Entertainment
MNEK felt he was ‘martyr’ for Black queer community after finding fame
MNEK felt the need to be a ‘person of great importance to the Black queer community’ when he rose to fame as a singer.
The musician, who recently featured on Joel Corry hit Head & Heart, has previously spoken out about the judgement he experienced from within the music industry due to his sexual orientation.
But he feels at his best when he’s simply himself rather than having to put that part of himself on show.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race UK singing coach made the remarks during a chat with rapper Dotty for Beats by Dr Dre’s INFORMAL series.
He said: ‘I felt the need to be this martyr, or this person of great importance to the Black queer community, but I think it’s more like, I don’t know, I feel like my actions do that more.
‘I think when I’m being myself, and I’m not worried about the way it looks, I think a lot of people find a lot of comfort in that.’
The star, who has writing and production credits on songs by Beyonce, Madonna, Dua Lipa, Craig David and Christina Aguilera among others, also spoke of his surprise that homosexuality is so focused on white people.
He said: ‘A lot of people think that homosexuality is a very caucasian mindset, which is crazy, which is actual lunacy.
‘It goes and spreads across everybody. The conversations I’ve had with certain people who look like me but maybe don’t live like me about homosexuality have lacked nuance, and have lacked real understanding.’
MNEK was joined by model and activist Monroe Bergdorf as they discussed trending topics important to black British communities.
The programme, of which this is the fourth episode, aims to represent authentic voices of the UK and beyond in culture.
The thought-provoking conversations not only reflect wider discussions and issues taking place in the world today, but are also personal to the individuals and their experiences.
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