PinkPantheress says electronic music made by Black women still isn’t getting the recognition it should.
In a recent interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the British singer opened up about the challenges she’s faced in the industry.
“People are less willing to listen to electronic music that is made by a Black woman. That’s just fact,” she told the outlet. “There’s some considerations I would like to get as an artist which I might not be getting right now, since maybe it’s harder to put me into a genre.”
PinkPantheress didn’t name any other female artists she believes are being overlooked.
The 24-year-old is currently riding high off the success of her second mixtape Fancy That, which includes the viral hit “Illegal.” This follows a string of major milestones in her career, including landing a Billboard hit with “Boys a liar Pt. 2” featuring Ice Spice, earning a Brit Award nomination, and receiving an honorary degree from the University of Kent.
“I always feel like I’m cutting through and I’m in a very privileged position musically,” she told the magazine. “But [I] can feel a little bit like I’m hitting all these markers and it still feels like I’m getting overlooked, simply because there’s a lot of people that don’t necessarily understand what I represent, nor do they want to take a look because I think it just doesn’t make sense for them.”
She added, “Having that person challenging the way a pop star should look or be — which is what I do, unintentionally and sometimes intentionally — it just doesn’t translate to a lot of people.”
“All I aim to do is stay authentic and consistent. And occasionally, what I enjoy doing is [saying], ‘well actually, I’m gonna prove you wrong, and I’m gonna do this, you are gonna like it.’ And then once you like it, you’re gonna realize: ‘Wait, I don’t know why I never gave her a chance in the first place,’” she said.
