British soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae says that growing up in England, she was the object of racially motivated verbal abuse on a regular basis, even though her attackers mistakenly thought she was of Pakistani origin.

The child of a white mother and black father in Leeds, Bailey Rae told contactmusic.com that she learned early how to deal with racism. But she says she was both shocked and amused by epithets from other schoolchildren. "Then people from other schools would shout, 'Paki' to me because it was the most common racist insult of the time. At least if you're going to do it, get it right. I used to shout back, 'But my dad isn't from Pakistan, he's from St. Kitts - so there.'"

"It does really shake and shock you when you are young," she concluded. "Things have changed now. People are more accepting."

Bailey Rae is currently promoting her self-titled debut album, featuring the singles "Put Your Records On" and "Like A Star."