The Reverse Paper Bag Test
Kendrick Lamar has almost singlehandedly rejuvenated the rap game with his conscious rhymes and thought provoking subject matter.
One of my favorite cuts on the already classic album “To Pimp a Butterfly” is a track called “Complexion (A Zulu Love)” featuring Rapsody.
Kendrick Lamar raps, “Beauty is what you make it, I used to be so mistaken by different shades of faces.”
The Compton, Calif. emcee’s revelation that complexion does not mean a thing has not been enough to satisfy some critics like the self-proclaimed “dark skinned activist” Rashida Strober.
The “activist” wrote on Facebook, “Well, well, well, would you looky here. ANOTHER FAKE CONSCIOUS (expletive) EXPOSED. I will never support him nor his music with one dime of my money and encourage all dark skinned women not to either.”
Strober’s biography states that she was bullied as a child because of her dark skin, leading to self-esteem battles and issues.
While Strober has every right to not financially support Kendrick Lamar, it is not his job or the job of any other African-American man to make personal choices to help her raise her self-esteem.
Surveys have shown that men view loyalty as one of the most attractive characteristics in a good woman.
According to WhatDoMenReallyThink.com, “The word ‘fidelity’ is becoming rarer nowadays even among women, who were historically more loyal of the two, and men find this to be bad news. So men are constantly on the look out for a woman who can invoke trust through her strength of character.”
Many men are wary of women who only seem interested in their material possessions, so finding someone that will love them for the man that they are is the ultimate prize for a man.
As a rapper that fought hard to claim his spot at the peak of the rap game, having your high school sweetheart there to support you during your dark and difficult days is a beautiful bond to share with a woman.
There had to be times when Kendrick Lamar doubted himself and his potential, and it probably was his fiancée that lifted his spirits and stayed by his side when others had given up on him.
The fact that she is light-skinned does not make her better or worse than any other woman that crossed his path, but the fact that her love is real is probably what separates her from the rest.
The fact that Kendrick Lamar realized how special a young lady she is should be commended because many men do not realize what they have until it is gone.
Therefore, for critics who believe that now since he is rich and famous, he should marry a dark-skinned girl just for appearances or political reasons are ridiculously misguided.
The struggle with colorism and color complexes is real in the African-American community.
However, dark-skinned African-Americans cannot complain about being discriminated against because of their hue and then do the same thing to their light-skinned brothers and sisters.
Many criticize Kendrick Lamar because he released the song “Complexion (A Zulu Love)” and then proposed to his light-skinned high school sweetheart.
However, those complaining about brothers with color complexes are missing the whole point about colorism.
Not struggling with colorism or a color complex does not mean that all African-American men are going to stop dating light-skinned women.
Eradicating colorism in our community means that people should stop favoring or dating people just because they have light skin or dark skin.
For some women to want all brothers to date dark-skinned women just because they are dark-skinned is the epitome of the pot calling the kettle black.
Throughout my years I have met many light-skinned women that still have my back through thick and thin and many dark-skinned women that would do the same.
Unfortunately, I have met a lot of dark-skinned women that have stabbed me in the back and many light-skinned women who have done the same.
That taught me at a young age that what type of person someone is depends on things the eye cannot see in physical traits.
For Kendrick Lamar to let the love of his life go because some people have low self-esteem, and marry a dark-skinned woman just to make others happy would not mean that he is a sincerely conscious rapper.
It would only mean that he is a real dumb person, even dumber than those criticizing him for proposing to the love his life.
