Rachel Chinouriri has spoken out about facing racism in music, saying that “simply being black will make it twice as hard to be a indie pop star.”
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The musician, who last year released her debut album ‘What A Devastating Turn of Events’, replied to a post on X, originally written in Portuguese, which had a video of her performing and the words: “I’m afraid she won’t be able to make it like Gracie Abrams, Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell, because she’s black… May God protect my girl.”
In response, Chinouriri said: “Well… pressed translate and feel pretty sad tbh but this just reminds me…you can open for the biggest popstar in the world and the internet will still remind you daily that simply being black will make it twice as hard to be a indie pop star.”
The post later read: “I have spoken about this openly since the beginning of my career, but I’ll remind you all that: I won’t let being a black woman stop me from trying and no matter how my career pans out, at least I know I tried my best.
“Lots of black girls aspiring to be in indie/pop music have this fear… I know it all too well… and I hope my fight to change this narrative behind the scenes and publicly contributes to inspire the future generations of young black girls to keep going and remember you are allowed to just be whoever you want to be and not what the world wants to shape you into.”
Read the full post below.
Well… pressed translate and feel pretty sad tbh but this just reminds me…
You can open for the biggest popstar in the world and the internet will still remind you daily that simply being black will make it twice as hard to be a indie pop star 💔
I deserve to feel like I have… https://t.co/bQ3047qK00
— Rachel Chinouriri (@rachelchinourir) March 23, 2025
In January 2024, Chinouriri was one of NME‘s January cover stars, where she spoke to Alex Rigotti about attending the BRIT School, her debut album ‘What A Devastating Turn of Events’, her Zimbabwean heritage, and taking inspiration from the likes of Alexa Chung, Oasis, and The Libertines.
Speaking about actress Sophie Turner sharing her track ‘All I Ever Asked’ on Instagram stories, Chinouriri said: “That song was made for when you put your all into everything, and you feel like someone’s failed you. Clearly she’s going through something quite traumatising, which is tough. The fact she’s managed to find a way to embrace that toughness through a song – which is coincidentally my song – is quite mad.”
Earlier this month, Chinouriri shared her new single ‘Can We Talk About Isaac?’ and announced an EP. ‘Little House’ is due to drop on April 4 via 10K Projects / Parlophone Records / Atlas Artists.
To celebrate the first anniversary of her debut album ‘What A Devastating Turn Of Events‘, Chinouriri will also release an exclusive white LP vinyl version of the album on May 2, available to pre-order now here.
In a four-star review of her debut album, NME said: ‘What A Devastating Turn Of Events’ – despite its slightly macabre title – is consistently charming, while offering enough range in sound and scope to hint at Chinouriri’s future ambitions. She has worked hard to make it sound this easy.”
She also recently announced an 18-date tour to take place in North America from May 10. You can see the full dates here and and purchase any remaining tickets here.
