Reggae Artist Vybz Kartel Bleaches His Skin; Why Self-Hate Continues to Destroy the Black Community

Reggae artist Vybz Kartel hates himself, but it’s not his fault. The dancehall musician lightened his skin and has experienced a backlash from fans who are appalled by his physical changes. In a recent interview, Kartel linked blacks who lighten their skin to white people who tan.

“This is my new image,” Kartel said in the interview. “You can expect the unexpected. I feel comfortable with black people lightening their skin. They want a different look. It’s tantamount to white people getting a sun tan.”

Kartell is endorsing his own brand of cake soap and claims that the soap lightens his skin. However, Bounty Killer countered by saying that his mother has used cake soap and it has yet to bleach her skin. Bounty Killer believes that Kartel is using something stronger to lighten his skin.

But Kartel’s choice to bleach his skin stems from a deeply rooted form of self-hatred that has permeated the black community for hundreds of years. Because blacks have been under white hegemony for so long, many blacks have idolized the caucasian image while detesting black images.

Furthermore, white slave owners often created discord between dark and fair skinned slaves to minimize the chances of a slave revolt. As a result, that form of thinking was passed along through generations of black culture. Many dark-skinned kids are picked on by their peers at school, and some black fraternities and sororities have a history of segregating themselves based on skin complexion. The media has also historically centered on fair-skinned blacks in ad campaigns and in Hollywood.

Even Lil Wayne, who happens to be dark skinned, has perpetuated the self-hatred by rapping, “Beautiful black woman, but I bet she looks better red.”

So as Kartel continues to lighten his skin, understand that he and other uninformed blacks are victims of a senseless epidemic that destroys the progression of the black community.

–amir shaw