Apparently, Rihanna has Beyoncé to thank for kickstarting her career, although it came at the expense of another talented rising star, Teairra Mari. When I signed Rihanna, we held a showcase featuring both artists. At the time, I was paying more attention to Teairra than to Rihanna.
After the showcase, Beyoncé made her preference clear to L.A. Reid. She gave me a look and said, “That Rihanna girl, she’s a beast.” She then looked away, leaving me to take a second, more serious look at Rihanna.
Did Beyoncé have an agenda when she told L.A. Reid that Rihanna was a beast? Some believe she felt threatened by Teairra Mari’s talent and sabotaged her, especially after Jay-Z dubbed Teairra the “princess of the Roc.” Teairra Mari was on the rise, with two hits under her belt, so it’s not far-fetched to think she faced some sabotage, particularly as people compared her to Rihanna and stirred rumors of a rivalry.
Teairra Mari, in an interview with Bossip, clarified her relationship with Rihanna, stating there was no beef. “This whole Rihanna beef thing was created by others, you know? Even when we were at the label together, we were always cordial. We never had beef, but people made it into something it wasn’t.”
She also emphasized that Rihanna was not the reason she was dropped from the label. “I don’t think my fans should feel any negativity towards Rihanna because she had nothing to do with my situation. She’s not the reason I got dropped.”
Even to this day, many fans speculate that Beyoncé played a role in Rihanna’s initial dismissal. L.A. Reid seemed to validate this in his memoir excerpt from “Sing to Me: My Story of Making Music, Finding Magic, and Searching for Who’s Next.” Reid recounted his first encounter with Rihanna, recalling how he first laid eyes on her in a hallway without knowing she was a singer. It was Jay-Z who had already heard Rihanna sing and strongly advocated for her signing. Reid admitted, “After signing Rihanna, Jay-Z and his team took charge of her debut album’s A&R—I wasn’t involved in that process.” He added humorously, “Interestingly, we signed two young women around the same time: Rihanna and another promising artist named Teairra Mari.”
L.A. Reid recalled a pivotal in-house company showcase where Beyoncé and Jay-Z were among the attendees, alongside Teairra Mari, Rihanna, the group Black Butterfly, and Ne-Yo. Despite Rihanna’s early hit with “Pon de Replay,” the label initially placed more emphasis on Teairra Mari, believing she would be the breakout star. However, everything changed when Beyoncé approached L.A. Reid after the showcase.
“I always believed in Rihanna, but Beyoncé’s words made me pay closer attention,” Reid explained, describing how Beyoncé’s endorsement shifted the label’s focus squarely onto Rihanna.
Rihanna herself spoke warmly of Beyoncé, sharing how Beyoncé had written her a supportive letter and advised her to perform with confidence and joy.
In another interview, Rihanna expressed admiration for Beyoncé as a role model, praising her beauty, talent, and suggesting that every female artist should aspire to be like her.
Fans speculate that Beyoncé didn’t anticipate Rihanna’s immense success, which led to tension between them. Even earlier, Rihanna had formed a close bond with Jay-Z. Reflecting on working with Jay-Z and their collaboration, Rihanna said, “Collaborating with Jay-Z is a dream come true for any musician. Here I was at 19, with a number one single featuring Jay-Z. It was just… overwhelming at times.”
There were rumors circulating that Jay-Z flirted with Rihanna and even had an affair with her. Rihanna’s publicist later admitted to starting the rumor as a publicity stunt to boost Rihanna’s career. In an email, the publicist confessed, “The PR stunt I pulled was out of desperation to push ‘Pon de Replay’. It was a reckless move, and I had no idea it would gain traction. I was just trying anything.”
The publicist never expected the rumor to blow up like it did. Seeing Beyoncé face scrutiny while others profited from the gossip deeply troubled him. As Rihanna’s popularity surpassed Beyoncé’s, it reportedly strained their relationship further, intensifying their feud.
It’s quite a twist—Rihanna ended up taking the same medication as Teairra reportedly because of tensions with Beyoncé. Rumors circulated that Jay-Z and Beyoncé were behind the premature leak of Rihanna’s album ANTI on Tidal, their own streaming service, supposedly to boost Beyoncé’s Formation. In response, Rihanna took matters into her own hands, releasing the album herself and offering it as a free download to fans. Things were evidently tense between them at a Tidal press conference around the same time. An insider disclosed, “They wouldn’t stand near each other or even exchange words. Their handlers went to great lengths to keep both stars happy. The whole event seemed meticulously orchestrated, with very little interaction between the two divas.”
It’s a bit of a twist in the music biz tale: rumor has it Beyoncé played a hand in Roc-A-Fella choosing Rihanna over Teairra, maybe feeling a bit threatened. That move catapulted Rihanna to stardom, leaving a lot of folks feeling like Teairra got the short end of the stick. One person put it bluntly: “They smile in your face but plot behind your back. Beyoncé did Teairra dirty.” Another said, “Teairra was their favorite until Beyoncé convinced L.A. Reid to see potential in Rihanna. Beyoncé really has the power to make or break careers.”
Teairra Mari got the news her debut album wasn’t selling as well as they’d hoped, even though it moved 69,000 copies in its first week and charted high on Billboard—it’s pretty solid for a newbie. Interestingly, Rihanna’s first album sold the same amount in its debut week. But Teairra’s story took a tough turn when she got that call on prom night saying she was dropped. “I was getting ready, got a call, ‘We’re letting you go.’ I was like, damn.”
As for Jay-Z, Teairra said their relationship was all business after she left Roc-A-Fella, hardly crossing paths. She understood Roc’s decision—they didn’t think they could push her career further. Teairra decided to move on without any hard feelings towards Jay-Z. But as for Beyoncé’s role in all this? That’s still anyone’s guess.
You know, some folks think Teairra’s career stumbled right out of the gate because her initial marketing wasn’t quite on point. Rumor has it Beyoncé might have nudged things in Rihanna’s favor when Teairra was just starting out. Teairra, at 15 or 16, was singing about grown-up stuff, while Rihanna kept it light and fun—totally fitting for a teenage audience.
Even with a big platform on Love & Hip Hop, Teairra ended up more known for being difficult to work with and for some legal troubles, like that rideshare driver incident.
People say her heavy drinking and drama later on were all tied to her breakup with Ray J after seven years together. It’s surprising how little sympathy she got from her castmates during that tough time.
But here’s the kicker: Did Beyoncé really influence things enough to hold Teairra back? If so, it must have been a letdown for Beyoncé herself. On the flip side, some think blaming Beyoncé for Teairra’s career not taking off is a bit much. What do you think about all this? Drop your thoughts below.
