Kane Brown, a rising star in country music, has shared his personal journey with the public, revealing the challenges he faced growing up biracial in Tennessee. Brown, who is the product of a Black Cherokee Indian father and a Caucasian mother, admits that for much of his childhood, he believed he was “full” White. It wasn’t until he was around 7 or 8 years old that he discovered he was biracial. This revelation came with painful consequences, as he soon found himself the target of racial slurs.
In a recent interview with People magazine, Kane opened up about how he was initially unaware of what it meant to be biracial. “I didn’t know that until I was 7 or 8 years old. I thought I was full white,” he said. “I didn’t see colors.” However, when he began hearing the N-word used against him, it marked a turning point. “I didn’t even know what it meant. I learned what it meant, and that’s when it started affecting me,” Brown recalled. He became involved in fights over the insults, reflecting the emotional toll that racism began to take on him at a young age.
As Kane Brown’s career in country music began to take off, he encountered racism not only from the general public but within the industry as well. “When I first got into country, I started getting some of those comments like, ‘He’s an N-word,’” he shared. Despite the negativity, he chose to rise above it. “I used to screenshot it and put it on Twitter, like, ‘There’s still racism in the world,’” he explained. However, he soon realized that he didn’t enter the country music scene to prove a point about race. “I try to stay away from all negativity,” he said, adding, “Now you can call me whatever you want. It just brushes off of me.”
Despite the challenges and the racial obstacles he has faced, Brown’s career has flourished. His sophomore album, Experiment, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the first country sophomore album to hit the top spot since 2014. His success has proven that his race has neither limited nor defined his career. Kane Brown’s rise to stardom is a testament to his talent, resilience, and determination to stay true to himself in the face of adversity.