Keke Palmer has a complaint from music industry

Keke Palmer on career in music industry 

Keke Palmer shares how she thinks the music industry should have been with her.

In a recent cover story for The Cut, Palmer, 31, opened up about her journey in the entertainment industry, starting from her childhood and the decisions that led her to take control of her music career.

Palmer's career breakthrough came with her role in 2006's Akeelah and the Bee, followed by her debut album, So Uncool, released through Atlantic Records in 2007. After leaving Atlantic, she signed with Interscope and later Island Records, where she released the Lauren EP in 2016.

Despite these opportunities, Palmer felt the music industry struggled to properly position her as an artist.

"You need to know how to understand data and how to speak to people who are not creative so they can make more money," Palmer explained. "Music is a numbers game. It feels a little more soulless."

Not so happy by the industry's approach, Palmer took matters into her own hands, launching her own label, Big Bosses Entertainment. Through this platform, she released her latest album, Big Boss, in 2023.

In an interview with PEOPLE about the project, Palmer reflected on her experiences with record labels, describing them as "stifling."

"I learned a lot of stuff just about what I really needed as an artist, which was artist development," she shared. 

"A lot of times they'll try stuff to throw stuff out, then it doesn't work and it's your fault. They don't really support the artists in being able to discover how to share their voice, how to tell their story."

Palmer, who is also a mother to son Leodis "Leo" Andrellton with ex-boyfriend Darius Jackson, likened the process to a natural yet learned skill. 

"It's almost like, to connect it to breastfeeding, it's like breastfeeding is a natural thing, but getting into it doesn't come to you naturally. I think that's what it's like being an artist."

"I'm talented, I can sing, I can perform, I can do all that, but knowing how to present that to the world, there's still an art to that," she continued. "My experience with labels taught me that I had to figure that out because they weren't able to really help me with it."