Alabaster skin, hazel eyes and blond hair are not uncommon features for a pop star. But when Jamaican dance hall artist Spice adopted that look for a recent music video, it stunned her fans and her country.
Spice, who has dark skin and brown eyes, posted a photo on Instagram last week that unexpectedly showed her with light skin, lighter eyes and long blond hair. “Nothing wrong with a fresh start,” she wrote — but many fans disagreed. Negative comments piled up on the post, and some fans said the artist had “bleached” her skin and altered her appearance to meet Eurocentric beauty standards. Others called it a publicity stunt.
It turned out that the transformation was a temporary one for a new song titled “Black Hypocrisy,” which was released Oct. 23. The video for the song features Spice appearing in her new look and criticizing people of African descent who look down on those with darker skin.
The video has garnered more than 1 million views and become the top video on YouTube in Jamaica. It also brought the taboo subject of colorism into the open.
Although 90 percent of Jamaicans are of African descent, the vestiges of colonialism and slavery mean that lighter skin and straight hair are favored in most aspects of life, from beauty standards to career advancement. Many people in positions of power in Jamaica have lighter skin and straight hair, as do most the country’s beauty queens.
“In Jamaica, because of the historical baggage around ideals of beauty prescribed from the European perspective, shades of brown and shades of black” are not seen as beautiful as lighter shades, said Sonjah Stanley Niaah, a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies. “It goes back to the days when slaves were sold on the auction block,” she said. “The color of the skin was important.”
Conversely, those with dark skin say they face discrimination — the darker the skin, the worse the treatment. Spice, whose real name is Grace Hamilton, said she has endured such discrimination and wanted to call it out in her music. In the song and video, Spice appears with tears streaming down her face as she details being called “black and shine and dirty.”
“What I was trying to achieve with the song and the video was to bring awareness to colorism,” Hamilton said in an interview with The Washington Post. “I am using myself as an example of what people from the black community are causing these young girls to do,” she added, referring to the practice of bleaching, in which people apply chemicals to their skin to lighten its color. “I am deliberately showing them that when you discriminate them by the complexion, this is why there are so many women in Jamaica that are bleaching because society will make them feel that they will look better that way.”
According to a Jamaican government survey from 2017, about 300,000 people in the country of 2.8 million bleach their skin.
Despite that, public discussion of colorism is not common. The lack of conversation can be attributed to shame, says Nadine Giscombe, 41, a secretary. “You know, it’s embarrassment,” she said. Considering the widespread use of bleaching, she added, the silence shows “a whole lot of hypocrisy.”
While other reggae artists have written songs praising black (i.e., dark-skinned) women, Niaah said Spice is the first artist to use her personal experience to document the situation.
“I think Spice has used a form of dance hall music to make an incisive statement on a nasty issue that we have experienced here in Jamaica,” she said.
Leethan Grandison, 29, who has dark skin and hair that is not straight, said he experienced colorism directly: The CEO of a company told him he was too dark to take the public marketing role for which he had successfully interviewed.
“Honestly, I was taken aback by it,” Grandison says. “I was beyond words.”
Grandison thinks Spice has made a “genius” move with this song and video. “It opens the conversation,” he said. “We don’t necessarily talk about it in the open and say, ‘Yes, colorism exists in Jamaica.’ ”
Slow news week in Washington. Tis all.
Couldnt you just be happy for the recognition from of one of ours for something positive. Im no fan, but damn….whatever bitter betty. Big up to Spice!!
Too much you need to stop it. Just big up Spice and done. There was no need for all of that.
good article. I hope ppl stop bleaching their skin. I love ppl with their natural complexion. I am light skinned and I love it when I get darker during the summer. Especially when I go to Jamaica I live in the sun. My cousins would say oh no you ah get too dark. Then say they wished they had my complexion. But in reality I wish I was not so light. I love my dark skinned ppl. You are beautiful. I always use to tell my cousins please don’t bleach your skin. I will always tell them. God make them beautiful and dark. I use to tell them, you no see how pretty you are. Now they are in their 30’s and always say you were the only cousin who made me feel beautiful. Not one ever bleached their skin. Kudos to Spice. This was genius!
A who dah bloodclaat white anonymous yah. Bitch! dark skin ppl nuh need yuh fi tell we seh we beautiful. We beautiful nuh bumbobloodclaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. Bout “I love my dark skin ppl” like yuh infurier ( if a di word dat mi nuh even ago correct it) move yuh light skin bumbo.
Just say thankyou Official Latty and stop being mean.She is a black girl with a light complexion. rela x she spoke nothing but positivity and she is your fellow jamaican. You can’t always attack every comment you don’t like feel how you want to feel and keep it to yourself.
