“The comment I made was not about the ‘black media’ or the ‘black community.’ I was specifically referring to black awards,” the rocker wrote on Instagram
After Lenny Kravitz shared in a recent Esquire interview where he feels like black media organizations haven’t celebrated his career, he shares his thoughts.
The rock star, 59, took to his Instagram Story on Monday to clarify what he meant when he said he felt his music and success were “not being celebrated by the people who run” black media outlets, pointing out that he had never been invited to BET Awards or Source Awards. In his statement, the Grammy winner explained that he was “especially thinking about the awarding of black awards” and expressed the hope that rock music will continue to be recognized in those areas.
“It’s important to me to correct recent media reports based on an interview I did,” Kravitz began the statement for his Story. “My black musical heritage means a lot to me, and I owe my success to my supporters who have been on this journey with me throughout my career.”
Lenny Kravitz’s Instagram story.
Lenny Kravitz/Instagram
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The singer/guitarist continued: “The comment I made was not about ‘black media’ or the ‘black community.’ I was thinking specifically about black awards shows.”
“My comment was meant to express concern about ensuring that black artists are recognized for their work in what is now being called ‘non-traditional’ black music, which it is not,” the hitmaker wrote. “Rock and roll is music that we participated in creating and is part of our history. We must preserve our heritage and celebrate it together.”
“BET and countless others have paved the way for this kind of recognition. I hope that by sharing my concern, this issue will be shed light,” he concluded his statement. “Love and peace.”
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Lenny Kravitz performs in Hollywood in March 2023.
Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic
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Last week, the “It’s Not Over Until It’s Over” artist drew a lot of attention on social media and in the news for his comments in Esquire about things. In the interview, he pointed out that he was not on the cover Vibration magazine until nearly a decade into his career and said, “Until today, I’ve never been invited to a BET or Source Awards event.”
Roker shared, “And it’s like, here’s a black artist who reintroduced a lot of black art forms, who broke down barriers — just like the ones that came before me broke down. That is positive. And they have nothing to say about it?”
“I was that dream and an example of what a black artist can do,” he added.
While the singer-songwriter expressed his frustrations, he also added that he’s “not here for the accolades,” but rather “for the experience.”
In addition to talking about black award ceremonies in Esquire In the article, the “American Woman” singer also talked about how challenging it was to feel like he was undervalued by white critics early in his career in the ’90s. “There was an article at the time that said, ‘If Lenny Kravitz was white, he would be the next savior of rock ‘n’ roll,'” he told the outlet. “I got a lot of negativity thrown at me from all these older white guys who wouldn’t let me have that position.”
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Next year, the singer/actor will release his first full-length album in over five years. His 12th studio album and the follow-up to his 2018 album Increase the vibration, Blue electric lightarrives March 15 (via Roxie and BMG).
In October, he dropped the lead single for the project, “TK421”. The song dropped alongside a NSFW music video in which he stripped down while dancing to the catchy rock tune.
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Source: HIS Education