Rihanna has marked 15 years in the music industry with a touching tribute to The Navy

The 'Rude Boy' hitmaker recalled how she was "shaking" as she waited to audition in front of rap legend Jay-Z at Def Jam records all those years ago.

And she gushed about how "grateful" she is to have such a loyal following.

She wrote: "Thank you for all the love on this hashtag today!

"Man this is trippy. Feel like just yesterday I was shaking in the hallways of Def Jam waiting to audition for Jay.

"Pon de Replay is where it all began... 15 years later and I'm here because God led me to you, and you guys have held me up, supported me, tolerated me, loved me, kept it too real with me, and we got always be connected because of that.

"I love you Navy, and I cherish you.

"I'm so grateful to be gifted you as my fans and family. G4L (Gangster for life)! (sic)"

The anniversary post comes after Rihanna teased The Navy that she "lost" her long-awaited LP, 'R9'.

The 'Diamonds' hitmaker took to Instagram to share a clip of herself in the garden twirling a pair of her new sunglasses from her brand Fenty's Off Record eyewear range to promote the new line, and her fans soon took to the comments section to demand her to drop the record.

When one asked: "WHERES THE ALBUM (sic)", Rihanna replied: "I lost it", and added the shrug emoji.

And when another commented: "DON'T DROP THAT ALBUM", she responded: "navy this who to blame right here look. (sic)"

Last month, the Bajan star told her fans to stop bothering her about new music while she is "trying to save the world".

The singer and fashion designer - who hasn't released a studio album since 2016's 'Anti' - donated over $8 million dollars to various causes during the Covid-19 pandemic and told fans she is working on philanthropy rather than music right now.

Speaking during an Instagram Live, she told her fans: "If one of y'all motherf***ers ask me about the album one more time when I'm tryna save the world, unlike y'all president....on sight."

Rihanna and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey donated $4.2million to help domestic violence victims in LA during the pandemic.

The 'Work' hitmaker and her Clara Lionel Foundation joined forces with Jack to send the huge sum to the Mayor's Fund to "address a surge in domestic violence" in LA during the coronavirus lockdown.

Both the CLF and Jack gave $2.1 million each and the money will "enable the Mayors' Fund for Los Angeles to provide 10 weeks of support for victims of domestic abuse including shelter, meals and counseling for individuals and their children."

Meanwhile, Rihanna previously announced her Clara Lionel Foundation is providing $5 million in grants to people working against Covid-19 on the frontline and she and Jay-Z followed that up with another $1 million each to fight coronavirus.

The $2 million will help to support undocumented workers, imprisoned, elderly and homeless people, and the children of health workers and first responders in both Los Angeles and New York City.