There Was Actual Rage In Me As A Black Man – Matthew Knowles

Pop star Beyonce would not be as popular if she had darker skin, her father has implied.

Matthew Knowles, Beyonce’s father and former manager, recently highlighted the issue of colourism – prejudice within a race against someone because of their skin tone – in an interview with Ebony magazine.

“When it comes to black females, who are the people who get their music played on pop radio?” he said. “Mariah Carey, Rihanna, the female rapper Nicki Minaj, my kids (Beyonce and Solange), and what do they all have in common?”

“When I was growing up, my mother used to say, ‘Don’t ever bring no nappy-head black girl to my house,”‘ he told Ebony. “In the Deep South in the 50s, 60s and 70s, the shade of your blackness was considered important. So I, unfortunately, grew up hearing that message.”

“I had been conditioned from childhood,” he said. “With eroticised rage, there was actual rage in me as a black man, and I saw the white female as a way, subconsciously, of getting even or getting back. There are a lot of black men of my era that are not aware of this thing.”

Knowles and Knowles-Lawson were married for 31 years, divorcing in 2011. They issued a statement at the time that said, “The decision to end our marriage is an amicable one. We remain friends, parents, and business partners. If anyone is expecting an ugly messy fight, they will be sadly disappointed.”