Spice Not Done Speaking Out About Colorism
Dancehall Queen Spice has made it clear that she will continue to use her platform to speak out about colorism.
In an interview with Atlanta Black Star, Spice reaffirmed that she felt compelled to address the issue, and so penned her Black Hypocrisy song in 2016 and used an accompanying promotional photo as a conduit, to highlight the issue of colorism within the ‘Black community’.
“I felt like I had to stand up and do something for dark-skin Black women, because I feel like we get a lot of criticism and hate from our own race for no reason,” she said.
Having been the subject of colorist remarks herself as a darker-hued black woman, including being urged to lighten her skin, Spice also said that growing up, she was made to feel that not all shades of Black are beautiful.
“I didn’t feel this way when I was going to school, because I was younger and I was led to believe that I had to be lighter because of the things that I used to hear as a young girl growing up. ‘Brownin’ is what they call the lighter girls here in Jamaica, so it was always a brownin’ thing…,” she said.
“When you have a darker skin tone, you go through more, than when you have a lighter skin tone… I have to speak on what I know and what I’ve been experiencing, and that’s what I know for a fact… when you are a Black woman with a darker skin tone or a darker complexion, it’s much more harder for you,” the 38 year old added.
Spice’s comments came just over 10 weeks after British rapper/deejay Stefflon Don, who is of Jamaican descent, took to Twitter to address her past remarks, made in a November 2013 tweet in which she had written that darker-skinned women were desperate to be a ‘browning” like her.
“All you dark-skinned hating on light skinned b-tchs don’t act like if God gave you a choice you wouldn’t change your colour lool’,” she had written before being dragged mercilessly for the remark back then.
On Monday, March 1, Stefflon claimed on Twitter that she was a totally different woman, and has grown as a person since then.
“Every time I am on a blog people want to bring up my past mistakes. So let me post it here MYSELF for everyone to see… Because you will not trick or scare me with something I myself acknowledged, owned and sincerely apologized for,” she wrote.
Yes this was me almost 10 years ago.
Ignorant and angry So I directed this tweet at a girl who shaded me for my colour. I have grown since then and owned up to my mistakes and this is not a reflection of the Woman I am today! I have apologised and moved on I hope you can too. pic.twitter.com/oOWlPOItfj— 1DON (@stefflondon) March 1, 2021
The Hurting Me artiste later shared another post in which she reposted the old tweet in question and said that at the time she was “ignorant and angry” and so had directed the offensive tweet at a girl who “shaded me for my colour”.
“I have grown since then and owned up to my mistakes and this is not a reflection of the Woman I am today! I have apologised and moved on I hope you can too,” she wrote.
While some of her fans said they forgave her, many said what she did back in 2013 was inexcusable, and that they did not believe that her comment was a mistake or that she had changed.
“U were what? 22-23. Way past pickney stage. & At that big age thinking light is better than dark. & to bring God into it as if it would be of that dark girl’s favor if God would grant a wish to make her light skin lmao sad. Dem love fi beg lets move on. Waste gyal! Still!” another follower c_note, said.
One follower, coolmamamia declared that her post was directed at “all” darker skinned black women and not just one person as she stated.
“Chile, you said you were angry at one person which is why you tweeted this but your tweet clearly says “all you dark skinned” Colorism is real, and you should know that,” she said.
Others reminded her that her post was laced with vitriol and that it might have been better Stefflon had remained quiet and not rehash the aggravating issue.
“Ain’t nobody shade you about your color- lying ass. Exposure is what you merit- should’ve kept your mouth shut,” CleopatraBad wrote, while another follower added: “Racists don’t change neither do colorists or misogynists. Nice try though. You’ve just learned to be more careful”.
“The venom in that tweet about darkskin women is disturbing but on brand for what we’ve experienced. A lot of people feel that superior complex because they are the lighter shade of brown like Stefflon Don expressed,” LisaMarie responded.
Then there were references to the Boasty artiste’s relationship with Afrobeat superstar Burna Boy, a dark-skinned African from Nigeria.
“Pls go to hell, this exactly why burna cheats on you,” Maggz711 howled while lisamariespears wrote: “I’m actually shocked she would even publicly post such a racist adjacent comment to another black woman. Sounds like she’s perpetuating tht black isn’t beautiful. She was an adult when she said this. Wasn’t/isn’t she dating a whole African man?”
Also expressing displeasure was TheDosageBrand who said that Stefflon’s comments were incorrigible and unforgiveable.
“This is so sad. How come people like you have a “rite of passage” to be colorist, like it’s a growing pain? There’s no excuses for this. You were a grown woman making this statement,” he said.
Stefflon Don has had another racial tiff since her 2013 incident. In 2019, she earned the ire of some African Americans after she mocked Black Lives Matter in a promotional clip for a song.
In the staged video, Stefflon pretended to be arrested by a white police officer who handcuffs her and guides her into the back of his vehicle. As she walks toward the police unit, her friends howl with laughter as she frivolously belts out in Patois: “Bloodclaat mi a get locked up. Black Lives Matter”, a line she also used for the caption.
In response to the backlash that immediately ensued, Stefflon deleted the post, but not before arguing with commenters, telling some of them no ‘stop being so sensitive’.