Pablo Picasso’s 144th Birthday Post Sparks Fierce Debate Over Unexpected Rihanna Comparison
Decades after he reinvented modern art, Pablo Picasso—the engine of Cubism and pioneer of constructed sculpture—is back in the spotlight as a recent social media post celebrating his legacy sparks fresh debate.
Only the internet could turn Picasso's birthday into a pop culture bit about Rihanna and Nicki Minaj. And honestly... I get it. Here is what actually happened, why your timeline suddenly looked like an art history meme page, and where the Rihanna album chatter fits in.
The post that confused everyone
Pablo Picasso was born on October 25, 1881. So, yes, that makes October 25, 2025 his 144th birthday. An account called Pop Base posted a color photo of Picasso to mark the day, and the thing exploded on X.
The reactions were a mix of bewildered and deeply online:
Some people thought it read like a memorial post at first glance. Others pivoted immediately into jokes, because of course they did. The replies compared Picasso to living pop stars, did age gags, and generally behaved like a comments section does when it finds a vintage photo with a newsy caption.
The jokes: Nicki, Rihanna, Yuta, Madonna
The hits in the replies included:
- The 'Younger than Nicki' bit, which is obviously the joke: Nicki Minaj (born December 8, 1982) is very much not older than Picasso, but that did not stop the one-liners. For context, Nicki has been in headlines this year for a feud with Cardi B, so her name is already floating around stan-land.
- A running gag roping in Rihanna: 'Around the same time Rihanna released her last album.' That last album, 'Anti,' dropped in 2016, and fans have been hungry for literally anything new ever since.
- Bonus riffs compared Picasso to NCT's Yuta and even called him 'younger than Madonna.' It was that kind of party.
So, about Rihanna and that next album...
The Rihanna references didn't come out of nowhere. Back in February, she told Harper's Bazaar that the long-teased ninth album (fans call it 'R9') is actually in motion. She framed it as a reset: music as freedom, figuring out what the next era sounds like, and refusing to release something she cannot stand behind.
'I have to show them the worth in the wait. I cannot put up anything mediocre.'
She also pushed back on the old rumor that the project is a reggae record. In her words, there is 'no genre' this time; earlier ideas just did not match her growth, and she did not want to tour music that did not feel right. Meanwhile, she has been busy building the Fenty empire, which helps explain the timeline even if it does not make the wait any easier.
Rihanna albums so far
- Music of the Sun — August 12, 2005
- A Girl Like Me — April 11, 2006
- Good Girl Gone Bad — June 5, 2007
- Rated R — November 23, 2009
- Loud — November 16, 2010
- Talk That Talk — November 18, 2011
- Unapologetic — November 19, 2012
- Anti — January 28, 2016
Quick refresher: Why Picasso is a big deal
If you are wondering why a century-old Spanish painter is trending on a Saturday, here is the speed version: Picasso is one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, full stop. He co-founded Cubism, pushed collage into sculpture with constructed works, and turned the modern art world on its head. The greatest-hits paintings you have probably seen in a textbook: 'Girl before a Mirror,' 'The Old Guitarist,' 'Portrait of Dora Maar,' and a bunch more.
So yes, the timeline made Picasso's 144th into a pop music roast, and yes, it somehow turned into a reminder that we are all still waiting on R9. The internet contains multitudes.