Miley Cyrus clarifies hip-hop remarks

Miley Cyrus says she respects and appreciates all genres of music, but is gravitating now to “more uplifting, conscious rap”, with an eye to giving the younger generation a more positive message with her own music.

The pop star took to Instagram over the weekend to clarify remarks in a recent interview that some have seen as denigrating hip-hop music and rap lyrics.

“So, to be clear I respect ALL artists who speak their truth and appreciate ALL genres of music,” Cyrus wrote on Friday. “I have always and will continue to love and celebrate hip hop as I’ve collaborated with some of the very best!”

But, she added, “At this point in my life I am expanding personally/ musically and gravitating more towards uplifting, conscious rap!”

In a Billboard magazine interview published online last Wednesday, Cyrus gave a generic example of sexually explicit lyrics about women, and said that such lyrics “pushed me out of the hip-hop scene a little”.

On Instagram, Cyrus added that as she gets older, she understands the effect music has on the world.

“I feel the younger generation needs to hear positive powerful lyrics!” she wrote.

Cyrus also told Billboard that she hadn’t smoked marijuana in three weeks — the longest she’s ever gone without it. The 24-year-old former Disney star also said she had been surprised by the reaction to her much-discussed twerking performance at the MTV Music Video Awards in 2013, alongside Robin Thicke.

Cyrus is promoting an upcoming album. Its lead single, Malibu, is set to be released on Thursday. She said her new music is unlike anything she has recorded before.