Lizzo arrives for the 62nd annual Grammy Awards held at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 26, 2020.

Lizzo Says Her Music Isn't For White People 'Making Music From My Black Experience'

Home / News / Lizzo Says Her Music Isn't For White People 'Making Music From My Black Experience'

By Favour Adegoke on October 12, 2022 at 8:30 AM PDT

R&B and pop superstar Lizzo, born Melissa Viviane Jefferson, recently shed light on her current music audience and the inspiration behind her catchy tunes. The artist released her fourth studio album, "About Damn Time," in July this year and the success of the musical work seemed to reel in more fans for the 34-year-old.

Since releasing "Cuz I Love You," where Lizzo earned her first Grammy award, the artist's fanbase experienced an influx of white people. However, the 34-year-old recently revealed that they weren't her target market.

Read on to learn more.

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Lizzo Sings About Her Black Experiences

51st NAACP Image Awards
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In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, Lizzo talked about her music and revealed her experience as a black woman was a critical factor in its creation. The artist has a hand in genres like hip-hop, R&B, and gospel. Her most recent studio album, "About Damn Time," however, was more pop themed, in line with Lizzo's older hit singles like "Good As Hell" and "Juice."

"The thing is, when a black artist reaches a certain level of popularity, it's going to be a predominantly white crowd," the artist explained. "I am not making music for white people. I am a Black woman; I am making music from my Black experience, for me to heal myself [from] the experience we call life."

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Despite her hordes of Caucasian fans, the 34-year-old revealed that black women were the first people on her list. That was the group the Grammy winner was most interested in reaching out to.

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Lizzo Says Black Women Need Self-Love Anthems

Lizzo at GQ's 2018 All-Stars Celebration
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Lizzo revealed that she felt black women were more deserving of self-love anthems than any other group. "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 un-beautiful? Yes," she said.

"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?" The 34-year-old further revealed that the treatment of black women in America left her feeling "very hopeless."

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She explained that she didn't think they were treated with "respect," nor were they treated fairly. "If I see hope in this country, it will come from the accountability of the people who have the privilege. As a fat black woman, this country has never gone forward; it's stayed pretty much the same for me."

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She Believes Race Was A Major Factor In The Roe V. Wade Ruling

Lizzo
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The Roe v. Wade overturn carried out by the U.S Supreme Court earlier this year set off several reactions from the affected citizens, most of which were discontent. While most felt like religion and sexism were at play in the situation, Lizzo recently revealed that race also had a hand in the ruling.

She said per NYP, "It's about white male supremacy; it's always been about white male supremacy in this country and the people who are complicit in helping uphold it — who are a lot of white women."

After the ruling, the 34-year-old notably donated half a million dollars to the National Network of Abortion Funds and Planned Parenthood. Lizzo's "About Damn Time" tour promoter, Live Nation, matched her pledge and increased the amount to a million dollars.

Lizzo Recently Faced Some Backlash For Playing Former President James Madison's Crystal Flute

In a Washington D.C concert a few weeks ago, Lizzo made history and was one of the few people ever to play the famed crystal flute of President James Madison. The historical artifact was loaned to the artist by the Library of Congress during the concert, and she played a few tunes with it.

After asking her audience to "be patient," the 34-year-old played some short melodic notes on the flute and twerked while playing a different trill, then reverently handed the 200-year-old musical instrument over to the handlers who were onstage.

While Lizzo is known as a classically trained flutist in addition to her singing and rapping, her handling of the historical crystal flute upset certain individuals. Several people faulted her for twerking while playing the instrument, and a number of others pointed hands at the Library of Congress for loaning it out in the first place.

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