Normani is back from her hiatus with new music, after announcing her long-awaited debut album ‘Dopamine.’ While the news is exciting, her supporters have questioned the trajectory of her solo career.
In a new interview with Who What Wear, the 27-year old gets candid about how her parents’ respective cancer diagnoses impacted her music career and her debut solo album.
After Normani, discovered her parents, Andrea Hamilton and Derrick Hamilton, were both diagnosed with cancer, the first thing she thought was “‘F–k all of this.’”
“This is bigger than the music,” Normani said in the interview published on Thursday, February 22. “It’s bigger than what I’m trying to accomplish. This is life or death. All I wanted to do was be there for them.”
Normani explained that her parents’ diagnosis fueled her to use her talents to make an impact. “It was in those moments with my parents that made me realize that I have an opportunity to make an impact in this lifetime. I know everything I’ve been through isn’t in vain.” She added, “There’s always something that God wants me to see in the season. It’s all in service of making me better for all that he actually has in store for me.”
Although her family may have been going through a tough time, the “Love Lies” singer revealed that her music actually brought joy to her parents.
“Honestly, music got them through the cancer treatments,” Normani explained to the outlet. “I remember being on FaceTime with my mom while she was undergoing chemo and her asking me, ‘How’s the studio today? How’s the music coming?’ As hard as it was for me to not be with them as much as I wanted to, ultimately, pushing through made the circumstances of the last few years feel a bit lighter for my parents.”
In August 2021, Normani tweeted that her mom had her final round of radiation. “GLORY!!!!” she shared.
Two years later, Normani revealed that her father, Derrick, was going through his own cancer battle.
“[When my mom was going through chemo] the thing that really kept her going was getting on FaceTime and being like, ‘How are the sessions going?’ She’s always so eager to hear the new records we’ve been working on,” she said in a promotional collaboration with Bose. “And then a year later when my dad ended up being diagnosed, he would say mid treatment, ‘I’m ready for you to take over the world.’”
Normani has yet to provide any more updates on her dad’s cancer battle.