Lizzo on the cover of Essence Magazine, May 2019.

Everyone’s favourite queen of empowerment Lizzo features on the latest Essence magazine digital cover, in a glamorous photoshoot that sees Lizzo literally blooming as a flower on the cover.

In the interview, Lizzo discusses what her songs are for: “These songs are for my big Black girls. Everyone can enjoy them, but I want to help us. This music is medicine and I’m trying to get it to my sisters. It’s so exciting to me to finally be at a level where I have exposure to my Black sisters, my big sisters, my Black trans sisters. It’s not about being poppin’. It’s not about being famous or fashion. It’s about being better and making sure that this world can hear us and respect us.”

And talking about being herself, she said: “I made a decision to be myself because I knew I had no choice. Sometimes the label ‘unapologetic’ bothers me because it can be loaded, because it means we have to apologize for something in the first place. I’m not ignorant to the fact that we had to have a demeanor of lowering ourselves culturally just to exist. But I’m trying to shake up the narrative about how we’re supposed to act.”

Check out the rest of the shoot below…