Kane Brown Opens Up About The Racism He Faces In Country Music

Kane Brown is opening up about the racism he has faced in country music. The father of three reveals that some people have refused to write with him, at least in the beginning, because of the color of his skin.

“I remember—I ain’t gonna say a name because I don’t want to throw him under the bus—but there was one writer that said he wouldn’t write with me because I’m Black,” Brown says on the Impaulsive podcast (via American Songwriter). “I confronted them and everything and they apologized to me at the bar.”

Their prejudicial thoughts didn’t harm Brown, but they certainly harmed the songwriters. Brown rightfully refused to write with them when he became a big star.

“There’s another big writer that has like 30 No. 1s that said the same thing,” Brown recalls “Then he apologized whenever we blew up and was trying to write with me and I said no.”

Brown bravely talking about racism is nothing new. In a 2022 interview, Brown lamented the reality of discrimination in country music because he is Black.

“I shouldn’t have to say anything,” Brown reflects to CBS News. “I’m up there in front of everybody as a Black artist. I’m selling out arenas.”

“I’m on the radio,” he adds. “I’m doing all this stuff. Right there should tell you that, you know country music’s getting better. And people should be opening up.”

The Challenges Kane Brown Has Overcome

Racism isn’t the only challenge Brown has overcome. He recently opened up about the horrific child abuse he endured at the hands of his various stepfathers, including being forced to eat an entire pack of cigarettes.

“We were smoking behind the trailer, and they caught us,” Brown reveals on the The Great Company podcast. “They made us eat it. But he always – he made me eat bars of soap, shaved my head. And this was different stepdads, by the way. He shaved my head and put aftershave on it. I remember just rubbing my head on the carpet like a dog’s a-. … I was doing the same thing but with my head.”

Brown, perhaps surprisingly, is not bitter about the way he was raised.

“It made me who I am today,” the father of three says. “It made me strong.”