Yesterday we saw the first photos of Rihanna and her new lover Matt Kemp (of the Los Angeles Dodgers) lookin’ all lovey-dovey in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico together and today we get to see new photos of the couple out on the town South of the border. Rihanna and Matt, who I’ve dubbed Ratt Hemp, spent part of their day swimming with dolphins before they stepped out for dinner at a place called Squid Roe … behold:

Oh yeah, it’s plainly obvious to anyone with eyes that these two are desperately in love … it’s really very cute to see. Now whether or not this turns out to be love love is another story. Ratt Hemp look like they are having a fantastic time in Mexico these days … the real test will come after they leave paradise for the real world. I’m pulling for them to make it, tho. I think they look really good together.

[Photo credit: Splash News]

It looks like it’s gonna be a bright and happy new year for popstar Rihanna … because she’s got herself a hot new man! Rihanna sneaked off to enjoy a little holiday in Mexico this week and she brought along her new love Matt Kemp of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the ride. Almost as soon as the couple checked into their resort hotel in Cabo San Lucas, they got right down to the business of canoodling with one another … behold:

She may be extremely busy with her career, but Rihanna is finding quality time to hang with her new beau, Los Angeles Dodger Matt Kemp. The 21-year-old singer, introduced to Kemp, 25, by friends in November, is currently vacationing with the outfielder at a luxury resort in Cabo San Lucas. While hanging poolside on Jan. 4, the lovebirds “couldn’t keep their hands off of each other,” says an eyewitness, adding that once back on their patio the pair “kept kissing while gazing out over the ocean.” “Rihanna wants the world to know that she is happy with Matt,” says an insider. So far, things between them are looking good. He certainly kept her “constantly giggling,” says an onlooker, when they went shopping at The Grove outdoor mall in L.A. on Dec. 22. “They’ve only had a few opportunities to be together, but those times have been fun,” says Kemp’s agent Dave Stewart. Adds an insider, “They really like each other.”

Go on, girl! This is great news. Rihanna had herself a very tough 2009 so she deffo deserves happiness and love in 2010. I don’t know much about Matt Kemp but I hope he is the kind of man that knows how to treat a woman. Ri Ri looks really happy in these photo … I truly hope she is having the time of her life. Yeah, it really looks as if Rihanna is having a great New Year thus far ;) They make a good couple, no?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]

Just in time for the holiday season, a couple of new promo photos have been released that feature Rihanna promoting her new album Rated R. As you might expect, Ri Ri’s promo photos are a bit on the wild side … and on the nekkid side:

Rihanna has been keen to show a wilder side of late. And you don’t get much wilder than a cougar, as the brave popstar posed alongside the fang-toothed beast to promote album Rated R. The Barbados born singer, 21, was pictured holding onto the neck of the roaring cougar in one daring shot. And in another, she used just her arm to protect her modesty. The Umbrella singer has been courting controversy with her raunchy photoshoots and revealing interviews of late. A recent semi-nude cover-shoot for GQ magazine was so raunchy, she faced the wrath of her record label boss Antonio ‘L.A.’ Reid. The singer is seen topless, in a pair of unzipped hotpants on the cover of the January 2010 issue of the popular men’s monthly. And she admits things got so steamy on set, Island Def Jam boss Reid threatened to step in. Rihanna revealed: ‘It’s very sexy. At one point L.A. Reid came into the shoot and he was like, ‘Rihanna, put some f*cking clothes on.”‘

Awww … bless her heart. Nothing says Merry Xmas like a mostly nekkid popstar. After the jump, if you’re feeling the Xmas spirit, check out one more Rated R promo photo featuring our dear Rihanna sans top …

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Rihanna and her BFF Jay-Z did a bit of performing in Rockefeller Plaza in NYC, NY last night in order to ring in the New Year … just a wee bit early. Here are a few pics from their special performance last night:

It’s not so much that these two jumped the gun on celebratin’ 2010, they were actually taping a live performance for New Year’s Eve with Carson Daly which airs on, yep, New Year’s Eve. And while I love me some Ri Ri and I can forgive her many fashion mistakes, I’m not sure I can get on board with this Minnie Pearl-lookin’ hat. No. Normally she gets it right … this time she got it really wrong. I’m sure the performance was hot, tho (despite the falling snow). We’re gonna hafta wait ’til NYE to see how this performance turned out.

