Normani's Quotes in Women's Health December 2020
Normani Opens Up About How She Stopped Stressing That Her Work Wasn't "Black Enough"
![On establishing a more fulfilling career: "For a long time, I was stressed out about checking boxes like, 'Is this Black enough? Is this pop enough?' But music started feeling way better when I just went into the studio with the mentality of being Normani. People will always remember how you made them feel and what a record did for them. My lyrics have more depth, and they're more intentional and come from a more authentic place, because I now feel more connected to myself than before."
On being overlooked for opportunities as part of girl group Fifth Harmony, where she was the only Black member: "That alters the perception you have of yourself. Having certain things happen so blatantly while also feeling like the 'other' and being so young and hearing the public compare [us] took a toll on my confidence. For a long time, I didn't believe in myself because I didn't feel like I was given the opportunity to."](https://media1.popsugar-assets.com/files/thumbor/iecxi0EmUUfSxlfpwmnG9_gOg3E/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:format_auto-!!-:strip_icc-!!-/2020/11/17/864/n/1922283/fa5a028955b68a36_WHM120120FEACoverStory_007/i/On-establishing-more-fulfilling-career-For-long-time-I-was.jpg "On establishing a more fulfilling career: \"For a long time, I was stressed out about checking boxes like, 'Is this Black enough? Is this pop enough?' But music started feeling way better when I just went into the studio with the mentality of being Normani. People will always remember how you made them feel and what a record did for them. My lyrics have more depth, and they're more intentional and come from a more authentic place, because I now feel more connected to myself than before.\"
On being overlooked for opportunities as part of girl group Fifth Harmony, where she was the only Black member: \"That alters the perception you have of yourself. Having certain things happen so blatantly while also feeling like the 'other' and being so young and hearing the public compare [us] took a toll on my confidence. For a long time, I didn't believe in myself because I didn't feel like I was given the opportunity to.\"")
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