Toni Braxton is pleased to see the music industry “slowly” changing it’s focus on female artists.
The ’90s R&B icon, who released her 10th LP, Spell My Name, in August, tells Fault magazine that “there are so many talented female writers and producers that you don’t hear about”.
“It’s changing slowly, but women still aren’t heads of record companies,” she says. “We’re not celebrated like men are. Missy Elliot, for instance, is a fantastic producer and writer but I don’t feel that’s truly appreciated.
“The same goes for me, Mariah, Alicia Keys and so many others but I find with guys in the business, they’re always being bigged up for their talent while people don’t recognise the talents of female artists the same way.”
Despite the highs and lows of her near-30-year career, Toni insists she rarely looks to the past and has “learned to live in the now and just enjoy it” as the years pass by.
“I’m really proud of the body of work that I have so I don’t really have any regrets on that,” she reflects. “Once you’re older in your career, you get confidence that allows you to sustain and be okay in your art.”
In our review of the album, Retro Pop called Spell My Name “some of Toni’s best vocal performances and songwriting to date” and proof that she’s befitting of her long-standing Queen of R&B title.