Rihanna 'immediately' wanted to braid her son's hair as she describes ... trends now

Rihanna has revealed she was 'immediately' compelled to braid to son's hair as she opened up about the significance of the style in her culture.  

Speaking with VOGUE China, she described how braids ran in her 'blood' and are considered a 'form of protection' in her heritage.

Rihanna, 36, shares sons RZA, one, and Riot, seven months, with her long-term partner A$AP Rocky, 35.

'I grew up in the Caribbean and it was all a local mom could do for her kids. Some people grow up in single-parent families, with moms working three jobs, and they don’t have time to kiss you every day when you go to school. This is a form of protection, our roots, and a tradition left by our ancestors,' she said. 

She continued describing the meaning of the braids and discussed how her partnered opened her eyes to their impact: 'It's historically significant and makes us realize where we've come from. This is our lost history. I really learned a lot being around him, but even with him, he wore his hair in pigtails. It's just a thing of the past. Like I immediately wanted my son to have his hair braided. Yes, I know, it’s something in our blood.'

Rihanna looked incredible as she covered Vogue China's latest issue ahead of launching her billion-dollar Fenty empire in the country from next month.

The singer discussed motherhood, the culture of hair braiding and her successful career during an interview with Vogue China Editor-in-Chief, Margaret Zhang.

In one stunning image from the photoshoot, Rihanna is sporting an all embroidered ensemble, consisting of a cropped jacket and matching bralet and cowboy hat.

The pretty black co-ord showed off her midriff and glimpsed her winged-goddess tattoo underneath her bust.

In another snap, Rihanna slipped into an eye-catching white gown and wore her honey-brown hair in braids.

Speaking on encouraging individuality in her children, Rihanna said during the interview: 'The most beautiful thing… is that [children] come into the world with their own individuality and sincerity, without any logic or conformity, which usually makes you feel that you must fit into a certain group.

'It's really beautiful to see and I want to continue to help them navigate that and make sure that they know they can be whoever they want to be... they should embrace it completely, because it's beautiful, and it's unique. I love them just that way.'

Rihanna was teased as the star of the April issue as the Chinese arm of the fashion bible released images of her on the front cover.