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kendrick-brittanyWhile rappers Lil Wayne and Wale have played their part in reinforcing the cultural stereotype that only Black women with lighter complexions are desirable, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar purposely challenged that norm by rejecting a  female lead with lighter skin in favor of darker-skinned model Brittany Sky, reports Black Enterprise.

“We had another girl for the lead but I had an idea where I just wanted a little bit of a darker tone [girl] in the video,“ Kendrick tells Miss Info. “It’s almost like a color blind industry where there’s only one type of appeal to the camera.“

“I give [Brittany] the credit, too, for just being there, and being a natural, genuine young lady. She wasn’t  all in the open, trying to jump in [front] of the camera. She was cool, just chilling. I always kept in the back of my mind  like ‘you don’t ever see this tone of a woman in videos. ‘” Kendrick says, “No disrespect, I love all women, period. But at the same time, I still feels like it needs that balance.“

In a Twitter discussion with Miss Info, he clarified that he wasn’t trying to engage in the ‘Light Skin vs. Dark Skin’ debate, but standing up for equality:

As previously reported by NewsOne, YouTube sensation Tré Melvin, best known for his series “Sh*t Black Girls Say” parodies, addressed #TeamLightSkin vs. #TeamDarkSkin ignorance. He tells teens that the only thing they should be “repping” is #TeamBlack.

That much needed message is one that Lamar clearly takes to heart. Kudos to him for demanding diversity in Blackness.

See ‘Poetic Justice’ below:

Challenging The Status Quo: Rapper Kendrick Lamar Requests Dark-Skinned Video Model [VIDEO]  was originally published on newsone.com