I was much taken in by this story of a female black singer who was often undermined in the music business because of the colour of her skin. She refused to mimic the rest of the singers in her genre in the way they dressed and behaved. She is now the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize.
Up to recently, her career plans didn’t include becoming a pop sensation. She somehow made it through school with 9 GCSE’s and 3 A-levels but felt sidelined by the ‘brighter’ children who had tuition and received more attention from teachers.
At an urban music seminar, an overweight, bespectacled girl asked her idol if she could make it in the music business despite her looks. The singer replied, ‘You’re beautiful … Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. There is a problem with the music industry, where labels dictate what female artists should look like … So don’t let anyone tell you that you’re not pretty.’
Has anything struck a chord with you yet? It has with me. Read the full article.