Complexion (A Zulu Love) by Kendrick Lamar

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Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper, songwriter and record producer. Since his commercial breakthrough in 2012 with Good Boy, M.A.A.D. City, Lamar has been considered as one of the most influential artists of his generation, as well as one of the best rappers and lyricists of all time. [1]

Black Empowerment

Complexion (A Zulu Love) by Kendrick Lamar

Complexion (A Zulu Love) was released in 2015, as a track on Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly album. Through this song, Lamar tells about self-esteem problems surrounding the colour of one's skin and the importance of embracing all kinds of black, no matter how light or dark.

The chorus refers to the brutal oppression suffered by the black Zulu tribe in South Africa because of the colour of their skin under the oppressive apartheid policies of the region. [2]

Complexion (two-step)
Complexion don't mean a thing (it's a Zulu love)
Oh, Complexion (two-step)
It all feels the same (it's a Zulu love)"

Kendrick Lamar, selecting the route of visibility and presenting a blueprint for change, goes beyond merely narrating a weakness in our society. In this single, "Complexion," Lamar aims to break down the walls that actually exist not only in a wider community but have perpetuated their subtle forms in the black community. [3]

Rapsody

In this song, Lamar is featuring a black American rapper from Snow Hill, North Carolina, named Marlanna Evans (as known as Rapsody). Rapsody sang a part in Complexion, which says,

If you don’t see you beautiful in your complexion, it ain’t complex to put it in context
Find the air beneath the kite, that’s the context.”

In an interview with Complex, Rapsody said, “One play from context is just talking about taking something negative and finding something good in it. I assume that's bringing the air behind your wings, or like you're a kite.

In Rapsody’s view, Complexion brings the whole idea of colourism and how much of a problem it’s in the black community. Light skin versus dark skin.

She said, “It goes all the way back to slavery where you had the dark skin blacks. You know, they were called the field niggas, because they were working in the field. Then, you had the house niggas who were the light skin ones. Having that separation, it created the vibe, which we still see today and it still affects us. We all come in different shapes, colours, and sizes. But the way we look on the outside, our colour doesn’t make anyone better than the next. We are all beautiful in our own right. So it is just appreciating the variety within the black community.[4]

Black Racism in History

On the first 16 bars of the track, Kendrick places himself in the historic shoes of a slave who's hunting for a lighter-skinned "house servant." The part,

"Sneakin" through the back doors,I'm a strong field nigga.
I made a flower for you outta cotton just to chill wit ya,”
is so metaphorically potent that upon each listens you can feel another layer of its meaning.

On the surface, it describes the obstacles that impede society’s unity and the division that is founded on race. On a deeper level, those very lines can be used to sum up the entire To Pimp a Butterfly album. In this case, the butterflies are rappers, or on a broader basis, the misuse of black culture and symbolism may be intended to reflect the path that black culture has and would follow only to get "a seat at the table" – from the back window. [5]

Reference

  1. Kendrick Lamar. www.en.wikipedia.org. Retrieved on January 16, 2021.
  2. Complexion (A Zulu Love) by Kendrick Lamar. www.songfacts.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2021.
  3. On Complexion and Kendrick Lamar – Part II. www.matthewrmorris.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2021.
  4. Interview: Rapsody Details Her Feature on Kendrick Lamar's 'To Pimp a Butterfly' Album. March 17, 2015. www.complex.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2021.
  5. Hip Hop’s Layers of Meaning – Kendrick Lamar’s “Complexion”. www.matthewrmorris.com. Retrieved on January 16, 2021.