Four of music’s biggest names are gracing EBONY’s Summer Music Special.
The four “Collectors’ Edition” covers feature separate tag lines for each artist. Beyonce is referred to as “The Diva,” Jay Z as “The Mogul,” Kanye as “The Poet” and Rihanna as “The Rebel.”
The issues promise a 25-page salute to Black music’s game changers, innovators and icons” in its issue. The magazine is set to also feature Tupac Shakur, Prince, Lauryn Hill and Michael Jackson, among others.
Rihanna took to Twitter to plug the covers and coincidentally used some lyrics from Jay.
Check out the individual covers below
Speaking of the familia, it was announced today that Rihanna has departed from her label home Def Jam after being signed with them since 2oo5. Complex magazine details the transitions that have taken place recently:
In 2009, Jay left his presidential role at Def Jam for his own Roc Nation label, formed as part of his multi-million-dollar contract with Live Nation. In October 2010, Rihanna parted ways with her former manager Marc Jordan and signed with Jay’s Roc Nation management team.
Earlier this year there were big changes at Island Def Jam Music Group. CEO Barry Weiss stepped down and Universal Music Group, the corporate parent of IDJMG, dissolved the company into three distinct record labels: Def Jam, Island, and Motown. As a result Rihanna—along with Kanye West and some others—left Island Def Jam and joined CEO Steve Bartels at the now-revamped Def Jam with No I.D. and Kyambo “Hip Hop” Joshua serving as executive Vice Presidents and heads of A&R.
But now it appears that Rihanna has very quietly made another power move. Within the past few weeks, her Roc Nation website profile has been updated to specify that she’s not just managed but also officially signed to the label—joining the likes of Calvin Harris, DJ Mustard, J. Cole, Jay Electronica, Rita Ora, and of course, Jay Z. (Roc Nation management represents many other stars.) Meanwhile, the Def Jam website now lists Rihanna under its “Legacy” section, along with folks like Amerie, Ashanti, and Public Enemy.
