It’s a topic that continues to arise in hip-hop music and now, one of its newer artists is speaking up about colorism that affects the music business. It’s openly lauded and discussed by many male artists but the tide may be changing as the women, like Saweetie, are taking over the charts.
Earlier in the pandemic, rapper 50 Cent chatted about his love for “exotic” women over “Black” women with rapper Lil’ Wayne on his Young Money Radio podcast. As he doubled down on his preference, he then enforced the negative stigma of women of color by labeling them angry..
“That s—t look a lot different from the s—t you see in the neighborhood. That s—t look like it just came off a boat. It’s something foreign, it’s something you just can’t get,” 50 exclaimed, while Lil’ Wayne laughed and agreed.
Wayne’s been turning heads however with his “exotic,” plus-sized model girlfriend Denise Bidot. It was rumored earlier this year that his endorsement of Trump might have ruined their burgeoning love affair, but the two have since appeared on each other’s Instagram accounts in some various ways.
Still, Wayne’s own daughter Reginae Carter, called her her father and other men for treating women of her skin tone as different or less “exotic.”
Reginae posted a subliminal shot on Twitter at the men’s comments at the time, taking aim at every part of what they claimed to look for during their interview.
“I’m black! I’m beautiful! I’m enough! I’m exotic! I’m amazing! I’m one of a mf kind!!!!! Now where my black beautiful Queens at?” Her mother, reality star Toya Johnson who currently stars on VH1’s T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, took to Instagram to also support her daughter with Lil’ Wayne’s beauty.
“My daughter so Damn beautiful! You are everything Queen! Don’t ever forget that. #myblackqueen.”
The two rappers from The Bay chatted on Instagram Live and when Too $hort said that being from The Bay area shaped his preferences towards mixed-race women, Saweetie seemed taken aback.
“Do you like interracial relationships?” Saweetie asked.
“I am from The Bay. Does that answer that?” Too $hort responded.
He further clarified on how being from “The Bay” has formed his preferences.
“In The Bay, you can meet a girl, before you even say her name, you can be like ‘ayo what are you mixed with?’ and she’ll probably tell you that her mama’s this, her daddy’s that and mixed heritage women have always been my favorite. I don’t think I’ve ever fallen in love with a woman that wasn’t mixed.”
Ultimately, Saweetie checked $hort on a lot of the language he uses, like calling women “pretty,” “exotic” and other fetishizing words. She let him know that Black was beautiful, period.
“Being pretty is just such a word that is just thrown around, and you know you feel me, I heard your little comment about when people come together, they make a beautiful baby, but Black women is [sic] beautiful period, on their own, with their own blood, you feel me?” she said.