Detroit-born singer Lizzo made history as the first African-American woman in 2019 to own the top spot on the Hot 100 with her song, “Truth Hurts”. The last black woman to claim the spot was in 2012, when Rihanna’s song “Diamonds” debuted.

“I think it’s really cool, and I think it’s about time that we have more representation in the music industry,” sophomore Abby Yoo said.

Lizzo actually first released “Truth Hurts” in 2017, and it made a reappearance in the 2019 Netflix rom-com “Someone Great”, where the song regained popularity.

The singer first started out as a classical performer, and has been playing the flute since age 10. She even majored in classical flute performance at the University of Houston.

At the age of 14, she constructed her first rap group named “The Cornrow Clique”. She then created her nickname “Lizzo”, which was a combination of her real name, Melissa, and “Izzo”, which was a popular Jay-Z song at the time.