8 Things We Learned About Lizzo In Her Interview With Big Boy
Lizzo has never been the one to shy away from being her authentic self whether anyone likes it or not. But at the end of the day, she is human. The “Juice” singer has faced a lot of pushback for her body positivity social media posts but in the same vein has been celebrated for it. Like her social media posts, her music is also often related to women’s empowerment and honoring the inner bad bitch.
Recently, Lizzo appeared on Big Boy’s Neighborhood and discussed body confidence, how she handles social media trolls, her three-month vow of silence, and much more.
Here are eight things we learned about the multi-hyphenate artist.
Lizzo On Her Issues with Confidence Growing Up
"I’ve always been confident in my talent. I could always lean on my talent, my personality. Physically, [I] did not have the confidence that I have now. I had to work really hard for it because I was born with it and the world took it away from me and it was my job to get it back.
"Growing up watching television, growing up going to school, and being told through messaging and explicitly being told from people’s mouths that I was not beautiful. That I didn’t look good, my body wasn't good. My body was bad. I need to lose weight. I would be so much prettier if I was thin. That! And seeing movies not seeing myself, seeing magazines, not seeing myself. That kinda took my confidence away. Watching movies where fat people were made fun of where they’re the butt of the joke. They’re always out of breath. Never the love interest, never desirable. That is what took my confidence away from me because I believed it."
On Falling Victim to Society’s Views on Beauty
"I tried to change myself. I dieted most of my entire life, wore girdles and shapewear to school when I was in middle school. Uncomfortable girdles that was breaking [out my] skin [and] making me sweat profusely in class. I was embarrassed. I was ashamed of myself. I worked out in the gym all the time. I didn’t eat. I was obsessed with being thin ‘cause I thought that would make me pretty."
Lizzo On People Who Gave Her Confidence
"I never had a Lizzo, but there were people before me that gave me hope like Queen Latifah, Missy Elliott and it’s wild that now I’m in spaces where I can share spaces with Missy Elliott, Queen Latifah. I’ve done a song with Missy and a music video 'Tempo' and she gives me great advice. I saw Queen Latifah at the Songwriters Hall of Fame and she was like man, you are doing everything that you’re supposed to be doing. I wished I had seen this when I was coming up and I was like but you’re you. That’s what I saw. So to hear it from my inspiration from my influence is wild because it’s confirmation that I’m doing the right thing."
Lizzo On How She Handles Social Media
"I’m a part of a new generation of artists. I’m in a new class. It’s like me, Lil Nas X, and Doja Cat. We’re coming up in this age where this is normal. It’s almost like well, it’s a part of the game where you gotta get abused verbally on the internet by millions of strangers every day. You kind of make that a part of your identity as an artist and it’s actually sh–ty. We shouldn’t be putting up with this.
"I remember the first time I really talked to Adele on the phone was when I was getting a lot of backlash for just being a fat person and she called me and was like, ‘How the hell are you doing this?’ She was like it wasn’t like this when she was first coming out which goes to show how quickly the industry has changed. I think it’s fun to piss people off. I like pissing them off because it’s like what are you gonna do about it bitch and if you try to do something I’d beat yo' mothaf--kin' ass."
Lizzo On Being Genre-less
"I’m an artist and my art is this thing that evolves and it’s growing so whatever I feel like doing in that moment, I’ma do it. So right now, I’m a singer and I’m singing. My voice is the genre because I think also this new age of artists we have kind of taken the boundary line off of genres officially which is a beautiful thing because genre’s inherently racist. They used genre to keep white kids away from black music period, back in the day. Race music, whatever they wanted to call it, it was segregation, and the fact that we’ve played into it for so long just shows how much it works and we have turned that down and said, 'F–k that, nah.'
"It started with people saying, ‘I listen to everything.’ Remember when people used to be like no, I listen to rap or I listen to r&b or I listen to rock. People didn’t listen to other stuff and now it’s like nah, we listen to everything and I make everything."
Lizzo On Being a Fan of Her Own Music
"I love my stuff. I listen to my music all the time. It’s really the only music I listen to because I’m listening to my demos. Sometimes I be with my friends and they be like can you put on that song, I’m not gonna say the name of the song, but the unreleased ones, and I be like sure."
