Rihanna is working with 500 new songs for her upcoming dancehall album

Rihanna's upcoming album is shaping up nicely, with sources close to the project revealing that Riri is working with 500 songs for the LP.

Rolling Stone have spoken with producers close to the project, with them confirming that the Barbadian singer wants to go back to her roots for her ninth studio album.

A dancehall producer who wished to remain anonymous told the publication: “[Rihanna’s team] have, no lie, 500 records for this project [from] different producers and writers. They’re only choosing 10 records. They’ve been having writing camps and trying to keep them quiet for almost a year and a half now. I’ve been flying to Miami, flying to L.A., cutting records nonstop for this project.”

Another source explained to Rolling Stone that “every artist, every producer, every songwriter in Jamaica or of Jamaican descent" has been submitting work for R9, with a further insider believing that her team are holding out for one more song to complete the collection.

Rolling Stone also notes that multiple sources believe the Bajan star is also workig on a pop album at the same time.

It wouldn't be the first time that Rihanna had been influenced by the part of the world she grew up. Her 2011 Top 20 single You Da One is a reggae song, while her Number 2 hit Work is a dancehall track with Jamaican Patois dialect.

Click here to view Rihanna's full UK chart history, which includes 9 chart-topping singles, 4 Number 1 albums, and 48 Top 40 hits.