Ravyn Lenae is not afraid to address the questions surrounding her identity and social media trying to level her “Blackness.” In fact, she embraces it and encourages other creatives to do the same.
“I would wanna tell them that when there are a lot of questions or confusion around who you are, that’s usually a good thing. And that means that you’re disrupting something,” Lenae told People magazine, sharing her advice to other artists. “That’s something I have to remind myself because sometimes it can get a little discouraging,”.
This comes days after the “Love Me Not” singer took to social media to address social media users trying to compare her aesthetic to that of a Black girl who is the “only Black girl in the white friend group.”
“Why do y’all do this to me?” she said in an Instagram post at the time. “There’s been a few moments like this where I feel like my Blackness, my identity, has been questioned or picked apart, and I really want to understand where it’s coming from.”
Noting how Black communities are not monolithic and can embody various looks, she shared, “This shows me that you have a very limited view on what Black girls or Black women can be, and that’s really unfortunate, because I think we can be whatever we want to be. And this type of projection is only perpetuating a really sad and small mindset. So don’t do this to me. Don’t project on other Black girls.”
The singer, who shared that she draws inspiration from the likes of Black women like Chaka Khan, Minnie Riperton, and Diana Ross, reminded artists of one of the major caveats that comes with being a “disruptor.”
“Just remember that sometimes the path you walk is a little lonely, or it’s a little uneasy, but there’s something on the other side of it,” she concluded.
