Little Simz ‘shows you can be your authentic self in the music industry’

The chief executive of Black Lives In Music (BLiM) has said Little Simz highlights how it is possible to “be your authentic self” as a black woman in the music industry.

The British rapper and singer, real name Simbiatu Ajikawo, won the prestigious Mercury Prize last week for her fourth album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert.

She was also named Best New Artist at the Brit Awards this year and was singled out by Brit Award queen Adele, who sent her “massive congratulations”.

Charisse Beaumont, chief executive of BLiM, told the PA news agency: “It is one in, one out. If they’re going to invest in a woman or a black artist, it has to fall into a mould or a genre that they feel is going to be successful.

“So black people feel they’re always boxed into the genre of R&B and rap, and obviously you’ve got the whole model, if you’re a woman you look a certain way, if you’re a man you look a certain way, and that’s not really what black people want or are about.

“38% of women feel they are boxed into a genre that is not authentic to them.

“What I want to hammer home is the director of marketing who handles Little Simz is a black woman, so she knows exactly what to do with an artist like Little Simz, meaning it can be done.

“You can be your authentic self in the music industry if you have the right people who are making the right decisions at a senior level, and Little Simz is an example of that.”

On Tuesday, a Misogyny in Music inquiry, being held as part of the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee’s work in preventing violence against women and girls, had its first evidence session.

A panel of experts, including Ms Beaumont, suggested less than 5% of producers in the music industry are women and the gender imbalance is translating into a misogynistic culture.

Ms Beaumont told PA: “On a simple level, if senior leaders look with a male gaze… if they look at the music industry with a lens which is anti-discriminatory and with a lens to eradicate bullying and harassment, just look at it differently, your decisions will be different.

“So for example, black women in music, discriminating against them, bullying and harassment. Well, maybe we won’t invest in a half-naked woman, maybe we’ll go a different way, someone like Simz.”

Last year, a Black Lives In Music survey found the UK music industry was blighted by systemic racism, with black women particularly affected.

It suggested the mental health of black women and the disabled was significantly affected by racism in the industry.

Ms Beaumont told PA: “There are barriers that women face in the music industry, but being a black woman we’re kind of penalised in terms of pay, mental health, in terms of living, most of us having to work more than one job, the strain of working in the music industry.

“It definitely does take a toll, but in terms of discrimination and the definition of intersectionality, we are discriminated against twice.

“If you add other elements, so if you’re a black woman who’s disabled – discriminated three times – or if you’re a black woman who is disabled and gay, it’s four times.

“That’s what we’re finding with some of our members of our community in the music industry, that they’re not able to progress and be their authentic self in the music industry.”

The findings came after A-list music stars including Alexandra Burke, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Beverley Knight told of their experiences with racism.