Lizzo On Her Gift of Discernment
"God doesn’t let people around me who not supposed to be around and this is a bigger conversation than who I’m touring with in general but my circle is tighter than my p–sy and it’s just as good."
Lizzo On Her Three-month Vow of Silence
"I didn’t talk to nobody and I lived in the house with my mom and my brother and we were in Denver, Colorado and I was just in a bad place in my life. A lot of horrible things happened back to back to back and I kind of shut down—I really just stopped talking. I just had nothing to say to nobody. I was angry with the world and I changed my life. I was gonna be this concert flutist.
I was gonna move to Paris, study at the Paris Conservatory, [and] try to be in a symphony. That was the dream and when that dream ended, I was like okay what are you gonna do now? I think in that three months I was like okay, you’re gonna be a singer, you’re gonna be a rapper, you’re gonna do music. And I was like this is delusional but in those three months, I completely convinced myself. It sounds nice like I took a monk’s vow but it hurt my mom’s feelings a lot. It hurt my brother’s feelings and it hurt me too to do that. I was out of my body. I was like what are you doing? Just talk to them and it was like no you have nothing to say.
Lizzo On Why She Didn't Speak For Months, SNL, Coachella, Dr. Dre, and Playing Flute | Interview
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ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Sheila Rashid's Androgynous Approach To Unisex Clothing Is A Lesson In Embracing Individuality
The ItGirl 100 List is a celebration of 100 Black women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table.
For Sheila Rashid, it all started with some free-hand drawings and a few strokes of paint.
The Chicago-based clothing designer and creative director of Sheila Rashid Brand recalls using her spare time in high school to hand paint designs on t-shirts and distressed hoodies, distributing them to classmates as walking billboards for her art.
Rashid sought to pursue fashion design at Columbia College in Chicago but eventually took the self-taught route to build upon her knack for crafting one-of-a-kind, androgynous pieces.
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Thanks to the mentorship of local designers taking her under their wings, Rashid was able to gain valuable experience in putting together collections and creating patterns; equipping her with them with the necessary skills to pursue her own collections.
After two years of living in New York, Rashid returned home to the Chi and uncovered the unique flair she could offer the city. “I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world,” she tells xoNecole. “That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
For the Midwest native, inspiration comes from her time around creative peers and the city’s notorious winters — known to be a main character in many Chicagoans stories. “It's a different perspective and mindset when I'm making stuff because of the weather here,” she explains. “When we get summer, it’s ‘Summertime Chi’ — it's amazing. It's beautiful. Still, I find myself always making clothes that cater to the winter.”
"I moved to New York after that because I wanted to be in the fashion capital world. That's when I really got a leg up. I found myself when I moved back to Chicago after moving to New York.”
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Many designers have a signature aesthetic or theme in their creations. In Rashid’s design story, dancing between the lines of femininity and masculinity is how she’s been able to distinguish herself within the industry. Her androgynous clothing has garnered the eye of celebrities like Zendaya, Chance the Rapper, WNBA star Sydney Colson, and more — showing her range and approach to designs with inclusivity in mind.
“I think I do reflect my own style,” she says. “When I do make pieces, I'm very tomboyish, androgynous. My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes.” From denim to overalls, and color-drenched outerwear, Rashid has mastered the structure of statement pieces that tell a story.
“Each collection, I never know what's going to be the thing I'm going to focus on. I try to reflect my own style and have fun with the storytelling,” she shares. “I look at it more like it's my art in this small way of expressing myself, so it's not that calculated.”
"My work is unisex because I feel like everybody can wear it. I cater to everybody and that's how I try to approach my clothes."
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Still, if you were able to add up all the moments within Rashid’s 20-year career in design, one theme that has multiplied her into becoming an “ItGirl” is her confidence to take up space within the fashion industry as a queer, Black woman. “Being an ItGirl is about being yourself, loving what you do, finding your niche, and mastering that,” she says.
No matter where you are on your ItGirl journey, Rashid says to always remain persistent and never hesitate to share your art with the world. “Don’t give up. Even if it's something small, finish it and don't be afraid to put it out,” she says, “It's about tackling your own fear of feeling like you have to please everybody, but just please yourself, and that's good enough.”
To learn more about the ItGirl 100 List, view the full list here.
Featured image Courtesy