American Idol season 3 winner Fantasia stirred up controversy when she dropped by the Power 105.1 Breakfast Club to promote her upcoming album, Sketchbook.
The singer married Kendall Taylor in 2015 after only knowing him for three weeks and as far as their household is concerned, her man is King. Literally.
“We need more men to stand up and lead the way,” Fantasia told the Breakfast Club crew. “Most women are trying to be the leader. That’s why you can’t find a man. You can’t be the king in the house. Fall back and be the queen and let your man lead the way.”
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The singer explained that it was a “generational thing.” Black women are often running the house as both mother, father and provider. But when the right man comes along “you lose him, because you’re trying to be the man.” She says, “That’s no how it’s supposed to be. That’s why we bump heads.”
She was asked, “what about equality?”
Fantasia explained it like this: “At the end of the day, I’m the neck, my man’s the head. So he can’t make any moves without his wife. It all works together. But you can’t be the head of the house. You’ve got to let the man be the head of house.”
She adds, “You have to learn how to submit. You can still be a queen. Queen plays a part. The king needs his queen. Certain things he can’t see that we see. We work together, but the queen has to sit back and allow her king to be the king.”
“When I met my husband I was taking care of everything.” She describes Kendall as “very smart, intelligent and self-educated.” Fantasia described herself before she met Kendal as a “pop off” and “quick with the mouth. Smart.” But she says, “It took a man like him to sit me down with me…and talk to me like I was supposed to be talked to and say ‘I’m here now, you don’t have to do all of that. Pass it over to me and let me take care of all of that.'”
What ever works for her, I suppose! The remarks did stir up some talk on Twitter, so Kendal and Fantasia posted an explanation. Kendall says he submits to God and she submits to him. It’s a biblical thang!
This is a dope breakdown of what submission looks like. pic.twitter.com/4G2MiWuWWS
— Minister Ant (@Minister_ant_) September 18, 2019
In other news, Fantasia spoke about about leaving 19 Recordings/RCA to become an independent artist. Her 2016 album, The Definition Of… was her last album on the label. In 2017 she released a Christmas album through Concord.
It’s a lot of work being an independent artist, she says, ut it’s worth it.
“At the end of the day I know what’s coming home to me and what’s not,” she says. When you got so many people involved, the gift is just being prostituted. You work so hard, you get home and everybody’s taking what you work hard for.”
Recording The Definition Of… was NOT a good experience, for anyone involved. She straight up calls the album “garbage.”
“We did that last album, I don’t think nobody was invested,” she says. “Not me and not them either. ‘Cause it was garbage. The fans knew too. This is not the Fantasia we know.”
“They just started throwing records at me.” She says. “It wasn’t anything I could relate to. I knew the people weren’t going to relate to it. That’s when I knew…it was coming to and end.”
Fantasia made five studio albums with 19/RCA. “I have been with them since I been on Idol, 19 years old.” she explains, “But I just knew that they were not as invested. I felt like they didn’t know what to do with me.”
But despite being unhappy, she stuck it out.
“When your’re on contract, what else you gonna do,” she says, “When that’s the only way that you can eat and make your money. You gotta deliver. I didn’t want to be blackballed.” She continued, “I did what they asked me to do but I knew then…after this I feel it. Nobody’s invested. I got the call. I prayed about it ‘Lord let them let me go, so I can go do what I want to do.’ And we walked away.”
But she’s still on good terms with the executives she worked with. “It’s still all love. I didn’t leave with nobody being mad. I was never rude. I was never a diva. But it was just time for me to spread my wings.”
Fantasia’s upcoming album Sketchbook is out on October 11.
Listen to the interview here.