K. Michelle isn’t here for anyone downplaying her country music background, and she made that crystal clear during a recent interview. The Can’t Raise a Man singer had to check a reporter who suggested she was a newcomer to the genre.
It all started when the interviewer implied the general public was “just kind of” starting to catch on to K. Michelle’s presence in country music and wrongly assumed she “didn’t grow up” with any country roots. The reporter also asked what had brought her to Nashville.
K. Michelle didn’t hold back. “I did grow up in country music. I’m from Memphis, Tennessee. I got a scholarship for yodeling and that’s how I paid for college,” she explained, shutting down the claim with confidence. She added that people often assume she’s new to the country scene when, in reality, it’s just new to them.
With a pointed smirk, she reminded the reporter that their familiarity with her only began after her 2023 performance honoring Naomi Judd. “This is new to you,” she said. K. Michelle went on to share how deeply her connection to country music runs—despite being told she couldn’t sing it because she’s Black. “I didn’t fly here, I grew here,” she stated proudly.
Remaining poised, she said she’s “happy” to finally be doing the music she was raised on and added, with a bit of shade, that she’s glad “people like you are just discovering me” in this space.
When the reporter claimed she wasn’t just discovering her but hadn’t heard her on country radio, K. Michelle didn’t flinch. “You don’t hear a lot of women on country radio, period, right now,” she responded. “And you really don’t hear a Black one. You will. You’re about to.”
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