SEPTEMBER 21, 2019 • WWW.BILLBOARD.COM 8 3
RIHANNA, OFFSET: DAVE KOTINSKY/GETTY IMAGES. KHALED: STEPHEN LOVEKIN/SHUTTERSTOCK. CARDI, STALLION, ROCKY, YG, MILL,
NORMANI: DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES.RIHANNA’S
DIAMOND BALL
NEW YORK, SEPT. 12
Rihanna’s fifth annual Diamond Ball, which benefited
her Clara Lionel Foundation, brought a welcome sense of
calm and intimacy to New York Fashion Week — where
just days prior, the superstar had presented her Savage x
Fenty runway show. Seth Meyers hosted this year’s gala
at Cipriani Wall Street, with performances from the likes
of DJ Khaled and Pharrell Williams. During the latter’s
set, Rihanna surprised everyone by performing her verse
off their 2017 collaboration “Lemon” (pictured left) to a
crowd that included Normani, 2 Chainz, G-Eazy, Karlie
Kloss and Cardi B. Since its start in 2012, the foundation
has raised over $13 million for education, health and
emergency response programs around the world. On the
red carpet, Rihanna stood up for fellow women of color
in leadership, saying, “We are impeccable, we’re special,
and the world is going to have to deal with that.”
—BIANCA GRACIE
Offset, who attended with
longtime partner Cardi B.
Megan Thee Stallion,
who dashed over to
the Diamond Ball stage
following a performance
on The Tonight Show
Starring Jimmy Fallon the
same evening.
A$AP Rocky, who returned to the United States in
August after a suspended jail sentence in Sweden.
DJ Khaled and his wife, Nicole Tuck Khaled, are expecting their
second child. “I’m just being honest everything was incredible!” Khaled
wrote about the ball on Instagram.
Diamond Ball performer Fat Joe and
Cardi B, who teamed up with Anuel AA to
release a new single, “YES,” on Sept 6.