FEATURE: Scuse Me: The Problem of Colorism in Rap and Hip-Hop – and the Women Fighting Against It

FEATURE:

 

 

Scuse Me

IN THIS PHOTO: Flo Milli/PHOTO CREDIT: Munachi Osegbu for COMPLEX 

 

The Problem of Colorism in Rap and Hip-Hop – and the Women Fighting Against It

_________

AS a massive fan of Rap and Hip-Hop…

 IN THIS PHOTO: Rico Nasty/PHOTO CREDIT: Katie McCurdy for British Vogue

I have always grown up admiring the incredible innovation and wonder from the genres. Perhaps the most powerful form of music there is, artists have produced these amazing political anthems and hugely powerful statements. Growing up, I listened to a mix of male and female artists. I always admired most the women of Hip-Hop and Rap. Whether that was Queen Latifah, Salt-N-Pepa, or Ms. Lauryn Hill, they were responsible for so many of my favourite musical memories. Those formative years twix ages eleven and sixteen (1994-1999) saw me dig out classic Hip-Hop and embrace the new. Today, I think the balance has skewed even more in favour of women. Sure, there are some great male Hip-Hop artists I love. From Loyle Carner to Kendrick Lamar, there is this wealth of genius and innovation. From the Hip-Hop queens of the past to the modern day titans, I think that it is the women of the genre speaking loudest. Some of my favoruites – including Bree Runaway, Little Simz, and Rico Nasty – are destined to rank alongside the all-time greats. I have written about this several times before, but the genres are already so tough and brutal for women. Hardly progressing music since the 1980s and 1990s, there is rampant misogyny and sexism. Maybe the industry has become more inclusive over recent years, but we are still hearing about women tell of their experiences. Whether that is the way they are portrayed in Hip-Hop lyrics, or missing out on radio play and festival slots because of their gender, I think there is still too much power and influence in the hands of men in the genres. Able to help bring about renaissance and parity, there doesn’t seem to be much activation and evolution from the higher ranks. I am not sure how many male artists in Hip-Hop and Rap are fighting for women and giving them respect. It does seem to be, as often is the case, the women themselves fighting their corner and asking to be heard.

I never considered it deeply until fairly recently, but there is also another struggle that many women across Hip-Hop and Rap face: the complicated debate around colorism, and whether lighter-skinned artists get more attention and acclaim than darker-skinned. Maybe not something that afflict men as much, but there does still seem to be this perception and ideal that lighter skin tones are more favoured and more accessible/marketable. It is an issue that blights other genres. Look at R&B and Pop. Major artists like Beyoncé and SZA are being heard and embraced, but it is clear that there is a struggle of colorism here too. It seems more pronounced and problematic in Hip-Hop and Rap. Genres already unwilling to sufficiently tackle sexism and misogyny, colorism means that a lot of hugely talented artists are being overlooked or having to fight much harder. Recently, as you can hear above, Monaleo was interviewed. She is an amazing rapper, and someone I have already written about and tipped for success this year. She said how it is easier for light-skinned female rappers to make it in the industry. Colorism is something that is worldwide and extends to every corner of life. From beauty magazines to the acting industry, through to music, there has always been this misguided and ignorant standard. Darker-skinned women have always been seen as inferior to lighter-skinned women. It is definitely harder for darker-skinned Rap artists (mostly women) to get the same acclaim and opportunities as their peers.

I am probably not best placed to give expert insight and authenticity to this feature (as a white male), but it is something that upsets and angers me. So many of the artists I admire and adore right now are from Hip-Hop and Rap. They are, almost exclusively, darker-skinned women. They are getting noticed and finding fans, but I think the industry at large is failing them. I want to bring in an article from last year. In it, we learn how colorism is prevalent, and how festivals are letting down darker-skinned women. The article ends by declaring "Black women continue to break the highest and thickest glass ceilings in the rap game”:

“There's no question that Black female rappers receive more criticism than male rappers of any race. Since the explosion of hip–hop and R&B in the 1980s, male artists and white male executives have dominated this sector of the music industry, leaving Black women as the underdogs of the rap scene. The student response to Alabama–based rapper Flo Milli as a headliner for Penn’s 2022 Spring Fling is a harsh reminder that there is much progress to be made in tackling colorism and misogyny in the rap industry.

