Shakira is opening up about the “uncomfortable” stereotypes she suffered during the start of her music career.

It’s no doubt the iconic singer has found worldwide success, selling over 75 million records and being recognized as one of the most influential artists, however she is now revealing she had some difficult moments “from other kinds of prejudice.”

The 44-year-old star revealed that one of the things she had to battle was the prejudice against Colombians, as she started her career outside of her country during a time of war and violence in Latin America.

“I remember when I had my first big break in music outside Colombia, there were many double entendre comments about what it meant to be Colombian, and usually associated with drug trafficking, all of that. It‘s like, we’re always the joke, it was uncomfortable,“ she explained.

The singer said she wanted to change the perspective of the world, admitting she “knew that there was a lot to be done” and “had to prove a lot of people wrong.”

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“I knew that I had to show the world a more truthful side of my country. I needed to really share for the rest of the world what us Latinos and Colombians were about. And I‘ve always had some sort of social weight on me. I represent so many minorities. I’m half Lebanese. I‘m also Colombian,” she declared.

And while this was difficult for the singer, she says her “many different influences,” have been the key to her success, as It has been “fun to experiment and play with so many different genres of music and influences.”