Kelela: 'Black People Don’t Have the Space To Suck'

In a new interview with Fader,Kelela opens up about the higher standards Black artists are held to in order to succeed within the music industry. Her cover story comes ahead of the release of her debut full-length album, Take Me Apart, out this Friday, October 6.

"White people don't understand that the reason [black people] are so good is... because we don't have the space to suck," she explained. "The urgency in which you have to nail the thing is so high..."

Related | Kelela Debuts Take Me Apart Album Art & Lead Single

Her new LP is "fully grounded in R&B's brave emotional honesty," according to the Fader, and is released through Jam City records. This week, the songstress shared a taste of what's to come with the single "Waitin.'" Listen, below.

Kelela is represented by Solange's Saint Heron Management, where she's found a safe space to create in a consistently white male-dominated industry.

"There's a way that white men were still able to hold all the power through the industry's transformations," she told Fader. "They still sit in those chairs. So when it comes to creating the 'thing' and promoting yourself in a mainstream way, you need to garner their support."