In an open conversation with Vanity Fair, Lizzo dismissed the notion that she creates music for “white People.” The 34-year-old artist emphasizes that her music embodies her Black experience. With her songs drawing from a blend of genres, including hip hop, gospel, and R&B, she has produced hit anthems like “Good as Hell” and “About Damn Time” that has soared to the top of the pop charts.
Lizzo expresses concerns over her chart-topping songs being designed for a Black audience but gaining immense popularity among white listeners. This discrepancy is what troubles her the most.
“This is probably the biggest criticism I’ve received, and it is such a critical conversation when it comes to Black artists,” she shared. “When Black people see a lot of white people in the audience, they think, ‘Well, this isn’t for me. This is for them.’ The thing is, when a Black artist reaches a certain level of popularity, it’s going to be a predominantly white crowd.”
The astute singer and businesswoman clarified, “I am not making music for white people. I am a Black woman. I am making music from my Black experience.”
Born Melissa Jefferson, Lizzo asserts that she creates music “for me to heal myself (from) the experience we call life.”
As a Detroit native, she understands the impact her music has on young Black individuals. She advocates for more love and self-love, asserting, “We need self-love and self-love anthems more than anybody.”
She continued, “So am I making music for that girl right there who looks like me, who grew up in a city where she was underappreciated and picked on and made to feel unbeautiful?” Her answer was a resounding “Yes.”
Lizzo also addressed critics who attempt to label her as a racist, expressing disbelief at such accusations: “It blows my mind when people say I’m not making music from a Black perspective—how could I not do that as a Black artist?”
Meanwhile, Kanye West, 45, commented on Lizzo’s weight during a Fox News interview with Tucker Carlson. West said, “When Lizzo loses 10 pounds and announces it, the bots — that’s a term for like telemarketer callers on Instagram — they attack her for losing weight because the media wants to put out a perception that being overweight is the new goal when it’s actually unhealthy.
“Let’s get aside the fact of whether it’s fashion and vogue, which it’s not. Or if someone thinks she is attractive, to each his own. It’s actually clinically unhealthy, and for people to promote that… it’s demonic.”
When Carlson asked West why he believed this was being done specifically to people of the Black race, West had a response at the ready.
“‘It’s a genocide of the Black race. They want to kill us in any way they can.”
In response to West and Tucker’s comments, Lizzo addressed the claims during a concert at the Scotiabank Arena, stating, “I feel like everybody in America got my mother******* name in [their] mother******* mouth for no mother****** reason.”
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Source: AWM
