{"id":87152,"date":"2024-04-02T20:42:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-02T20:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/02\/what-black-country-artists-have-said-about-racism-in-the-genre\/"},"modified":"2024-04-02T20:42:00","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T20:42:00","slug":"what-black-country-artists-have-said-about-racism-in-the-genre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/02\/what-black-country-artists-have-said-about-racism-in-the-genre\/","title":{"rendered":"What Black Country Artists Have Said About Racism in the Genre"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Rick Diamond\/Getty Images for the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Darius Rucker<\/strong><\/a>, Mickey Guyton<\/strong><\/a> and more Black country artists have been candid about the racism they have faced in the genre.<\/p>\n

When Rucker made the transition from the frontman for the rock band Hootie and the Blowfish to country superstar, he had to fire back at trolls. After performing at the Grand Ole Opry in 2013, a social media user tweeted at Rucker telling him to \u201cleave country to the white folk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWOW. Is this 2013 or 1913? I\u2019ll take my grand ole Opry membership and leave your racism. Wow,\u201d Rucker responded.<\/p>\n

Fans then rallied around Rucker and the singer made it clear he had no plans to stop putting out records.<\/p>\n

\u201cGotta go to bed this has been hilarious tonight,\u201d he wrote in a subsequent tweet. \u201cIf any hater thinks I care what u think. I don\u2019t make music for u. So don\u2019t listen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep scrolling to see what other Black musicians have said about racism in country music:<\/p>\n

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Taylor Hill\/WireImage\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mickey Guyton<\/h3>\n

Guyton recalled that early on in her career she was told to make her songs \u201csuper country\u201d otherwise fans of the genre would think she was \u201cnot genuine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted this opportunity so badly that I was ready to do whatever it took. But every time I turned something in \u2014 \u2018No, that sounds too pop.\u2019 I was trying to figure it out. \u2018You want me to put a fiddle on this song? Twang it out more? What do you want?\u2019\u201d she said to The New Yorker<\/em><\/a> in June 2021. \u201cMeanwhile, I\u2019m watching the whole industry put out records that had all these R&B. cadences, these R&B. phrases. I was frustrated, and not just by my own story. But God forbid anyone say anything, because, if you say something, then country radio is gonna cancel you, they\u2019re not gonna play your stuff, and you\u2019ll be Dixie Chick-ed.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2020, Guyton released her single \u201cBlack Like Me,\u201d which details the ups and downs she\u2019s faced as a Black woman in personal life and her career. The song received a nomination for Best Country Solo Performance at the 63rd annual Grammy Awards, which made Guyton the first Black woman to receive a nomination in the category.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis nomination is a testament to never give up and live your truth,\u201d the singer said after earning her Grammy nomination. \u201cI can\u2019t think of a better song to make history with than \u2018Black Like Me\u2019 and I hope that I can continue to help open doors for other women and people who look like me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linda Martell<\/h3>\n

Martell was the first Black female artist to perform at the Grand Ole Opry and one of the first commercially successful Black country artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re playing to an all-white audience \u2014 because Lord Jesus, they are prejudiced \u2014 you learn to not say too much,\u201d Martell said to Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a> in 2020. \u201cYou can carry it a little too far if you\u2019re correcting somebody. So you learn how not to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Shane Anthony Sinclair\/Getty Images For Bauer Media<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kane Brown<\/h3>\n

Brown, who is biracial, previously shared that when he first got his start in country music, many had assumptions about his musical style because of his race.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome people automatically assume I\u2019m a rapper, but why wouldn\u2019t I be country?\u201d the \u201cThank God\u201d singer told The Guardian<\/em><\/a> in 2018. \u201cIt\u2019s the music I\u2019ve always listened to, and there are a lot of people that look like me who listen to and love country music too.\u201d<\/p>\n

