Neon Dreams singer Frank Kadillac took to Twitter on Monday night to recall some early experiences with racism.
Kadillac was born Jahmal Wellington to a teenaged mother and bounced around schools, making it hard enough to fit in. But he was also teased and bullied because he looked different.
In a video message, the singer listed some of the heartbreaking questions he used to ask his mother, including “Why do kids keep petting my hair and making fun of how big my lips are?” and “Why do I feel like people just hate me for no reason?”
Kadillac recalled how a friend told him he wasn’t allowed to come over any longer because his grandfather “doesn’t like people like me.” He remembered being chased by older teens in a pick-up truck who called him the n-word and laughed as they drove away. “I thought they were going to kill me,” he remembered telling his mother. “I don’t know what I did to make them angry.”
MORE: Neon Dreams Shares "Sick Of Feeling Useless"
Like any good mom, Kadillac’s tried to soften the blow of these experiences – but also warned him: “Because you’re black your life is going to be a lot more difficult than your friends.”
Kadillac said when he told his mother he didn’t feel like he belonged in the world, she told him he could make a new one.
“That’s all I’ve been trying to do is make a new world with this music thing,” he explained. “When I die I want this world to be a little bit better than I found it.”
With his Neon Dreams partner Adrian Morris, Kadillac has released tracks like "Sick of Feeling Useless," “High School Dropout” and “Survive.”
Watch Kadillac’s video messages below:
Part 2 pic.twitter.com/SzUXIusBvg
— Neon Dreams (@neondreams) June 8, 2020