Kelly Rowland says her new single “Coffee” and its accompanying music video is her “ode to the beauty of black women.” Rowland debuted the…
Kelly Rowland says her new single “Coffee” and its accompanying music video is her “ode to the beauty of black women.”
Rowland debuted the breezy R&B; track and video featuring black women across a spectrum of shades and colors two weeks ago.
“I just wanted it to be an expression of black beauty and the different variations and tones and body shapes,” said Rowland, who shot the video in Miami late last year. “I was really inspired by black women.”
The Grammy-winning singer said she first started working on “Coffee” in 2017 but held on the track, which was co-written by Syd of the alternative R&B; band The Internet.
“I was very particular after I had my son about what I was saying and how good it was because I wanted to make him proud,” said Rowland, who gave birth in 2014. “I was extremely hard on myself.”
In an interview with The Associated Press, 39-year-old Rowland talks about coffee — the song and the drink — as well as signing with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation company for management and life in quarantine.
AP: There’s been a really warm response to “Coffee” and its video. How does that make you feel?
ROWLAND: The morning that it came out, I had this really big weight on my chest. I literally got to my closet and I cried because I was like, “This is what I remember the anxiety and everything feeling like,” but this one felt a little different. It’s because I’ve been in business for 20-plus years and it was like an overwhelming sense of gratitude. When I started seeing, whether it’s my fans or new people, or I’m seeing dancers put movement to the song, that’s really something to take in and celebrate and be grateful for.
