Lenny Kravitz Clarifies Comments About Black Awards Shows
Lenny Kravitz immediately set the record after sharing his personal experience as a black artist in the music industry.
“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,” Kravitz, 59, said. We weekly in a statement on Monday, December 4. “The comment I made was not about ‘black media’ or the ‘black community’. I was specifically referring to Black award shows in particular.
Earlier this month, Kravitz discussed the challenges he faced as he rose to fame.
“There was an article at the time that said, ‘If Lenny Kravitz were white, he’d be the next savior of rock ‘n’ roll,’” he recalled in a cover story for Esquirewhich was published on Friday, December 1. “I had a lot of negativity thrown at me by all these older white men who didn’t want to give me that position.”
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According to the outlet, Kravitz felt he received a lackluster reception from black entertainment publications.
“To this day, I haven’t been invited to a BET thing or a Source Awards thing,” he claimed. “And it’s like here’s a black artist who has reintroduced a lot of black art forms, who has broken down those barriers – just like the barriers that came before me were broken down. That’s positive. And they have no say in the matter? I have been that dream and example of what a black artist can do. I’m not here for the accolades. I’m here for the experience.”
However, Kravitz clarified in his statement that he only wanted to call out Black award shows because he had not made more of an effort to include him.
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“My comment was intended to express my concern about ensuring Black artists are recognized for their work in what is now referred to as ‘non-traditional’ Black music, which is not the case,” he continued in Monday’s statement. “Rock ‘n’ roll is the music we played an important role in and is part of our history. We must preserve our heritage and celebrate it together.”
The singer concluded, “BET and countless others have paved the way for this kind of recognition. I hope that by sharing my concerns this issue will be brought into the spotlight. Love and peace.”
Kravitz is known for his unique sound, which combines rock, funk, reggae, hard rock, soul and R&B. He won the Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance four years in a row from 1999 to 2002, breaking the record for most wins in that category and setting the record for most consecutive wins in one category by a male artist.
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The record producer has also been nominated for – and won – awards including American Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Radio Music Awards and Brit Awards. Throughout his career, Kravitz has performed with iconic musicians including Mick Jagger, AerosmithLed Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Jay Z.
In addition to making his mark in the music world, Kravitz has also ventured into acting with roles in TV shows such as Entourage, better things And Star. On the big screen, Kravitz won over audiences with his portrayal of Cinna The hunger Games movie franchise. He has also appeared in films including Precious, the butler And Shotgun wedding.
During his interview with Esquire, Kravitz reflected on his career and explained why he had no plans to take a break from music, saying, “But what is that? You know what I mean? What drives me is creativity.”