Over the weekend, a secret Rihanna album surfaced online under a new alias. Angel by Fenty Fantasia included 12 previously songs -- some that have surfaced in the past, others that were previously unheard. Angel reportedly debuted at #67 on the Worldwide iTunes Album chart.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1101966175020466177
The project was indeed fake. The singer reacted to the leak after a fan reached out to her via DMs. https://twitter.com/_/status/1102289672519274496
The project has been removed from iTunes but remains on YouTube, for the time being. A few fans pointed out that some of the songs on Angel have been floating around online for a few years.
In December, Rihanna confirmed that her new project would be released in 2019. The-Dream, who worked closely with Rihanna on the project, confirmed that the follow-up to 2016's Anti was almost done. A few days later, reports surfaced stating that her project was complete.
There have been several sources who worked with Rihanna on the project who confirmed it would be heavily influenced by reggae. She's reportedly been working with some of the biggest artists and producers from Jamaica to help her execute an authentic sound.
"Every artist, every producer, every songwriter in Jamaica or of Jamaican descent has been working on [Rihanna’s album] and has little snippets of publishing or production credits on it," one source said.
