Lizzo "risked it all for music".
The ‘Juice’ hitmaker was broke, without a home and lived in her sister’s car for two years in her 20s, after moving out of college accommodation, before she became a global phenomenon.
And although she admitted it "sucked" and was a "very lonely" time, she found it a "luxury" when she was able to crash in her bandmate’s place and studio and she recalled instantly going into "survival mode".
In an in interview with NPR Music, the 31-year-old rapper-and-flautist recalled: "Man, you know, when you’re – when it was actually happening to me, I didn’t think of myself as homeless. You kind of just are in, like, survival mode."
Clarifying that it was her decision not to move to her parents’ place in Denver, she continued: "And I have a deep understanding and a deep sensitivity to people who experience homelessness. I think that not having a home and being homeless, I think, are two different constructs.
"Like, I didn’t have a home for 1 1/2 to two years of my life – that I made a choice to not go back to Denver and stay with my family.
"There are people who do not have a choice in their homelessness, and homelessness is something that plagues, like, so many hundreds of thousands and millions of people, specifically Americans, due to so many extenuating circumstances.
"So I want to make that distinction very clear."
Despite being without a permanent residence at the time, the ‘Tempo’ star was determined to make it as a musician.
She added: "But I made this decision to not go back home to Denver, and I also did not have money. I did not have a job, and I allowed myself to just try to pursue music.
"And I think that I had a luxury and a privilege to be able to sleep on the floor of my drummer’s house, to be able to sleep in a car my sister gave me, to be able to sleep at the studio where my rock band performed at, to be able to sneak into 24 Hour Fitness and use the showers there.
"I definitely was even privileged and abled to do that. It sucked. It was very lonely. It was very hard, and I think that I had risked it all for music."
After performing in several groups over the years, Lizzo dropped her debut solo album ‘Lizzobangers’ to acclaim in 2013, with second LP ‘Big Grrrl Small World’ dropping two years later.
She was soon snapped up by Atlantic Records, and not long after she dropped 2016 EP ‘Coconut Oil’ on the major label.
Last month, Lizzo’s third studio album ‘Cuz I Love You’ was released, her first to chart on the Billboard 200, and the rapper and body confidence role model is now estimated to be worth $3 million.
Lizzo ‘risked it all for music’
