Miami Living Magazine

Olivia Culpo

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LK: "People love a box [laughs]! And they want to put you right in it, so they can easily define, for their own comfort, what you are. I've been fighting against that from day one in my life, and in my musical life. Like with radio stations, this one only plays this, and that one only plays that. This fits here, and that fits there, and you don't fit here. It's like, 'Shit! That's not what art is about!' But, unfortunately, that's not what the business is, which is very frustrating. Going back to that time in school, I knew I was black, but I knew that wasn't all I was. I knew I was also Russian Jewish and I knew that my great grandmother was full-blooded Cherokee Indian. My mother always taught me, 'Yes, you're black, but you're just as much this and you're just as much that, and you don't discount that.' If you're mixed, like me and like your son, you don't discount one of your parents. You're just as much one as the other. But, what my mother did say to me when I was a child that I think was very smart, and I didn't realize it until I got older, was, 'Even though you're mixed, society only wants to see you as black.' I didn't understand that at age seven." Did you feel diminished by it, at that time, at age seven? LK: "I remember her saying it, but I don't remember exactly how I felt when she said it. From what I recall, I remember thinking, 'What does that mean?' Of course, as I grew and went through life, I understood what that meant. People aren't going to see all the complexities and the differences. People are going to see what they see, and that is the color of your skin. Not all people, but a lot of people. That was a very good lesson once it kicked in. I was like, 'Okay, people don't see everything for what it is. People see what they want to see. They judge it how they want to judge it, based upon their pre- conceived ideas of what that is." It's a tough conversation to have with a child. LK: "But kids now, from what I see, are not tripping on the race thing like generations before, are they?" There is a difference from generations ago, and my son has several multiracial friends. Recently, he said, "Mom, what does black mean? My skin is brown." Part of my response in explaining it was that "black" is a political term and a societal designation, as is "white." Of course, that will also make more sense as he gets older. LK: "You have to explain to kids peoples' fucked up attitudes about race. That's really what you're doing. You have to break down the judgment and shortsightedness, and peoples' hang-ups, and the history of people screwing over other people because they were different." Speaking of kids, how would your daughter Zoe describe you, both as a man and as an artist? LK: "Oh wow! We're very, very close. I think she would say that I have respect and integrity, and love in my heart. I think as a musician, she respects what I do. She's grown up around it. She grew up seeing it her whole life. This is hard because if I say, 'She thinks I'm amazing,' then it sounds like I'm complimenting myself. She respects the craft, what it takes, and what I put into it, which is everything." On September 7th, the day Raise Vibration is released, what are those days like for you, when a new album drops? LK: "When I'm finished with an album, I'm at that place where I let go and I'm excited that I'm finished. It's always exciting getting a new project out. I hope the people who enjoy my music will get something beautiful from it and will relate to it. As far as the rest, in terms of how well it does, sales and all of that, that's all great, but the main thing for me is that I expressed myself authentically to who I am, who I was at that moment in time, and that it represents me well. That, to me, is every thing. That's a success." ML 3X Platinum Lenny Kravitz GREATEST HITS album is now available on vinyl as a 2 LP set via Virgin/Ume at uDiscoverMusic. His 11th studio album Raise Vibration is set for release September 7th via BMG. Pre-order at LennyKravitz.com. The album's debut track, "It's Enough", is available to stream at iTunes. Allison Kugel is a syndicated entertainment and pop culture journalist, and author of the book, Journaling Fame: A memoir of a life unhinged and on the record. Follow her on Instagram @theallisonkugel and visit AllisonKugel.com. Photo credit: Mathieu Bitton

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