RIHANNA HAS opened up about her plans to start a family, expanding her Fenty Empire and racism in the UK as she stars on the cover of British Vogue for the third time.

In a wide-ranging interview with British journalist and author Afua Hirsch, the Barbados-born superstar, who has lived in London for several years, got real about the subtle form racism often takes in Britain.

Speaking to Hirsch, Rihanna said: “I think police brutality is probably extremely severe in America, but racism is alive everywhere. Everywhere.

“It’s the same [in the UK]. It’s either blatant, which is becoming more and more of a norm, or it’s underlying, where people don’t even know they’re being obvious about it. You know, it’s just a subconscious layer that’s embedded from their entire core.”

While it’s the Rihanna’s third time on the cover of British Vogue, it’s the first time a cover star has worn a durag in the magazine’s history.

Edward Enninful, editor of British Vogue, said the decision was Rihanna’s and one that came to her during the early hours of the morning.

“The durag, a potent symbol of black life – of self-preservation, resistance and authenticity – has an important place in popular culture, yet it is rarely viewed through the prism of high fashion,” Enninful said. “Yet there is the most fabulous, aspirational and beautiful durag on the cover of this month’s magazine. It takes a person of extraordinary charisma to pull off such a moment, a woman I am lucky enough to count among my closest creative collaborators.”

So far throughout her career, which has moved beyond music into fashion, beauty and philanthropy, Rihanna has ignored convention – and she may be set to do the same when it comes to starting a family.

Asked about her desire to become a mother, the star wants to have three or four kids, and whether she would go it alone, Rihanna said: “Hell, yeah.”

She added: “I feel like society makes me want to feel like, ‘Oh, you got it wrong…’ They diminish you as a mother if there’s not a dad in your kids’ lives. But the only thing that matters is happiness, that’s the only healthy relationship between a parent and a child. That’s the only thing that can raise a child truly, is love.”

Read the full interview here.