Nile Rodgers supports the idea of dropping the term ‘urban’ from the music industry.
After rapper Tinchy Stryder floated the topic last month, the Chic star feels it would be ‘really productive’ and push back against the ‘boundaries’ set by society.
Nile explained that as a black musician he has always wanted his music to heard by a wide range of people and not be boxed in to one genre.
He told Metro.co.uk: ‘When I grew up there was always a mountain to climb, no matter how successful your record was in your own community, what you really wanted it to do is to cross over into the other community.
‘I remember when George Michael made a big deal out of being number one on the R’n’B chart and that’s because society puts up these boundaries and these gates that we have to get through.
‘When we’re artists we just want the world to hear our music. When someone has a big record, that’s the reason why they call it pop because it’s popular. You go to a concert, and I don’t care who the artist is. If it’s a really really big record, you’re gonna see a fairly disparate crowd.
‘I mean sure, when Madonna was big the majority of her audience were girls and they were Madonna-type wannabes. But because you have such a big record, you will still have a diverse audience. It just goes along with the territory.’
Nile has become a mentor as part of the new scheme launched by Apple Music and The Ivors Academy, where a UK artist will receive a year-long mentorship from an established figure.
The star is mentoring soul singer-songwriter Amahla and praised her ability to ‘connect to the emotional message of a song’.
‘I noticed it right away, I could see that in her,’ he said.
‘As a matter of fact I like that type of talent so much, I was working on a song that I felt could be a real hit and I gave it to her and I said, “See what you can do with thing. See if you can make it even better.” And she rose to the challenge.’
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