Thank You Kendrick Lamar For Using Common Sense
Kendrick Lamar with Brittany Sky
We get caught up in labeling everything and dividing when it comes to common divisive topics, but it’s really all bullshit because we tend to get too defensive to be logical enough to be enlightened. That being said, the Internets is still abuzz about Kendrick Lamar using a brown skin girl as the lead in his video for “Poetic Justice” (from his good kid, m.A.A.d city debut). The woman he chose is the beautiful Brittany Sky, and she actually replaced the original lead. Check it out in case you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t seen it yet:
Following that video, I noticed people mentioning Brittany’s skin tone and tweeting their thanks to Kendrick Lamar for using a darker skin girl. However, she’s actually not as dark as people are making her out to be (the lighting plays a role). Yes, she’s sunkissed but it’s just that she looks like Alek Wek compared to the women that are usually chosen to be featured in videos, which is sad. Unfortunately, there’s this stupid belief in the music industry that the more mixed a woman looks, the more relatable she’ll be to the mainstream. And then there’s society’s general White worship problem but I digress. We’ll keep this topic on track.
Brittany is brown and gorgeous, but what I love about Lamar’s choice is that he’s thoughtful about explaining his decision in a non-divisive way.
Kendrick Lamar’s Poetic Justice Tweets
Balance is what we’re missing in pop culture but it’s a concept that escapes so many people, especially so-called tastemakers in the entertainment industry. The story behind how Brittany was chosen is that Lamar had the vision of using a darker-hued girl and she just happened to be on set, and she wasn’t overdone with makeup or being thirsty for camera time so the original girl got the boot. And again, she’s striking. So, here we are. *Slow claps.
Here’s the full explanation shared with Miss Info:
I’m proud of Kendrick Lamar (as long as he’s being genuine in his diplomacy) for addressing the fact that we need more diversity in the images that we see and that his decision in choosing her isn’t just about light vs. dark, like basic minds tend to make it out to be. So, thanks Kendrick Lamar for using common sense.
He seems very smart and aware and to top it off, good kid, m.A.A.d city is a dope album.
Category: Music, News, Reflections
About the Author (Author Profile)
Starrene Rhett Rocque is a recovering journalist who often fantasizes about becoming a shotgun-toting B-movie heroine.Subscribe
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It’s sad that we’re even still on the light vs. dark debacle, since EVERYONE should know by now that beauty comes in every shade! I refuse to believe that Kelly Rowland, Meagan Good, and Azealia Banks are less attractive because they’re not the same complexion as Alicia Keys, Rita Ora, or Charlie Baltimore. C’mon son! I’m very glad that Mr. Lamar is on that diversity tip, since I am as well. Maybe this will start a dark-skin “trend” in other hip-hop music videos. We can only hope.