Source: Astrid Stawiarz / Getty
Lionel Richie said in a recent interview that some of his critics perceived him as “not Black enough” in the early days of his now longstanding career.
After successfully being the frontman of The Commodores and individually making a name for himself as one of the industry’s most talented songwriters in the early 70s, Richie recently told PEOPLE, “It was really a great period in my life, but it was confusing.”
According to the multi-talented artist and American Idol host, common criticisms he heard back then were, “‘Hey man, the music’s not Black enough. Lionel’s not Black enough. What’s a Black guy doing writing a waltz?'”
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“No one had ever questioned my Blackness before. Like, do you know who you’re talking to?” said Richie of his feelings then towards his critics’ unfair judgments.
As a Black child raised around the campus of Tuskegee University, an HBCU he later attended, Richie emphasized that Blackness and Black influences have always been a part of him and his music.
“William L. Dawson, who wrote the Negro Folk Symphony, would stop by the house. Alfred’ Chief’ Anderson was one of the dads in the community. He’s the one who took Eleanor Roosevelt up in a plane to prove that Black folks could fly. I grew up around amazing people,” Richie recalled. “They wanted us to be better. There was that saying, ‘Failure is not an option.'”
“I said, ‘I’m not trying to be the greatest Black writer of all time. I’m trying to be the greatest writer of all time that happens to be Black,'” Richie said about ultimately making it his goal to not be pigeon-holed. “At the time it wasn’t hip, but it was forever. I had to keep moving forward in my quest to be that.”
“[And] it worked,” the industry veteran reflected. “I passed my goal a long time ago when someone said to me, ‘You have 40 years of records that will survive you.'”
In other recent news, the musical legend was just named one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2022 nominees, alongside Eminem, Dolly Parton, A Tribe Called Quest, Dionne Warwick, Fela Kuti and more.
Peep the Instagram post Richie made about his nomination and voting details for the potential inductees down below.
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