Normani On Meshing Culture With Music: 'I'm Gonna Make Whatever I Do Black'

Normani's new cover story for Cosmopolitan magazine offers a fresh take on the former Fifth Harmony bandmate's intent as she ventures forward with her solo career.

In the interview, which was released on Tuesday (November 26), the singer, 23, revealed her passion for blending her culture with her ventures. "Those women before me, I wanna finish what they started," Normani candidly told the magazine. "I'm gonna make whatever I do black. You’ll know that I'm a black girl, even if it’s on the quote-unquote whitest record ever."

Her vision was executed well in her music video for her solo anthem, "Motivation," which was directed by Dave Meyers and Daniel Russell and saw her lift a page from the likes of Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez. "I told the director, 'I want this to be as black as possible.' I was like, 'Let’s show black culture,'" she recalled. "Why does pop music have to be so white? Why don’t we make it a little bit more me?"

Elsewhere in the interview, the singer revealed that her time in Fifth Harmony also helped her find her own path, admitting there was a moment in time when she was called out for being too elusive while in 5H. "I remember always being asked, 'Why do you wanna be in a girl group? So you can hide?'" Normani recalled. "And that’s exactly what I was trying to do."

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