by Diddy-Dirty Money member Kalenna Harper may be in a happy place now but before she acquired fame with the hit international group, she had a few bumps in the road and it wasnât because of her talents. The R&B soultress recently opened up in an interview detailing how her âdark skin toneâ prevented her from reaching her dreams.
Speaking with Scene and Heard TV, Kalenna says record execs didnât think her skin color was marketable, opting them to close the door on her singing abilities.
âI kind of started off as a solo artist, and I was doing that for a very long time. And you know, just coming up against obstacles; they was like, you know, âyou too black,â or âyouâre not marketable.â Whatever they came up with in their minds to say that I wasnât artist material, you know,â Kalenna says in the interview. Later adding, âThe way they made it seem was, you black as night girl; you crispy, burnt black, and thatâs just not marketable right now.â
With an attitude for success, Kalenna set out to make her own dreams come true, idolizing veterans that came before her.
âI just said Iâm going to be a businesswoman, and Iâm going to be like the Missy Elliotts, and the R. Kellys, and the Keith Sweats,â she stated. âIâm going to write for other artists, and theyâre not going to have no other choice but to hear me, and to buy my music, and to respect me as an artist.â
