Back in the 90’s, our melanin was poppin’ severely on the charts. There was no shortage of Black girls of all hues killin’ it on the music scene. We had Brandy, Monica, SWV, Lauryn Hill, TLC, Aaliyah, Destiny’s Child, Mya, Changing Faces, 702, Toni Braxton, MoKenStef … we could do this all day. In the past few years, though, there’s been a definite drop in numbers and when it comes to artists reppin’ the lighter spectrum of the melanin scale, their Blackness gets questioned. So, what happened?

In a recent interview with xoNECOLE, Tinashe speaks out about what she thinks the deal is:

“I think it comes from a place of there is only room for one. Or there is only room for two. Again, the way I see it, whether she is lightskin, darkskin, or any type of shade in-between, that should be a win for the Black community, period … That has been what has been my struggle because people do feel like there is only room for one. There is a Beyoncé, there is a Rihanna, there is a Zendaya, there is a Jourdan Dunn. There is a Black girl in all of these positions and we don’t need another one.

It’s just kind of ridiculous because there are like a hundred blonde, white actresses and leading ladies … But for some reason … there can’t be five Black girls winning. It’s weird.”

Read the entire interview here and then tell us what you think in the comments below! Do you agree? Why are Black girls so outnumbered on the R&B/hip-hop charts now?