Mathew Knowles, Beyoncé and Solange's father, waded into the colorism debate by saying that being lighter skinned played a part in his elder daughter's phenomenal success. Do you agree?


The 66-year old record label producer told Ebony in an interview that he believed things would have been different for his daughters if they had darker complexions.


Knowles told the magazine: "When it comes to Black females, who are the people who get their music played on pop radio? Mariah Carey, Rihanna, the female rapper Nicki Minaj, my kids [Beyonce and Solange], and what do they all have in common?"


When the reporter replied "they are light skinned", the famous father replied that it was no accident.

This isn't the first time the Knowles family has been linked to the colorism controversy. Beyoncé and Jay-Z were accused of colorism over the casting of the music video for 'Family Feud'.


The Carter couple were criticised for not including dark-skinned women in the video, and blasted for perpetuating the problem of lighter skinned people being given privilege and greater opportunities.


Beyoncé has also been criticised over her single 'Formation'. Though it was lauded by many as an unapologetic celebration of blackness and African American heritage and culture, some took issue with one line in particular.

The lyric "my daddy Alabama, momma Louisana, you mix that negro with that creole make a Texas bama" had some up in arms. The songstress drew ire for distancing herself from blackness by emphasising her 'creole' side, and for emphasising that she was 'yellow boned'. Many of the video's visuals were considered especially troubling.


Some people questioned the timing of Mathew Knowles' statement, saying that he profited from Beyoncé's success and didn't raise colorism as an issue while Destiny's Child allegedly side-lined its other members.

Knowles apparently initially pursued Tina Knowles because he thought she was white.

I agree with you but that's my point exactly! When Kelly was pushed to the side, where was this "colorism" talk & him standing up for them? Nowhere, because he was profiting off of Beyoncé!

— Kev_Belize (@Kev_Belize) February 6, 2018

Knowles will soon have a book out called 'Racism: From The Eyes of a Child' and many claim this is behind his recent conversion to acknowledging the realities of colorism.


Too little too late? Or is it still valuable that he's adding his voice to conversation? Is he just doing this to promote his new book?

Let us know what you think on Twitter and in the comments below. Let's get this debate going!

Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube for more news, lifestyle, and fashion tips from Grass-fields.