Rihanna, A$AP Rocky + Most Beautiful Baby Boy Cover British Vogue March 2023

Rihanna, A$AP Rocky and Baby Boy Cover British Vogue March 2023 by Inez & Vinoodh AOC Fashion

The best story about Rihanna’s and A$AP Rocky’s impossibly-enchanting baby boy being on the cover of British Vogue is how the parents responded to a split second flicker of a camera lens in the distance on the day of the March 2023 issue photo shoot.

The sun was beginning to set on a private stretch of beach in Malibu. The pending moment was a true coming out party, as baby prepared for his global debut. His charming and infectious smile was ready to be beamed out over countless websites and IG shares — on strict terms set by his mama and papa.

Photographers Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin [IG] were ready to shoot the cover. British Vogue EIC Edward Enninful found the setup absolutely perfect. All systems were go.

Stalk and Snatch the Baby Trophy

And then it came . . . the awareness of a pap far off in the distance, stalking the family, ready to claim his prey — pictures of this precious child — for a mountains of cash sale to the highest international media bidder.

“I just went straight into protective mode,” remembers Rihanna. “Like there wasn’t even time for rage. [Rocky and me] drove up to the trailer area and we sat in the car chatting and working out how we move forward. As parents it just feels so icky, like a violation.” But they knew the clock was ticking. “As we were speaking, we knew they were making calls and deals.”

No way was their baby son being sold to the highest bidder. In true boss-lady, on-the-spot decision-making, Rihanna sent a couple of cute, candid snaps from her camera roll to a friendly blogger for posting. Nice but not enough. The couple needed to do something epic.

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