Mickey Guyton is known for releasing music that addresses racial inequality and gender gaps in country music and beyond.
With songs like “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” and “Black Like Me,” she delivers powerful messages calling for change in the genre, and she’s continued to use her platform at every step of her career.
The singer says that she was inspired to speak up in response to the “disparities in my particular industry against women and women of color,” but adds that the birth of her son, Grayson, gave her a push toward using her voice.
“And then once I became pregnant, it was like, ‘How could I not say something?’” Mickey tells ET Online. “Like, I don’t want my son when he grows up to look back and know that I said nothing. He’s been a huge motivation for that.”
Another big motivator, the singer says, is knowing that there’s a new crop of Black and minority artists waiting to break into country music and wanting to do her part to make sure it’s possible for them to do so.
“It will never be OK for me, and that’s something where I can sleep at night knowing that I’m seeing so many incredible artists of color coming up in this industry,” she continues. “That is the most important.”
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