Outspoken R&B singer K. Michelle is adamant that if Adele were Black, she wouldn’t be as successful as she is, nor would Sam Smith. Both artists have crafted a signature soul sound that K. believes makes them more appealing and marketable because they aren’t black.
During a recent Q&A session with fans, the part-time reality star didn’t hold back when asked about the state of rhythm and blues.
“They allow White people to sing our music … blue eyed soul is some bullsh*t. Yeah, I said it,” she fired off in response.
She used Adele’s “Hello” as an example to support her claim that if a Black artist put out something similar, it would flop. “‘Hello’, that’s some bullsh*t, sorry. It’s a great song, great artist, but if a Black girl was to sing that very song, it would not get played on the radio.”
K. Michelle hosted a screening for fans in Atlanta last week for the second season premiere of her reality television series “My Life,” which premiered Jan. 25 night on VH1. This new season focuses on K.’s complicated dating life “while she travels from London, Los Angeles and Atlanta to record her third album,” the “follow-up to her Anybody Wanna Buy a Heart which topped Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop albums charts. Rebellious Soul” debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200 albums,” per AJC.com. Combined, the albums have sold 500,000 copies worldwide.
During the Q&A, K. suggested that the Black community is partly responsible for its artists not finding commercial success equal to white artists who sing R&B music.