On April 9, Penn’s Social Planning and Events Committee (SPEC) released the lineup for Spring Fling, a community–coveted social event in our own backyard featuring artists students are dying to see live. This year features Milli and the electronic music group Cheat Codes. In the past, dozens of notable musicians have taken the Penn Park stage, including Chance The Rapper, Passion Pit, and Janelle Monáe.

Despite excitement at the “Revival of the Fling,” not all Penn students were satisfied with this year’s headliners. On the same day that SPEC announced the Spring Fling headliners, the admin of the Barstool UPenn Instagram account turned to the platform to deliver a controversial message. The account posted a slideshow of two screenshots of Google searches—one search reads, “who is flo milli?” and the other says, “how to sell spring fling tickets.”

The caption of this post is what transitions an innocent opinion into a statement of prejudice: “Well maybe next year we’ll get @jackharlow.” Jack Harlow, the up–and–coming Louisville–based rapper, is famous for his freestyle talent and swarm of Twitter suitors, and was recently named the headliner of Temple University’s OWLCHELLA. Harlow is a well–versed talent, but he's also a white man.

This is far from the first time a Black, especially darker–skinned, female rapper has been deprecated for her artistry. When the BET Hip Hop Awards released their nominations for the 2021 Best Female Hip Hop artists category, only one dark–skinned woman was nominated: Megan Thee Stallion. Among the group were mostly light–skinned female rappers, including Cardi B and Coi Leray. Colorism runs rampant in the music industry, leading Black women to believe that lighter skin equates to success.

In addition to colorism in the music industry, female rappers are taken far less seriously by rap fans. The earliest Black female rap influences, such as Ms. Lauryn Hill, Queen Latifah, and Missy Elliot, were often produced by male–led agencies. Contemporary Black female acts like Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé began to normalize “provocative” lyricism with themes of sex, partying, and drugs. This hasn’t always been well received, shielding female artists from empowerment and comfortable creative outlets.

IN THIS PHOTO: Megan Thee Stallion (courtesy of Revlon) 

The Washington Post shames the public's reception of sex talk in female rap, claiming that when male artists rap about the same vulgar topics, their work is praised and acclaimed. For example, when Megan Thee Stallion and Cardi B collaborated on the 2020 smash hit “WAP,” an acronym for “Wet–Ass Pussy,” the song quickly became mainstream news—and not for its musical value.

In a since–deleted tweet, 2020 Republican congressional candidate DeAnna Lorraine writes, “Cardi B & Megan Thee Stallion just set the entire female gender back by 100 years with their disgusting & vile ‘WAP’ song.” Lorraine’s internalized misogyny is just a glimpse into the female rapper experience. Only in an alternate music universe will women be allowed to rap about sex without being berated by faceless media figures.

In terms of our Spring Fling, there's much to celebrate about Milli. At just 22 years old, she's already an esteemed rap talent. She was signed by RCA Records and released her debut EP Ho, why is you here ?, and she also earned a nomination for the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards Best New Artist category—all in the span of two years. All this after Flo Milli first gained the attention of the rap world after releasing “Beef FloMix”—her spin on Playboi Carti and Ethereal’s “Beef”—on Instagram in 2018.

Milli has been performing and writing lyrics since she was 9 years old, participating in church choirs and rapping with her friends at school. “I think my younger self would definitely be proud of me right now because I’ve reached a lot of my goals that I have for myself as a kid,” Milli says to Billboard.

As we witness the rise of more Black female artists in the music industry, it’s essential to acknowledge the experience of the Megan Thee Stallions and Flo Millis of the world. Despite their misrepresentation and underappreciation, Black women continue to break the highest and thickest glass ceilings in the rap game”.

