom that her "good daughter" wanted to tell her something.
As per Realestate.com.au, an emotional Rihanna said, "I wanted to do this for you for a very long time you’ve been such an amazing mother, example, soldier and you get to walk away with the key to this house today."
Her shocked mom almost cried and was excited that Winfrey was her first house guest. In the video, the talk show host revealed that the singer used her grandmother’s china as inspiration to decorate the five-bedroom house.
Rihanna grew up in a modest house on Barbados' Westbury New Road, which was renamed to Rihanna Drive, according to the CaribJournal. Even though she hasn't released an album since 2016, her empire continues to grow. She is the founder of cosmetics brand Fenty Beauty and other business ventures.
She had undergone a lot of hardship when she was young, including being a witness to domestic violence. "My family broke up because of his [dad's] addiction," Rihanna had once said on TV series Oprah's Next Chapter, according to The Sun. "You know, when I was younger, I couldn’t afford everything, but a pair of Timberlands — that was my Dior. And I had to save my money for a whole school year to get those Timberlands that I wanted, and I did it," she had also said.
Today, there is little she can't have. From make-up to clothes, there isn't much the 32-year-old's name doesn't sell now.
References:
https://www.caribjournal.com/2019/10/04/in-barbados-the-house-on-rihanna-drive/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/11617317/rihanna-barbados-bungalow-mansion-fortune-sexy-lingerie/
