Rihanna to release new music for first time in two years as she pays tribute to Fatman Scoop

Rihanna is reportedly set to release new music for the first time in two years as she teamed up with other superstars to record a tribute song to Fatman Scoop.

The 56-year-old iconic musician, who was known across the globe, tragically died after collapsing in front of his fans during a free concert in Connecticut. His family said in an Instagram post that "the world lost a radiant soul, a beacon on stage and in life."

With a gravelly voice and dance-floor-friendly sensibility, Fatman Scoop was a mainstay of club playlists around the turn of the millennium - but if the world knew him as the "voice of the club," his family cherished him as "the laughter in our lives, a constant source of support, unwavering strength and courage," his relatives said. And now, a number of artists including Rihanna and her boyfriend ASAP Rocky have come together to pay tribute to the rapper.

The "Umbrella" hitmaker, who knew Fatman Scoop well, was in the Red Bus Recording Studios in central London earlier this week recording vocals to a track for the late hip hop star, a source told The Sun. They explained: "Rihanna and Scoop knew each other well. They had collaborated before and more recently Scoop had recorded a song, Hood Happy, on Rocky's upcoming album Don't Be Dumb.

The source added: "After his death, Rihanna and other artists were offered the chance to put some vocals down on a song for him. She spent the start of this week holed up in Red Bus Recording Studios. It was a super-low key visit and she was there for a day or two until the early hours."

It will be the first time in nearly two years that Rihanna releases new music as her single "Lift Me Up" came out in October 2022. Her most recent album "Anti" was released in 2016. Born Isaac Freeman III, Fatman Scoop was from New York City's Harlem neighbourhood and broke out with 1999's "Be Faithful". What started as a minor success in the US took off in Europe with a 2003 re-release, hitting No. 1 on the singles charts in the UK and Ireland.

The next year, he appeared on the UK television series "Chancers," in which musicians mentored artists who wanted to make it in the US, the BBC reported. He also was a contestant on "Celebrity Big Brother 16: UK vs USA," which was filmed in the UK and aired in 2015. Scoop - sometimes stylised as Fat Man Scoop or FatMan Scoop - collaborated with Missy Elliott on "Lose Control," a 2005 song of the summer that also featured Ciara. The track won a short-form music video Grammy at the 2006 award show.

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