Source: Ian West – PA Images / Getty
Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland were members of Destiny’s Child, one of the most iconic girl groups in the history of music. Since they disbanded in 2005, the two friend’s careers have taken off–both women owning their space and success in their own way.
Beyonce’s father, Mathew Knowles, who also served as the group’s manager for years, has an idea of why their professional peaks post-Destiny’s Child differed: colorism.
In a recent interview with Sirius XM’s Clay Cane, the 67-year-old talked about skin color bias in the music industry.
“In the music industry there’s still segregation,” Knowles said.
“Programmers, especially at pop radio, have this imagery of what beauty looks like. … If you look back even at Whitney Houston, if you look at those photos, how they lightened her to make her look lighter-complexioned … Because there’s a perception and a colorism: the lighter that you are, the smarter and more economically (advantaged)… There’s a perception all around the world about color — even with black folks, there’s a perception.”
Knowles believes this bias prevented Kelly from reaching the worldwide success due to her as a solo artists.
“I think she would have had — I think it would’ve affected her success. And I use Kelly Rowland as an example. She’s a great example. But you know, the great thing is, Kelly did exceptional outside of America, especially in Australia. Kelly sold over 4 million records. She just got off-script.”
Kelly has been forthcoming about her issues with being of darker hue in the past, telling CNicky.com back in 2013 that her tribe helped her see her beauty.
“You know what, I had great women in my life to help me overcome that. I remember I went through a period where I didn’t embrace my ‘chocolatiness,’” she told the site at the time.