There is another article I want to end up with. Also, in the course of researching, I came across a VICE piece from 2021. It reacted to a song by artist DaniLeigh. Her song, Yellow Bone, sparked controversy. As a lighter-skinned Dominican woman, her song called for an anthem for lighter-skinned women. No surprise, it did not get sympathy or much respect from most:

"Colorism is the elephant in the room that the music industry continues to ignore. This week, DaniLeigh faced backlash for her song "Yellow Bone," which she described as a song for light-skinned women. "Yellow bone that's what he want," she sings in a teaser she released on her Instagram.

To no one's surprise, except maybe DaniLeigh's, the snippet didn't go over so well. Fans questioned why the singer, who identifies as Dominican—which often comes with its own very complicated relationship with Blackness—felt that light skinned women needed an anthem to begin with. "Why can't I make a song for my light skinned baddies ??" she asked under the post. "Why y'all think I'm hating on other colors when there are millions of songs speaking on all types.. Why yall so sensitive & take it personal.. gahhhh damn.”

Except, there's a lot to take personally. The legacy of being a "yellow bone" isn't rooted in a preference, but instead is the result of decades of color bias placing lighter skin, which is closer to whiteness, as superior to darker complexions. Despite the country's complicated relationship with race, colorism doesn't just exist in America. Its effects can be felt globally, and Latin American countries, like the Dominican Republic, and communities experience the impacts to this day. When confronted on Twitter about her ethnicity she wrote, "I'm Dominican, I'm Spanish.. I'm black, I'm white.. leave me alone." A huge part of the problem with not only DaniLeigh's song, but her response, is that by trying to separate her Dominican identity from Blackness, she is erasing Afro-Latinx who identify as both and fails to understand that difference between race, ethnicity, and nationality. Being Dominican doesn't absolve you from perpetuating anti-Black rhetoric, regardless of your skin color.

We haven't heard "Yellow Bone" in its entirety, but the preview is definitely cringeworthy. "Said he need a lit bitch, so he had to switch, switch," she sing-raps on the song. Considering the song is about a man's preference for lighter women, the implications of these lyrics get even more messy when you realize DaniLeigh is dating DaBaby, whose on-again-off-again North Carolina sweetheart MeMe is brown skinned.

It doesn't take much to deduce how the Black community, and particularly Black women, could find the song offensive. For centuries, light skinned women have been the default because of their proximity to whiteness. Brown paper bags were used as a litmus test to hinder social mobility, barring Black people with darker skin from institutions and organizations because of their complexion. This history is well-documented and with the world still reeling from the effects of white supremacy, like an insurrection and police brutality, how does a song as tone deaf "Yellow Bone" even get created in 2021? That decision doesn't just fall on DaniLeigh, but on everyone who approved the song.

In the days following the backlash, she continued to speak out against the outrage, saying that "only God could 'cancel' her" and "I'm sorry if I offended u." It felt like an empty apology, and her official statement, released in a video on Instagram, didn't do much to change that. "I think people twisted it into thinking that I'm trying to bash another woman, another skin tone like, that was never my intention," she said in the video. DaniLeigh is the only one who can truly say what her intentions were, but her confusion as to why "Yellow Bone" made people upset is jarring.

"I see brown skin women flaunt their skin tone all the time in music," she continued in the video. "Why can't I talk about mine?" I'm not a colorist. I'm not a racist. I date a whole chocolate man. I have beautiful dark skinned friends. Skin isn't something that I even see. It's not something that I look at."

DaniLeigh's hiccup isn't the only time colorism has manifested in the music industry in recent memory. This week, a clip from VH1s 2017 reality talent show Signed resurfaced where two women, Just Brittany and Kaiya, remade Rick Ross's "Aston Martin Music" and received vastly different responses from judges The-Dream, Rick Ross, and Lenny S. "Your future bright, shorty, your future bright," Ross said to Just Brittany, who is lighter skinned. Kaiya, who is darker skinned, was clearly the better vocalist—but received harsher criticism”.

