Mathew Knowles Says Skin Tone Helped Beyoncé But Hurt Kelly Rowland

Photo by Santiago Felipe/Getty Images

Mathew Knowles, the father and previous manager of his famous daughters Beyoncé and Solange, dropped a big bomb this week. During an interview on the SiriusXM Urban View show, he claimed skin color had a major impact on the careers of both Mrs. Carter and Kelly Rowland.

https://soundcloud.com/siriusxm/mathew-knowles-on-colorism-in-the-music-industry-and-beyonce-knowles

Colorism has been an issue within both the music and black communities for centuries and when asked about his daughter’s career Mr. Knowles said that if she had darker skin it would have “affected her success.” He then used Rowland’s career as an example saying she did better “outside of America.”

(Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)

The 67-year-old also claimed that music executives would make Whitney Houston’s photos lighter to fit the world’s perception of beauty and other positive characteristics such as intelligence.

Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Nicki Minaj, and Rihanna were also mentioned during the conversation as having benefited from their lighter complexions.

TELL US: Fair or Foul? Do you think there is still color bias within the music industry?

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