Kindness Opens Up About Homophobia & Transphobia in Music Industry
Kindness is the acclaimed producer-musician who works with cool kids like Solange, Robyn and Dev Hynes. But in a recent lecture at the Red Bull Music Academy in Paris, the London-based musician (real name Adam Bainbridge) revealed that he almost threw away a career in music after experiencing homophobia and transphobia from critics.
The "This Is Not About Us" singer told the audience that, while he was coming up in the U.K.'s grime/nu-rave scene, a "toxic" blogger who went by the name Donald Crunk was gaining a large following and was invited to vote in the BBC's influential Sound Of poll. Kindness said he read about himself being referred to in "homophobic and transphobic terms," which was particularly troubling as he was questioning his sexual and gender identity:
"I was just like, 'Wait what? Where did this come from?' What was even more fucked up is that rather than being angry with him, I was like 'Wait, how did he know? Do people know this? Shit, what am I going to do? I can't be a grime producer if people know I'm gay, if people know I'm queer."
Kindness added that he was seriously considering transitioning and researching hormone therapy at the time, and that the comments made him temporarily end his career.
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