Mariah Carey is one of the most influential celebrities in the industry at the moment having a career span of over 3 decades. Throughout her illustrious career, Mariah has racked up a series of awards including the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1991, just after 2 years of her debut in the music industry.

So many years have passed but Mariah’s fandom is still not very sure of the reality of her origins. Recently, the singer-songwriter has shed light on her struggle with her identity - as she talked into the details of her black heritage to allow her fans and people to know about her background.

Mariah Carey’s parents represent multiple identities. Her father is a Venezuelan and African-American and her mother is white Irish.

The singer has highlighted that getting into the music industry at a very early age posed a challenge to her – the main reason for her trouble was because people in the industry didn’t comprehend her background very well and there was a sheer lack of perception. Mariah signed with Columbia Records in the year 1988 at the age of 18 as a teenager.

After two years, the singer rose to the heights of prominence and fame as she released her eponymous debut album (Mariah Carey) and impressed everyone with her five-octave singing range.

As per Carey, even after knowing her for so long, people struggled to understand her origins. During her initial days, media would frequently refer to Mariah as a ‘white girl’ describing her as a ‘white girl who can sing’ or ‘white soul singer.’

In conversation with Trevor Nelson on his BBC Radio Two show Rhythm Nation, the singer spoke about the experience and hardships she has had to face due to people not able to get the logic behind her mysterious identity.

The singer said, "It’s never been easy for me… this journey, this whole struggle with my identity started when I was three or four years old. That’s when I first started to recognize, 'Oh, I’m not like everybody else,' I don’t necessarily have a specific, quote, 'tribe, to back me up during these situations, because, you know, I was never enough of one thing or another for most people."

She further added that people always asked her what’s her ethnicity because they are always confused by the ambiguity. Mariah has said that people love to stick to their ethnicity,  but her original identity is a nonentity - which explains her all-inclusive approach.