Bajans share in excitement of Rihanna delivering baby boy

Residents of the childhood neighbourhood of Barbados National Hero The Right Excellent Robyn Rihanna Fenty are not only excited to hear the news that she is now a mother, but some are already hoping she adds more to the clan.

Those who grew up with the pop superstar and billionaire business mogul could not hide their smiles and excitement about the news that Rihanna’s baby boy with rapper A$AP Rocky was reportedly delivered last Friday.

Director of the Westbury Readers Club, Kathy Ife Harris said she was happy for the young woman whom she had watched from childhood.

“I am so excited for her. I watched Rihanna raise up here looking after her two brothers, being a good friend with her friends. She loves people, as you see how she looks after her family. She is going to be a fantastic mother. I am excited for her,” she said.

Neighbour Dharma, who lives two doors down from Rihanna’s childhood home, said she was also overjoyed.

“I’m very, very excited. I am very happy for her. She had a lot of practice helping to raise her little brother Rajad and Noella’s [her cousin’s] daughter Majesty, so I just encourage her to do the best that she could,” she said.

A young singer and resident in the area, 14-year-old Zarea Holder said she was “glad she made a family because that means she is carrying on her generation and her blood”.

The Grantley Adams Memorial School student said Rihanna inspires her as a young actress and vocalist and it would be a dream for her to reach her heights.

“Just hearing that she come from where I live, and in Barbados that she became a singer inspired me to try to become something high,” Holder said.

Neighbour Sandra Gad Estwick from Parris Gap, a short stop from Rihanna Drive, recalled fond memories prior to Rihanna’s stardom.

“I know Rihanna from when she used to be walking modelling in she mother high heels because she say she going to be a model, but I glad she get her baby and that she is out of harm’s way. I am really proud of her. I hope she gets many more. I want her to get a little girl,” she added with a smirk.

Another neighbour who spoke to Barbados TODAY, giving his name as Andy, also expressed the hope that Rihanna would have more offspring to “carry on her legacy”

“I am very glad that she has a child and it’s a boy. To me that is wonderful, so to me she should have two or three more. She would have someone to carry on her legacy,” he said.

Prime Minister Mia Mottley also issued a statement on Rihanna giving birth.

“I am absolutely delighted, on behalf of all Barbadians, to offer heartfelt congratulations to our newest National Hero, The Right Excellent Robyn Rihanna Fenty on the birth of her baby boy. Hers was a pregnancy that captivated the world for the last few months, and it is my sincere view that RIhanna represented well, women everywhere,” she stated.

The Prime Minister added that Rihanna chose to “wear” her pregnancy with pride, “never once treating it as a sickness or a period of withdrawal….”

“Today, Barbadians join tens of millions across the globe congratulating Rihanna and Rocky and sharing the joy of the birth of their son,” she added.
(MR)