what they see in newspapers and only see
‘Rita parties’. They don’t see the 16-hour
days I work. You have to work incredibly
hard to survive in this industry now.”it hasn’t been easy, though.
Rita experienced sexism in the music
industry when she first started out.
“Yeah, 100%,” she says, “especially
early in my career. Things would be said
differently and conversations would be
taken outside [the room] only because
I’m a woman.”
In recent years she’s had to deal with
various hurdles in her music career. In
2014, following her split from Calvin
Harris, the DJ reportedly banned her
from using tracks he had produced for
her next album. (Rita won’t talk about
Calvin today. “I hate being defined by
relationships.”)
Then, last December, she sued her
mentor Jay Z’s record label Roc Nation,
who she had signed with at 18. She
wanted to end the contract. Roc Nation
counter-sued for £1.7m. It was settled in
June, which means she can now release
new music again.
This came just a month after fans
speculated that Rita might be “Becky with
the good hair”, who earned Beyoncé’s
wrath on her Lemonade album. Rita
quashed the rumours by uploading a
picture to Snapchat of them together at
the Met Gala, captioned “family”. Of the
Roc Nation upheaval, she says, “I’m still
happy I’ve had this incredible experience,”
says Rita. “Jay is one of my idols and
Beyoncé is obviously the queen of life. I’ll
never not appreciate the experience I had
with them and the things I’ve seen.” She
adds, “They’ve been great mentors. I look
up to them a lot.”
Despite her confident exterior, Rita
has serious moments of self-doubt.
She admits she was sick twice before
performing at the 2015 Oscars. She adds,
“I get so nervous because I care so much.
Sometimes I get nervous about recording
a song in the studio. I’m like, ‘Fai, I’m
not ready to record this yet.’” Fai nods.
“Or, ‘I don’t think I can do this.’ So I’m
relieved that I have people around me
who encourage me to do well, like Fai and
Dakota Johnson (her Fifty Shades co-
star), who’s a good friend.”
So Rita welcomed Zayn Malik’srevelation that anxiety was the reason
he cancelled an appearance at Capital’s
Summertime Ball in June. “I’m so glad
someone’s spoken out about it,” she says.
“I’m not scared to admit I’ve had therapy.
I have someone I speak to once a week...
People suffer it in different ways, but for
me it’s more about thinking about the
long-term goal. I’m a very ‘in the moment’
person, so if I have to do something then
and there, I’ll be fine. But if I think about
it, that’s when anxious thoughts start
going in.”but right noW Rita is in a very good
place, and excited about flying home to
London next week to see her dog Cher
and go to Glastonbury Festival.
“I haven’t been home since I started
filming Fifty Shades—that’s four or five
months. My poor dog! A family friend
has been looking after her. I have the
best friends who support me and go into
my house to make sure it’s good. I miss
London and being able to go to the pub
and see friends.”
She’s also over the moon to finally be
able to release a second album. After I
leave and she’s had her hair done, Rita
is meeting her friend Charli XCX to get
a manicure, and then she’s off to record
some music.
“Nails, then studio, then bed,”
she laughs. Fai’s phone rings and he
disappears into the house. “It’s nice to go
back and be musically free.” She beams.
“Some days, I vomit music and then clean
up later, you know?”
She even worked with Prince, who
recently died at age 57. “That was a hard
time for me and my sister,” she says. “He
looked after us and I went to Minneapolis
to record for a week. He was one of the
coolest, most inspiring people. I’m so
lucky I got to share moments with him.”
With that, her hairdresser arrives to
do her extensions. “Hiiii,” shouts Rita. “I
won’t be long. Just let yourself in.”
A schedule like that would burn most
people out. Not Rita. “The hardest part
is maintaining it—it takes discipline.
You’ve got to sacrifice going out with your
friends, things like that. But then, when
you’re 30, you can look back and go,
‘Woah, I created that.’”
Rita’s A/W 16 collection for Adidas
Originals was out in September.pEoplE gEt
ConfusEd with
what thEy sEE
in nEwspapErs
and only sEE
‘rita partiEs’.
thEy don’t sEE
thE 16-hour
days i work. you
havE to work
inCrEdibly hard
to survivE in
this industry
now.
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