Lizzo’s musical success over recent years is undeniable. The 34-year-old singer has taken the pop world by storm with hit single after single, winning over legions of fans with her incredible talent, down-to-earth personality, amazing fashion sense and wicked sense of humour.
However, she hasn’t shied away from telling it as it is when it comes to the darker side of the music industry and Hollywood in general. Not only has she become a trailblazer in the body inclusivity and positivity movements, but she has also spoken on the inherent racism underpinning the music industry as a whole.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, she expanded on topics from her new documentary, Love Lizzo, about why she believes the concept of music genres can be seen through a segregation lens.
When speaking on the criticism she’s faced over her career for not making “Black enough” music as a pop star, Lizzo explained that the music industry has often relied on genres to keep Black creatives from exploring more white-dominated fields like pop music.
“Genre’s racist inherently,” she explained. “If people did any research, they would see that there was race music and then there was pop music.”
“And race music was their way of segregating Black artists from being mainstream because they didn’t want their kids listening to music created by Black and brown people because they said it was demonic.”
“Then there were these genres created almost like code words: R&B, and then of course eventually Hip-Hop and rap was born from that. I think when you think about pop, you think about MTV in the ’80s talking about ‘We can’t play rap music’ or ‘We can’t put this person on our platform because we’re thinking about what people in the middle of America think’ — and we all know what that’s code for.”
Further in the interview, Lizzo explained that Black musicians ultimately inserted themselves into the pop genre and that most pop music now heavily relies on rap music.
“We forget that in the late ’80s and the early ’90s, there were these massive pop diva records that were sang by Black women like Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey,” she said. “And I’m giving that same energy. I’m giving that same energy with a little bit of rap, and I think that people just have to get used to me.”
“So for people who don’t like pop music or don’t like Black artists that make pop music, they may eventually like me. I might be guacamole to them. You just gotta get used to me because I’m making good sh*t. You missing out.”
And this isn’t the first time Lizzo has spoken about her place in pop music, telling Elle UK earlier this year she had previously been convinced her size would impact her ability to find success in the pop genre.
“I think it was more of, like, an insecurity. Nearly every star I saw on stage was thinner and light-skinned. And they didn’t look like me,” she explained. “I always felt like, even if the song is great, people wouldn’t want to hear it coming from me. So I thought, if I have other people on stage, too, that will take the focus off me a little bit.
“I know people want to look like me now. But I’m talking about what it was like in my formative years. I wasn’t really set up to believe that I was desirable. For me, being a pop star – part of it is people either want to be you or be with you. And I didn’t feel like I had any of those qualities.”
Watch Below: Lizzo Slams Body Shamers In TikTok Video
Lizzo isn’t the only musician questioning the cultural impacts of music genres either, a rising number of musicians have boycotted the Grammy’s over similar concerns, including Silk Sonic, The Weekend and Drake.
Drake has long been vocal about his discontent with the voting and submission process behind the Grammy’s after the Canadian singer’s hit Hotline Bling received recognition for Best Rap Song, to which he explained he felt pigeonholed.
“Even though Hotline Bling is not a rap song … the only category they can manage to fit me in is a rap category,” Drake explained to the OVO Sound radio show.
“Maybe because I’ve rapped in the past or because I’m black, I can’t figure out why.”
“I love the rap world and I love the rap community, but you’re right. I write pop songs for a reason,” he continued. “I wanna be like Michael Jackson. I wanna be like artists that I’ve looked up to. Those are pop songs, but I never get any credit for that…I won two awards last night, but I don’t even want them, because it feels weird for some reason.”
The exclusivity and genre restrictions of the music industry are not just limited to race either, with Aussie musician G Flip speaking out on the gender-specific limitations of many award shows.
The ARIA Music awards responded to G Flip’s concerns by taking massive steps forward towards better inclusivity this year, scrapping the Best Male Artist and Best Female Artist Awards.
Annabelle Herd, chief executive of ARIA, said in a statement that “If you have categories that are limited to people who identify as male or female, then you are excluding a whole bunch of amazing artists that are non-binary. And it was clear that the time of excluding non-binary artists had absolutely passed.”
“The music industry is demanding a more equal, inclusive, safe and supportive space for everyone and ARIA is working hard to achieve that across the ARIA Awards and everything we do.”
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