'I don't have time for it to be a racial issue,' says Black Coffee on book hate

DJ Black Coffee has hit back at suggestions that his request to have Brazilian author Paulo Coelho write a biography was a racial issue, telling fans that he did not have time to entertain such accusations.

Amidst debate and criticism that he should have approached a black author with the request, a fan said the matter had become a racial one because the DJ was "a symbol of black excellency".

Black Coffee responded by telling the fan that he "was not a symbol of anything" and would not take part in a racial debate.

He had earlier tweeted that the experience was meant as a lesson in faith, to encourage others to "aim high".

"My tweet has a big lesson about faith, not being afraid to publicly fail, putting out there what you want no matter how far it seems. Aim high," he said.

Black Coffee sparked debate on social media after tweeting that he was ready to share his life story and asked how many retweets he would need for Paulo to write his book. 

"My entire life has been like something from a book. I'm ready to tell that story. How many retweets Paulo Coelho, sir, to write my story?" he asked.

Paulo replied to Black Coffee saying he was currently busy with a book but they could chat about the idea. 

"I am currently working on a book to be published by the end [of] 2018 but I will follow you and we can chat about it," Paulo said in a tweet.

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