[Photo credit: INFdaily, Splash News]

Rihanna, who recently got herself a new tattoo after performing as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live and who is featured on the cover of the new issue of GQ magazine right now, has released her third music video (after Wait Your Turn (The Wait Is Ova) and Russian Roulette) from her new album Rated R … which was just released last month. Yes, folks, Ri Ri is really kickin’ out the vids. Here are a few screencaps from her latest effort Hard:

Of the 3 music videos released from this new album, this track is the most up-beat … and yet, it still is not a club banger. It occurs to me that all the yeah yeah yeahs in the track hearken back to the ella ella ellas in her biggest hit song Umbrella … like she was trying to score another massive hit song. As much as I do like Hard, it’s really not on par with the awesomeness of Umbrella. That said, the music video is pretty kick ass. After the jump, check it out in full …

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While Bethenny Frankel from Bravo TV’s The Real Housewives of New York City was bizzy promoting the practice of NOT wearing animal fur for PETA, Rihanna was running around town in an over-sized fur chapeau that very likely kept her head warm and got animal activists hot and bothered:

Without getting into the fur debate, I will say that the ginormous size of his particular hat does look a bit silly on our dear Ri Ri. I’m not sure if she was going for “a look” or if she was really just trying to stay warm but in either instance, I’d say she reached her goal.

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin]

Rihanna is featured on the cover and in the pages of the new issue of GQ magazine and in her coverstory interview, Ri Ri talks about how far she’s come since she was assaulted by ex-boyfriend Chris Brown back in February of this year. She explains how she managed to get over the trauma of being physically attacked and expresses her hope that people who sympathize with her situation will be able to move past the incident like she has. Here is Rihanna’s racy GQ coverphoto and some excerpts from her coverstory interview:

She’s done “Good Morning America” and “20/20,” but Rihanna gives one of her most revealing interviews about Chris Brown yet in the upcoming January issue of GQ magazine. The Barbados-born beauty fields some difficult questions about her abusive ex, but admits talking about that ugly incident helps the healing process. “It’s relieving,” she told the mag, “because it was built up for so long, and all these thoughts and emotions have been running through my mind for the past eight months. And now it’s like I finally get to let go and move on.” Putting the Feb. 8 assault behind her is crucial in shifting the “Wait Your Turn” singer’s image from punching bag to reigning pop princess. “I wanted people to move on with me,” she continues, “’cause the last big thing they know about me is That Night. And I don’t want that to be what people define me as.” After the violent attack last spring when Brown brutally hit and bit the singer following a pre-Grammy party in Hollywood, Rihanna withdrew from the spotlight to nurse her wounds. She soon returned to the studio and poured her heart and hurt into her latest album “Rated R,” which takes on a distinctly darker, edgier tone than her previous Top 20-friendly song “Umbrella.” “Nobody [helped me]. Really just music. And working,” she explains, “‘Cause I didn’t really want to be around anybody, for them to stare at me and stuff, and feel sorry for me. “The physical pain comes and it goes,” she adds. “The bruises fade away. But the thing that stays with you is the emotional scars.” The 21-year-old singer hopes her new album will inspire other women suffering from domestic abuse to stand up for themselves and get out of harmful relationships – especially those victims who might be blaming themselves. “That’s part of the insight that I wanna give,” Rihanna says. “Stop blaming yourself for that outcome. There’s nothing you can do, ever, to excuse a man’s behavior like that.”

It is very clear that she is becoming more comfortable with talking about her ordeal, which is a very good thing. I hope she continues to talk about her incident for as long as she likes in order to spread her message far and wide. As you can see, Rihanna stripped down for this GQ interview … but she also stripped down, literally, for the accompanying photoshoot. After the jump, check out a few photos from Ri Ri’s GQ photospread and read a lot more from her GQ coverstory interview …

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