PinkPantheress Calls Out Bias Against Black Women Making Electronic Music: ‘People Are Less Willing to Listen’
Coming off the release of her Fancy That mixtape in May, PinkPantheress believes that she’s been overlooked for certain career opportunities, and how that comes with being a Black woman making electronic music.
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The U.K. artist spoke with The Hollywood Reporter on Tuesday (July 29), during which the 24-year-old was candid about her feelings that “people are less willing to listen to electronic music that is made by a Black woman.”
She continued: “That’s just fact. 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 went on to explain how some of her artistic messages can get lost in translation since people don’t understand what she represents.
“I’m in a very privileged position musically,” she said. “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.”
The “Boys a Liar, Pt. 2” singer shared that she looks to challenge the status quo when it comes to how a pop star is supposed to look. “All I aim to do is stay authentic and consistent,” she added. “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.’”
PinkPantheress did, however, receive recognition from England’s University of Kent when she received an honorary doctorate degree earlier in July in recognition of her “contribution to and achievements in music in the digital age.”
The experimental artist-producer released her Fancy That mixtape in May, which peaked at No. 4 on the Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart.
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