Mathew Knowles and Music Industry Skin Color Injustices

Singing powerhouse Beyoncé Knowles is known by many for her lighter complexion.

Mathew Knowles is father to globally famed singer and superstar, Beyoncé. But he is also a music industry veteran in his own right, having acted as manager to his daughter for many years. He believes that Beyoncé’s bandmate from Destiny’s Child, Kelly Rowland, has long been the recipient of unjust actions due to Rowland’s darker skin tone.

Knowles indicates that a naturally lighter skin color may have helped Beyoncé advance as a vocalist while at the same time Rowland’s darker skin tone may have harmed her own career path. Although Rowland has done well for herself in music, her achievements are much smaller in comparison to the world-wide reach of Beyoncé’s global name.

Knowles spoke out about his opinions on SiriusXM Urban View’s “The Clay Cane Show.” He revealed that he was the instructor for a college course that conducted investigations into music industry ‘colorism.’ The findings were alarming. Members of the course discovered that black women who had lighter complexions accomplished a lot more than their deeper-toned counterparts did.

Knowles indicates that the music world has a lot of division at the moment. He states that pop radio professionals are equipped with their own thoughts that pertain to human beings and aesthetics. He urges people to concentrate on older images of late vocalist Whitney Houston. Knowles expresses that graphic designers in the past artificially tweaked her photographs as a means of giving the impression of lighter skin. Why change the image of an icon when it is impossible to improve on the perfection of her voice? Aesthetics and audience perception.

Mathew Knowles and Skin Color Woes in the Music Industry

The music industry aficionado has a lot of thoughts that relate to colorism in the modern age. He says people may believe that individuals who are paler are part of higher class ranks in society. They may even believe that individuals who are part of this classification are more intelligent. Knowles suggests that black people are immune to these concepts.

On “The Clay Cane Show,” host Cane wondered whether Knowles thought that skin color concepts influenced Beyoncé’s trajectory as a musical artist. Knowles answered by saying that he thinks these concepts indeed had major sway. He cited Rowland and stated that she has achieved success outside of the United States. She has soared overseas and has a particularly big fan base in Australia. Her record sales have exceeded 4 million there.

Kelly Rowland’s Perspective

Rowland herself has talked about the difficult subject before. She answered interview questions back in 2013 when Cnikky.com took the time to interview the singer.

She admitted that she felt highly self-conscious about the way she looked to other people around her. For a while, it didn’t matter to her that so many audience members thought highly of her physical appearance. She expressed that an abundance of women in her surroundings assisted her greatly with the process of recovery. They empowered her with getting out of a significant rut that may have been holding her back and stopping her from doing even more.

She recalls a phase that was difficult. At that time, she didn’t have pride in her darker complexion. A conversation with Tina Knowles, mother to Beyoncé, may have reversed everything for Rowland and drastically altered her viewpoint about her skin color.

Beyoncé’s mom aided Rowland with the process of thinking highly of herself and being content with her skin tone. While the two were out together one day, Rowland was attempting to conceal her complexion from the sun’s rays, to prevent her already dark skin from getting any darker. Tina Knowles wondered aloud whether Rowland was totally insane. She praised Rowland for her natural ebony skin and mentioned just how stunning she was. Tina indicated that dark complexions are atypical gems, to be treasured.

Rowland had a major epiphany at that moment. She totally agreed with Tina, and her existence was never quite the same after that. Rowland is now someone who wants all people everywhere to be content within their skin. She wants them to be OK with the things about them that may not seem quite “ideal” to all.

We can all take cues from Knowles and Rowland. Their candor with regard to pop culture and skin tone is revitalizing. Take a look at similar pieces on our site to follow more celebrity news.

Michelle Green

Senior Editor & Skincare Expert

Michelle Green is a well-established aesthetician with over 20 years experience in skincare. She has researched over 5,000 products over the past decade, striving to help her readers fine-tune their skincare routine so they can get the results they want.