New Rhianna Drive

On the 30th November 2017 the island nation of Barbados celebrated its 51st year of independence. A commemoration service was held on this very special day at Westbury New Road in the St Micheal area close to Bridgetown, Barbados. I went to the event in Bridgetown which lasted no less than the entire afternoon and late into the evening.

The event was held at Westbury New Road for a very special reason, it was the street where the well-known signer Robyn Rhianna Fenty grew up. Since her success from the age of just 16 when she was presented with the opportunity to develop her career in music in New York and later signed a record deal with US rapper Jay Z she has become a global icon, with her album Good Girl Gone Bad having sold over 2.8 million units in the United States alone.

Also present at the event was the Prime minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart who took office in October 2010. Mr Stuart and a number of other signatories also Rihanna made speeches to the press and public during the event. Later on, Mr Stuart made the announcement that Robyn Rihanna Fenty had been awarded the title of cultural ambassador for Barbados. A plaque was revealed with the top inscribed “Welcome to Rhianna Drive”, this was part of the Rihanna Drive project.

The plaque also read, "My life was shaped on this very road," she wrote, "I was just a little island girl riding bikes, running around barefoot and flying kites in the cemetery, but I had BIG dreams. Dreams that were born and realized right here." – words from Rhianna.

Two other signs were erected to commemorate the event, Sheena a contributor to the House of Rhianna website described the renaming of the street as follows “It is a small step in acknowledging everything Robyn Fenty did for this tiny island nation.” – Sheena, House of Rhianna, November 2017.

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