Estelle's Duffy soul rant

Mar 29, 2008, 7:00 GMT

Estelle has blasted singers Adele and Duffy for calling themselves soul singers.

The 'American Boy' singer - who topped the British singles charts last Sunday (23.03.08) - thinks 'Rockferry' star Duffy and 'Chasing Pavements' musician Adele are trying to be something they are not.

She said: "It's hilarious. I'm not mad at them - but I'm just wondering, how the hell is there not a single black person in the public eye singing soul? Adele isn't soul. She sounds like she heard some Aretha Franklin records once and she's got a deeper voice - that doesn't mean she's soul.

"That doesn't mean anything to me in the grand scheme of my life as a black person. As a songwriter, I get what they do. As a black person, I'm like, 'You're telling me this is my music?' F**k that! People keep trying to tell me what soul music is and I'm like, we know what soul music is, stop f***ing around with us!"

However, Estelle - who first shot to fame in 2004 when she released her debut album 'The 18th Day' - found it difficult to pinpoint exactly what makes a true soul singer.

She added to Britain's The Guardian newspaper: "I guess it is music that you feel in your heart and your experience. You can't explain it, it just gets you. It's in the lyrics, the melody, the beat - you can't pull it apart."

(C) BANG Media International