K. Michelle<\/h3>\n

The Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta<\/em> alum shared that while she\u2019s been known for R&B music, her passion has always been with country music especially since she grew up in Memphis and did yodeling in college.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey automatically assume because I\u2019m Black, that I\u2019m about to start rapping or making fun,\u201d she said in a December 2020 interview on the \u201cYes, Girl!\u201d<\/a> podcast. \u201cThey considered it making fun of their genre because think about it: if we had someone of another ethnicity come in, which we do, come in and try to sound just like us mimicking us, we would be in an uproar.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Michelle understood the need to protect the genre, she doesn\u2019t appreciate that some artists gatekeeping it from others.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I don\u2019t respect in country is they are hogging it for themselves,\u201d she explained. \u201cOnce you get in country though, you can sing it for the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rissi Palmer<\/h3>\n

Palmer, who became the second Black woman to chart a country song, has been candid about broaching the subject of racism in country music despite guidance to the contrary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was more so, like, \u2018put your head down, write the songs, sing the songs, and you know, don\u2019t talk about it.\u2019 It\u2019s obvious that you\u2019re Black, so we don\u2019t need to talk about it. And so that was how the first half of my career was pretty much conducted,\u201d she said in a November 2023 episode of the \u201cDear Culture\u201d<\/a> podcast. \u201cI didn\u2019t really get super politically political, so to speak, until, you know, after the record label and after everything was over. Like, I\u2019ve always been Black, but it\u2019s always been. You know, just just try to get along.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cCountry Girl\u201d singer compared her journey in the industry to being the only Black person at school or in a job. While she has a shared love of music with her fellow musicians, she found it hard to find a sense of belonging.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut there is this one thing, this thing where, you know, politically you might be different or racially, you\u2019re different,\u201d she confessed. \u201cAnd so it was for me, trying really hard to be myself but also fit in. And try to figure out how to do those two things simultaneously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Charley Pride<\/h3>\n

Pride, who died in 2020, was a trailblazer in the music industry and one of the best-selling performers for RCA Records. Throughout his career, the \u201cKiss an Angel Good Mornin\u201d singer has earned a series of accolades including a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Performance in 1972 and was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey used to ask me how it feels to be the \u2018first colored country singer,\u2018 Then it was \u2018first Negro country singer,\u2019 then \u2018first Black country singer.\u2019 Now I\u2019m the \u2018first African-American country singer.\u2032 That\u2019s about the only thing that\u2019s changed,\u201d he told The Dallas Morning News<\/em> in 1992. \u201cThis country is so race-conscious, so ate-up with colors and pigments. I call it \u2018skin hangups\u2019 \u2014 it\u2019s a disease.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Country Music\u2019s Biggest Feuds: Where They Stand Today<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tCountry music\u2019s biggest names\u00a0haven\u2019t been afraid to go head-to-head over the years, exchanging blows on social media, making up at awards shows and more. In 2015, several female artists\u00a0came together to fire back at radio personality\u00a0Keith Hill amid his comments about why he plays more male artists on the air. The controversy was dubbed \u201cTomato-gate.\u201d [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Brittney Spencer<\/h3>\n

The \u201cCrowded Table\u201d singer shared that her background as Black girl from Baltimore in country music has inspired her music especially since the genre is underrepresented.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about wanting to know if, like, my story and my existence matters. A lot of people feel like their stories don\u2019t matter because they\u2019re not reflected, they\u2019re not represented all the time,\u201d she explained about wanting to fit in with the genre to WBFO<\/a> in January 2024. \u201cI come from that world of people where almost sometimes, like, your existence can feel inferior. It\u2019s not something that weighs on my brain all the time, but it\u2019s definitely like if you poke around deep enough, you\u2019ll get to that part where you can hear in me where I still want to know where I belong or if I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kevin Winter\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Darius Rucker<\/h3>\n