I am going to end with an article from 2021 that still very much applies to this year. Even if some powerhouse rappers like Flo Milli and Bree Runway fought against colorism and are taking hugely powerful strides, the question remains: Are dark-skinned female rappers overlooked and underappreciated? There are some interesting insights:

“In today’s society, women have cemented their place in the music industry, many are flourishing at the very top of their game. However, if we dig deeper, we can see that many Black women, especially rappers who are at the top of their game, are more than likely going to be light-skinned. This makes me think that success has everything to do with the shade of your skin.

I believe dark-skinned female rappers are certainly overlooked and underappreciated. As a society and, in the music industry in particular, we are programmed to believe that the lighter your skin the better you are, or the more successful you will be. This narrative is so damaging and it affects dark-skinned female artists every day trying to navigate through a misogynist and colourist industry. Black women rappers face a double glass ceiling, and something must be done to break this ceiling forever.

Colourism in the music industry is not new. But it has become more prevalent in recent years and now conversations about the topic are more frequent, which is a good step towards making change. Colourism is pushed by major music corporations, however it is done insidiously. This is why when the BET Awards released the list for Best Female Hip Hop artist, I was shocked to see the lack of diversity. The whole list was full of light-skinned female artists. It was shocking as it was so very explicit to see the disregard and the overlooking of the dark-skinned talent that is prevalent.

The list included new rappers such as Coi Leray and Saweetie, but these female rappers have been sometimes accused of lacking a certain substance in their music and - to put it blankly - they have come under fire, especially Coi Leray, as having no talent and that they merely get by with ‘light skin privilege’. Light skin privilege is simply when you get by in the entertainment industry because your skin is lighter and has more European features and therefore the establishment deems you tolerable.

This idea of 'the lighter you are the better you are' has stemmed from Slavery days, where slave owners would sexually mix with the African-American slaves and have children. These children were known as 'Mullato' and although they were still slaves and suffered punishment, they were immediately viewed in higher regard than the darker skin slaves. For example, instead of having jobs working long hours on the cotton fields, the Mullatos would be able to work in the houses on the plantation and have that luxury over the darker skin slaves.

So, the issue of colourism has always been there but the difference is that it was created by the oppressor, the European. But now in the music industry, this message is spread by fellow dark-skinned male rappers. Kodak Black famously articulated that dark-skinned women are “too gutter” while light skin women are “more sensitive”. One could argue that this is just a personal issue and one of self-hatred, however we have seen this narrative pushed so many times before, mainly by Black artists, and nothing has been done to stop this.

Although colourism in the music industry is toxic and can be disheartening,  dark-skinned female rappers are slowly breaking this glass ceiling and are making moves. Rappers such as Bree Runway unapologetically showcases her raw black beauty and her artistry and the numbers speak for themselves: she has 1.8M monthly listeners and constantly rewrites what is conventional. Furthermore, Little Simz was awarded Best British Album at the NME Awards, a great achievement that just goes to show the underappreciation of dark-skinned female rappers is soon coming to an end”.

Colorism is an issue that does not seem to be going anywhere. Considering the amazing amount of inspirational darker-skinned female rappers emerging and making the most insanely electric music, you do wonder whether they will be able to ascend to the heights they deserve because of the discrimination evident and unyielding in the genres. Rap and Hip-Hop have this massive problem with sexism and misogyny. On top of this, colorism means that there are so many women who have yet another hurdle to battle. There is sign of hope. If the industry seems to have this preconception and false ideal of light and dark-skinned women, the fact is artists like Little Simz and Bree Runway show that there is this huge commercial love and demand. They are dominating streaming platforms, gigs and the charts! They are paving the way for their sisters and women coming through. As I said before, it is (but shouldn’t be) women who are having to rectify an issue imposed and made healthy by men. I know it is not solely men responsible for colorism and discrimination. No doubt, the best Hip-Hop and Rap is being made by women. In spite of all the crap and limitations thrown at them, they have overcome and struck – though so many are being overlooked and ignored by the industry. We all hope that colorism soon becomes…

A thing of the past.

Sam Liddicott