🎵 What If Rihanna Never Launched Fenty Beauty?

Plus, Maruja perfects their brand of jazz-punk. Psychedelic Porn Crumpets have never sounded better.

Click here for a Spotify playlist with the songs mentioned in this article.

When was the last time you played Miseducation front to back? Ms. Lauryn Hill turns 50 today, so consider this your quarterly reminder.

BIGGEST Songs of the Week 📈

What are the biggest “what ifs” in music history?

What if Buddy Holly never got on that plane? What if Dylan never plugged in at Newport? What if punk stayed underground? What if Tupac and Biggie squashed their beef? What if Janet Jackson had a different stylist?

Here’s another: What if Rihanna never launched Fenty Beauty — and just kept making music?

After releasing seven albums in eight years, Rihanna pulled off what should’ve been a mid-career reinvention with ANTI in 2016. Moody, experimental, and unconcerned with chart positions, ANTI wasn’t just a great album — it was a sign she’d outgrown the Top 40 hamster wheel. You could picture the next decade unfolding like Beyoncé’s: intentional, ambitious, genre-defying.