Charli XCX Credits Mixed-Race Identity Struggles as Inspiration for Album ‘Brat’

Charli XCX revealed her experiences as a mixed-race woman sparked the creation of her album Brat. She spoke with Swedish rapper Yung Lean for Dazed magazine's Winter 2025 Issue. The 33-year-old performer's real name is Charlotte Aitchison, born to a Scottish father and Indian mother in England.

"I never felt accepted where I went, whether that was in school for being half-Indian and not blonde, or not fully relating to my Indian self because I was half-white," the performer told Dazed magazine. "There was this weird, displaced feeling, where I couldn't quite fit into either place."

She discussed how those feelings influenced her work. "Then with music, being outside of the mainstream and wanting to be in that world, but also really wanting to reject it. It created this concoction that allowed me to [make Brat]," she said.

"When I would go and visit my mum's family, I felt very Indian," she told the publication. "It was all the classic scenes of my nani and bappa cooking with Bollywood films playing in the background and everybody speaking in Gujarati."

"But then I'd go home to this other world, which was largely white," the musician continued. "It was almost like I would experience the Indian part of my identity only on the weekends. I never quite felt like I fit into either world, which I think commonly happens with mixed-race kids."

The track "Apple" from Brat talks about her relationship with her parents. The song became a summer 2024 hit on TikTok, featuring lyrics about family connections.

After releasing Brat, she has moved into film work. She has worked on seven upcoming films. These include 100 Nights of Hero, Sacrifice, Erupcja, Faces of Death, I Want Your Sex, The Gallerist, and The Moment.