Craig David has been told by industry insiders in the US that he should ditch his white guitar player Fraser T Smith if he wants to appeal to black music fans. David, one of the few British artists to have real success in the US in recent years, is out in America promoting his new album 'Slicker Than The Average'. Word is black executives at radio networks David has played since his arrival there have told him that he would sell more records if he played with an all-black band.
David, who is adamant close friend Smith will stay in his band, told BBC Radio Five Live he found it "disappointing that there was still this slight sense of racism going on over there".
Commenting on the story Toussaint Davy of hip-hop magazine Touch told the BBC David's reaction was admirable, but he may lose fans. "Any artist that goes over to the States trying to push black music is going to face a struggle if they're not black. It's hard to know how it's going to affect him. His first album did go platinum over there. But his marketing people are telling him things, and he would be stupid not to listen to them. Everyone has to compromise. Look at what's happened to Robbie Williams. He's making anodyne ballads so Americans will take notice of him."
Girl group Eternal faced similar criticism from US radio stations in the early nineties for the presence of white member Louise Nerding. So much so that when Louise quit the band there were rumours (denied by management) that such racist criticism has been taken on board.