*Eric Benet is feeling the heat from fans and some new enemies after dropping controversial song, “Redbone Girl,” playing on the classically Southern phrase describing light skinned women.
Outraged critics claim that he’s promoting the mainstream, racist standards of beauty.
“I think it’s its own form of racism,” he told CBS Local of the controversy. “I did a song called “Chocolate Legs’ about my experience with a dark skin lady. There was no anger or uproar of ‘How dare you.’ So ‘Redbone Girl’ is one song about one experience about a girl who happens to be light complected but there was quite an uproar.”
Despite him attempting to justify his position, online critics are relentless, saying the light skin beauty concept is linked to privilege and superior beauty.
“There’s a clear premium on light skin and on straight hair, whether it grows out of your head or not,” said Akiba Solomon gender blogger for Colorlines.com. “I’m not a big fan of songs that fetishize dark skin either. But you could argue that [the ‘dark-skin’ devoted songs] offer some sort of resistance to the prevailing beauty standards. He’s attempting to be provocative. He’s pretending that he’s never heard about light skin preferences. Let’s not pretend that it doesn’t exist.”
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But Benet doesn’t accept the argument, saying there is a double standard in society when it comes to artists expressing themselves and sharing their experiences.
“You can talk about how wonderful it is to be with a dark complected person but how dare you talk about having an experience experience with light skin person,” he said. “By no way is ‘Redbone Girl’ me professing my preference for any type of skin color. It’s just the songwriter talking about one experience. When people look into it much deeper than that, it’s on them.”
While Eric Benet does attempt to provide some sort of balance with a separate song and a disclaimer, Lil Wayne takes a less nuanced approach on “Redbone Girl.” He raps about the pleasures of a lighter skin girls in general terms, as if he’s taking a 2012 version of the “Doll Test.”
“I like the long hair, thick redbone … I like ‘em lights-kinned, lighter than a feather…”
Benet says no matter which side of the argument you stand, songs like “Redbone Girl” ultimately provide an opportunity to have the discussion about how blacks view each other.
“I think the fact that we are talking about it, it’s an issue,” he said. “Now it makes me, on my next record, want to talk about an experinece with an Asian girl. What I was trying to do as a songwriter is talk about the beauty of all. One at a time. The fact that it’s so sensitive, we need to talk about it.”
Really?? Eric??? you have a song about black women who are of a lighter complexion??? that light vs dark argument is so old and played out no one wants to hear it anymore. You mean to tell me there was no other subject matter you could have written a song about??? I was never a Benet fan anyway so I will not bother to listen to this track ( another thing Eric you have that digusting troll Lil Wayne on the track we he does not like the beautiful brown sisters, he has stated so in the past)
correction- we know he
babycakes, I agree with everything you mentioned above. I’ve even seen club notices advertising light and dark skin parties and find it so repulsive. There isn’t a demographic on the planet who does not know of their obsession but it’s kinda embarrassing when they gleefully wear that type of ignorance on their sleeve. Awareness of these attitudes is part of why I support very few artists these days. Hopefully, men and women who Benet represents will support him but I’m proud to say I’ve never purchased any of his music although I’ve liked a few songs.
Where was this post when he made a song about a brown skinned girl? Did he put down dark skinned girls at all in the song he has out now? The answer would be no. You need to look at yourself to think that him praising a redboned girl is a put down to dark skinned women. It would seem to me that you have the problem.
Eric I plan to hopefully see you next Wednesday since I missed you in March and I don’t give a damn about no red bone black bone yellow bone or purple bone song. Like he said before he did a song chocolate legs and had a deep dark skinned woman in the video and he had a brown skinned woman in Sometimes I Cry, so what if he wants to do a song on light skinned women so fuckin what! His wife is redboned. Eric I still love you keep iit movin and the hell with the naysayers and if they was never fans then you really ain’t lost nothin’
I’m guessing you’re dark-skinned, then? Either way, why hate? This is the one time where I feel there’s a kneejerk reaction instead of some thought put to this. I can respect the very unique ways in which different cultures, ethnicities, and body types are beautiful in women. Why can’t he sing about one and then move on to the next? He DID release ‘Chocolate Legs’ first. So what’s the issue?
NO! I am not dark complexioned, I jjust get tired of the whole light vs dark issue. Black is beautiful always has been and will be no matter what the shade it is, but some people think he is favoring the lighter sisters which it appers he is why not just make a song about a beautiful black woman period and not refer to her light skin.
Plus he added insult to injury by collaborating with Lil Wayne.
This article misses the point. Red Bone Girl does not celebrate lighter skinned women. It lyrically demeans them. Chocolate Legs is an homage to a woman he loves and nurtures his spirit when he comes home from a long hard day. Red Bone Girl well…she is loose and sleeps around. This stereotype of light skinned women in the Black community is played upon. It is a horrible song and this is the first time that I am boycotting an Eric Benet album.
Uhm…so what were the lyrics again?
Quite naturally, this is our usual knee-jerk reaction to anything.
Get over it.
“Black is Black”
I don’t see what the big taboo is. People clearly have preferences on what they like. No one should have to be ashamed of that. The real taboo is that too many people buy into the “light ia right” mentality. If we could ever convince the rest of the world that we don’t have a problem with our color, they probably wouldn’t give it a second thought.
So what if he did collaborate with Lil Wayne so f**n what! and marvasmith don’t nobody care if youl try to boycott eric’s album because you ain’t gone stop nothin’ Eric will still have other fans and he won’t be even missin you.
This debate will go on and on just be happy in your own skin
Eric Benet this is just shameful, small-mindedness, ignorant self destructed, service no one but you and all bad.
As opposed to focusing on Bonet and his song we need a broader discussion on the varying definitions of race and how folks that are part of the African Diaspora have internalized white definitions of beauty. As an Afro-Latino I know to well how many of the 150 million Africans in Latino America have been spoonfed a race diet of “good hair” black folks vs. “pelo malo” bad haired black folks. Brazil has over 100 categories of race attempt to created divisions among black people of varying hues as a method of divide and conquer. Bonet is either ignorant, a profit driven artist, or is rightfully confused about what one author has termed the “color complex” as hurt all black people. We’ve come a long way from James Brown’s “Say it Loud I’m Black and I’m Proud to Redbone girl. I encourage folks to read “Brainwashed: The Myth of Black Inferiority” which provides insights on how our folks so easily fall into this type of family feud.
Eric B. was married to one of the most beautiful light-skinned women in the world (Halle Berry). I think he cheated on that beautiful light skinned lady. . His problem is not with or light/dark skinned women. He has a problem with his own self-esteem and he is bad at serious relationships period.
I think all black men like him have low self-esteem and need to deal with getting a more positive aspect about themselves insted of trying to raise it through the color of some poor girls skin who prpbably have low-self esteem, anxiety, bi-polar, depression, or has suffered abuse(physical,emotional or sexual) herself.
Deal with the nature of your own beast before you get involved in a serious relationship .
Successful relationships has nothing to do with skin color. WAKE UP!