Any big pussy gal or boy weh dislike mi comment unnu go run back up inna unnu mumma an go dislike har womb an mek sure she nuh bring a bumbohole like unnu again. Das wah di comment section fah a fi comment… Mek mi chat cause unnu huddn like mi troll unnu a bloodclaat a swear. A wah suh bout my comment dem??? A wah suh a wah when mi talk issa problem lol a wah dis.
Awesome, American media is gravitating to this topic because they know its an global issue.
Washington post mussi neva have nuttn else fi put mek dem duh diss. Spice stfu! now mi see why yuh neva yet sing nothing conscious b4 cause yuh nuh intelligence. Everybody wid good sense an know dem true history know seh ano now black ppl affi duh things 5 times more harder fi be recognized inna dem white society. All a bun yuh spice a how di ppl dem seh yuh look dirty.. Yuh shuddn even pay dat nuh mind cause 90% a who a troll yuh an a seh yuh dirty nuh deh weh yuh deh an a duh weh yuh a do big hypocrisy spice. How comes marion/lady saw naaa an neva a get nuh fight wid har blackness all puddung di crown an pick up di lords crown an still recognized about fi get grammy????? Dirty spice come talk tuh mi oooo yuh can trick di crowd wid yuh fuckery but yuh naa trick mee ..gal mi nuh brain dead. It a get stale now see yuh get numba one deh now social media fuck yuh.. caah b4 ig n following music a reach to ppl heart n soul widout stunt. A weh di bloodclaat duh spice gal go siddung. A baaay yuh still nuh get di crown laugh afta di eediat. Couple days a social media talk an a bet seh di ppl dem figet di song aready but memba di fuckery stunt weh yuh neva affi pull :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak i thought it was about the music??? I guess not! Artist publicity stunts are now more meaningful than the actual songs wow!.. now that is hilarious sit down spice.
Love this article!!
Washington Post don’t give out Grammy nominations White Pepper 😀 😀 😀
:alay :supermaho :maho :selamat THANK YOU! Lmao
Last week I was one of many people when saw the initial picture of Spice without the reasoning behind it and was disappointed with the lighter image of Spice. I have always wanted her to push the agenda of black is beautiful. I am loving that she is now using her platform to spread awareness on this topic. I admire her drive, and nobody caah tell mi she Spice nuh work hard. she is the only female in dancehall actually working and not using her front fi pay her bills. Still link Tanya Stephenson and mek even better quality music.
Official Latty you some it perfectly :shakehand2 :shakehand2 If mi know mi would shake off ya hand .
Mine yuh gravitate some a di hate dem hab fi mi luv tek time shake off mi hand deh :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak mi hab turkle back go grab yuh alligator skin deh.
Over the gimmicks NEXT
Perhaps her song and video will lead to some intelligent discussion on this topic.
Yes yes yes Latty! Like I said :: slow news week in Washington. Washington is laughing by the way at the “ignorance of black Jamaicans “ They already turn up their noses at the likes of you crazy bleached out , fava bwile chicken ppl. This article reads more like satire.. if you read the Wash Post regularly you’ll get what I’m saying. Just another way to front page our ignorance as if its the MAJORITY of us that are so dumb, blind, and down right ignorant. With all of the medals Bolt has won, I have yet to see a full feature in WashPost. Now tell me : are they highlighting this epidemic or poking fun @ the “crazy Jamaicans who actually think they’re white “
Check the levels
Tek time wid di yes oooooo :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak :ngakak yuh know how it go… Anonymous big up damn yuhself yea.
Of a truth they aren’t really reporting on this to paint a positive picture, it’s been highlighted to further bring across the white agenda. No matter little progress they allow blacks in America, they will not and i repeat will not accept blacks as equals to them.
It is time we unite as blacks or nothing will change.
:thanks2 :request
The idiot them sound so disgusting, when they’re being interviewed, mi bleach oit and white and pretty, mi know if them nuh have eye fi se how them fava scold dog, and pick out feather fowl,Met I need you to pull out some 80s and 90s videos of how we originally look being black, and beautiful and radiant our black complexion used to be. Fucking clown them. Kmt
Tomorrow
An until administration Met block mi or give mi a ban mi naaaa tap comment and send unnu up unda weh unnu fi go ..dem know demselves. A suh mi tan mi speak my mind an when di ancestors talk tuh mi an mi energy tun up pity unnu don’t know all choo di computer mi can read di dirty energy weh some a unnu come wid yeah suh who don’t like dat bite dat. Unnu knows mi special don’t a das why more time di comments soak een like bleaching cream :ngakak matta fact mi ago start come back like mi use to an check back pan mi comments dem mek sure dem safe yea… Or a a di big dutty Latty troll unnu want mi be talk tuh oooooo cause mi petty bad bad. Suh talk tuh mi. Unnu should neva! Now unnu bring back out ppl weh did lock een heey madness unleash oba yah unnu betta start send een unnu vote fi mi get di wrist ban.