Estelle on Difference Between Blackness in UK vs. USA

Estelle says she grew up in West London in an area she equates to being the "Harlem" of city. Her mother is African and her father is West Indian, which she says is a unique mixture but not where she's from.
When it comes to living in the US today, Estelle says it's not that different from where she lived in London, saying the hood is the hood, and black is black wherever you go.
Check out the clip above.

[Eng.Creation]

she should have said black peeps in the UK are more in touch with the african/carribean roots...

[guyman]

"Black is Black wherever u go" remember that

[TurnOnApence]

"West Kensington is like the Harlem of New York" Love you Estelle but no.

[jonygq]

The truth of the matter is that black people in the UK chose to emulate a gangster rap culture in the late 90's and 2000's when it had nothing to do with them. There is no hood in the UK! In the 90's we had social housing with good amenities. Being smart wasn't cool like it is today so British youth (influenced by appropriation of gangsta American culture by black British youth) didn't strive to be smart, that's a major factor why the community has lagged behind. The opportunities were given, most didn't value them.

[Duppymaka]

Hammersmith is nowhere the like the harlem of London. Stop lying to make yourself sound like your from the hood. Hammersmith isnt a black area. You have Brixton, Peckham, Hackney, Tottenham and Harlesden who have more right to lay claim to being like harlem. And even after those areas you have kilburn, new cross, Deptford, stockwell, Wood Green and Edmonton that are more qualified than Hammersmith. She is misrepresenting London and trying to boost credibility for herself. She's lost my respect for lying

[anthonycooper]

black people have been in the US for 300 years theyve been in the UK for 50 years, thats the difference

[nnick]

It's a reason people from other places come to the U.S.  Black people in other countries do not have the same Black industry infrastructure as in the U.S.  And as a African American myself I saw it first hand living in 2 foreign countries for a few years.  Leaving the U.S. you come to appreciate how much Black people in the U.S. have accomplished.  It makes you reflect and be proud.  You go to a lot of these other countries, and their Black people are more assimilated to the people of that country, some would say to the White culture of that country.

Here in the U.S. we have Black radio stations or ubran radio stations in just about every city, small, medium, to large cities.  That's infrastructure right there for you.  But to really appreciate what we have built up here as Black Americans you have to go outside of the country and really see how others live.  It would make you proud to be a Black American trust me.  Estelle speaks truth, about why she wanted to come to the U.S.   She knows that here even amongst the madness she can still achieve all the things that she wants, where back in the U.K. she probably felt limited.

[liamDT]

Shes from west london looool aint no real hoods in west london. West london is richhhh london

[risksfnonsensical]

One difference is that if you ask a black Brit what country they are from, they would say a country from the Caribbean or from Africa

[Fernandez]

I Love my black British people . I been to London twice I have good friend there and they always welcoming.

[williambarby]

She literally named the nicest, most expensive parts of london. West Kensington, fulham and hammersmith 'the hood'. talking so much trash

[adobdebunkology]

You guys have a "Black" mother is white and basically grew up with the white side of his family.

[GrP]

'black is black, the hood is the hood, class is class wherever you go..'...yep, that's my opinion, too.

[SlickDeville]

My gf is from London and it's totally different. I think she was just trying to be politically correct in this interview

[G-Man]

Difference between uk and US black people is, UK black people have feet in three cultures, the culture of their parents and grandparents - Africa and the caribbean, mainstream UK culture that we get brought up in public. ie schooling etc AND also the UK black/urban culture which is a mix of predominantly Jamaican culture and attitude with African influences, watered down with Britishness/Englishness.
Also UK black people tend to not segregate themselves from non blacks as much as US black people. What i mean is there are no REAL black ghettos no more. There _used to be_ (before gentrification).... You can (at least in London) have a housing estate (uk housing project) across the road from million dollar houses.

[ralphphillips]

Black in the UK is paradise compared to America, there is high level of social mobility if you are focused.

[bitchingqueen]

What absolute bullocks. These so called "hoods" in the UK are nothing like the ghetto areas in the US. Nothing is "universal". The black history of the UK and how we're treated today is completely different from what goes on in the US.
African Americans have a lot more social problems then Black British people. Even our culture is different from there's, because we come from Caribbean and African backgrounds. I do agree with her on the fact that the black community in the UK is still young, and yes we do share some similarities, but from what I've heard of what goes on in the US - there are noticeable differences.

[rovervitesse]

Seriously classy / talented london girl - it's shame she felt she had to move to the US to advance her career - but she right in saying the yanks have a more positive attitude to success / here everyone one wants to piss on your parade. Anyway setting politics aside it's Britain's loss and the US's gain. Her album Shine was a masterpiece.

[benisturning]

I thought Brixton was the Harlem of London.

[WitchKing-Of-Angmar]

Oh what's interesting is I do hear a more african dialect in Black Britians, compared to Black Americans. I love her accent especially, it's certainly unique.