While Rucker has made a name for himself in country music, many doubted his journey<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be honest with you, I didn\u2019t think I would have much success. And when I started doing the radio stations and stuff, I had people say to me, to my face, \u2018My audience would never accept a Black country singer,\u2019\u201d he told ET Canada<\/em> in August 2023. \u201cThat\u2019s something that I was like, \u2018Okay, just play the record, let\u2019s see?\u2019 And then they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rhiannon Giddens<\/h3>\n

Giddens, who was a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, believes it\u2019s not the audience who is gatekeeping country music but the institution itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has nothing to do with the audience, who are all lovely people. I feel the conflict of knowing this should be a mixed space,\u201d the \u201cCalling Me Home\u201d musician said to Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a> in June 2020. \u201cI feel the dislocation. More diverse audiences are coming, but it still feels like the space isn\u2019t safe for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Americana artist confessed that she gets tired of \u201ccarrying the ancestral weight\u201d in a genre that Black people helped create.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest triumphs of African-American music is the banjo,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe banjo took over the world. That means we helped create America\u2019s music. Not blues. Not jazz. America\u2019s music, period.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Reyna Roberts<\/h3>\n

As Roberts made her debut in country music, she noted that getting an endorsement from Guyton and Carrie Underwood shielded her from racist backlash.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had two major artists and a team surrounding me so I didn\u2019t have to face a lot of negativity at the time. They were putting me in safe spaces. Thankfully I had a lot of great experiences. There\u2019s definitely been some roadblocks,\u201d she said to BET<\/a> in March 2024. \u201cOn the one hand, people are very open and are champions of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the \u201cStompin\u2019 Grounds\u201d singer is grateful to those who have championed her success, she acknowledged that being a woman in the genre isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say that there are not many women that get played on country radio, and we\u2019re talking about superstars. So Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Laney Wilson get played, but other than that, you don\u2019t really hear too many women, which is so sad,\u201d Roberts continued. \u201cImagine being a Black woman trying to get played on country radio and if it\u2019s already hard for women in general?\u201d<\/p>\n

Amythyst Kiah<\/h3>\n

Before embracing country music, Kiah admitted she didn\u2019t feel like she was meant to be part of the genre, despite getting a Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Song for her single \u201cBlack Myself\u201d in 2020.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had in some instances enjoyed some country music, but there was that part of me that was like, \u2018It seems like country music is for a certain type of person and I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019d be accepted, so how can I listen to this music?\u2019\u201d she said to Rolling Stone<\/em><\/a> in June 2021. \u201cBut once I learned the history about West African influence in country music and bluegrass and string band music, and learning about the Carolina Chocolate Drops and seeing that visual representation, I was like, \u2018Oh! Ok! This is cool.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Biggest Country Music Controversies Through the Years<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tSometimes America\u2019s sweethearts go sour. From Morgan Wallen to The Chicks, the biggest names in country music have been at the center of some major controversies. Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer found themselves in hot water in the early 2000s after sharing their personal politics on a public stage. While performing across the [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Alice Randall<\/h3>\n

Randall has made a name for herself in country music as a talented songwriter. She became the first Black woman to write a No. 1 country song in 1994 for Trisha Yearwood\u2019<\/strong>s hit \u201cXXX\u2019s and OOO\u2019s (An American Girl).\u201d While gearing up to release her 2023 LP My Black Country<\/em>, Randall got candid about how racism in the genre fueled her creativity when she dropped music for herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause all the singers of my songs had been white, because country has white-washed black lives out of country space, most of my audience assumed the stars of my songs were all white. I wanted to rescue my Black characters,\u201d she said in a press release at the time. \u201cThis album does that. Rt centers black female creativity, but it welcomes cocreators and allies from a myriad of identities. This is the good harvest: abundant love and beauty for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Joy Oladokun<\/h3>\n

While Oladokun doesn\u2019t necessarily consider herself a country artist, the singer-songwriter opened up about her struggle to fit in with the music industry especially in Nashville.<\/p>\n

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