Does He Have a Point? Eric Benet Calls Backlash Over “Redbone” Song It’s Own Form Of Racism

July 20th, 2012 - By Alissa Henry
"Eric Benet"

Source: MediaOutrage.com

Because the light-skinned versus dark-skinned conversations will never die in the Black community, especially concerning Black women, Eric Benet took an opportunity to fuel the conversation with his controversial song “Redbone Girl.” Of course, the song was met with a heavy dose of criticism. Many were blasting him for esteeming light-skinned women as more sexually desirable than dark-skinned women.

The controversy was not lost on him and he defended the song to CBS Local saying that the criticism of the song was a form of racism.

“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.”

As far as Benet is concerned, there is a double standard when it comes to how society and singers can express themselves about a woman’s beauty in the black community.

“You can talk about how wonderful it is to be with a dark complected person but how dare you talk about having an 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.”

To be sure, Benet is not oblivious to the longtime issues of race and colorism within the black community. He opens ”Redbone Girl” with a type of disclaimer that he hoped would inoculate him against such charges.

“I love all women,” he says on the song’s introduction. “I love them dark and light. Short, tall, thick, thin and back one more ‘gain.”

If we really want to get deep then we can talk about the fact that Chocolate Legs is more sexual than Redbone Girl but, after reading the lyrics, I realize neither songs are very flattering. Who wants to be desired solely based on skin tone anyway?

Still, Eric Benet’s defense is laughable. People throw the “racism” word around too easy. Nobody is “racist” because they don’t like his song. If he called them “oversensitive” then that would be one thing, but as outdated as it may seem, colorism is still a major issue in our community. It’s hard to believe he didn’t see a controversy coming when he made the song. I’m sure he understands that there is a prevailing notion that light-skinned black women are universally preferred, so singing about a dark-skinned woman is unexpected and thus welcomed.

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.”

We do talk about it. We talk about it all the time, but some still find it offensive.

Of course, men and women are allowed to prefer what ever skin tone they want to prefer in another person. It is truly not that serious. Especially considering this man is an admitted sex-addict who stepped out on his marriage despite being married to a “redbone”. And Lil Wayne…well, he’s Lil Wayne and seems to have children with all women without regard to skin tone. Both of these men are an utter mess in relationships thus making their preference a non-issue.

I do think it is important that entertainers pay attention to the messages they put out, but light-skinned girls are worthy of love too and honestly there’s nothing noble about preferring any person solely based on her skin tone whether light-skinned or dark-skinned. And what about those of us who are neither light-skinned nor dark-skinned? Is there a song for us too? Maybe instead of encouraging these entertainers to refrain from singing about light-skinned women, we can ask them to think a little deeper and tell us the reasons why they love us that have nothing do with something as shallow as skin tone.

Watch the video of his interview here:

What do you think? Does the backlash from Eric Benet’s “Redbone” song stem from racism?

Follow Alissa on Twitter @AlissaInPink

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  • Miss Anonymous

    Not to be off topic but ummm . . . . . Eric B has a song out called Redbone that has been out since May and its toward the end of July and people are now hearing about it?

    • Ash

      Honestly, I’m too busy listening to Drake, Trey Songz, Nicki Minaj, Miguel, and Frank Ocean to be concerned with some old guy.

      • Miss Anonymous

        Lol I didnt even know he had a album out., I googled it after reading this. On a second thought why is he bringing up his song “chocolate legs” when nobody really knew knew about that one either.

  • BEAUTY85

    I really feel sorry for black people! What has the world come to when some black men worship light skin women as though they were made from gold or diamonds, now if you made of that i could understand, but at the end of the day they are just a skin tone nothing special, just like all the rest.The fact that he put lil wayne on it, is quite disturbing, other than that i would have seen know problem with the song and I am brown skin.I mean look at kelly rowland she is so desperate for a hit that she has done two songs featuring lil wayne. IT’S so funny how people want to boycott basketball wives but when it comes to rappers talking about guns, drugs, and redbones and the perminator, there seems to be know boycott for that, WHY BECAUSE BLACK PEOPLE LIKE TO IGNORE ISSUES THAT REALLY MATTER!

  • cleojonesin

    I think the main problem with this song is the title. ‘Redbone’ has such a negative connotation to both lighter and darker complected women. Being dark skinned, I can remember growing up and hearing boys say ‘I only like redbones.’ For lighter complected women, it seems that term sexualizes and creates almost a fetish for men. That is very sexist in my opinion. I think sexism and respect for women in general is the larger issue within the black community.

    • Rhonda Chambers

      That’s true. A lot of southern men are taught to view light skinned women as bedmates and nothing else. There’s a lot of in house predjudice and discrimination going on.

  • Nay

    Whats the big deal?? The man likes red bones!! Duhhh!! U saw him with halle m heard how he was trying to sex her nonstop!! All these rappers rapping about yellow bones redbones foreign women but at léast he made a song about a sister n u cant take nobodys black card cuz theyre light–skinned!! Éase-up!!

    • fergie81

      Exactly!!!!!

  • Coco black

    BORED.COM!!!…..well, I’ve never seen OR heard of him with a dark skin sister, and if I’m honest I couldn’t careless!! We all know he’s proclaiming his preference for what ‘he’ likes.
    I’m bored to death of all this light skin/dark skin nonsense. I’m dark and my Mother is light…my Mother taught me to be a confident and strong black woman! black comes in many shades…we are all beautiful. F**k what Eric or Li Wayne have to say..
    Seriously…..I’m soooooooo over this nonsense. I’m soooooooooooooooo bored of it!!!

    • Annette

      Did you read the article?

      Eric Benet has dated dark skinned women. That’s what Chocolate Legs was about.

      He also put a line at the beginning of this song to say he likes all colors of women. I think some of us have issues so deep with colorism that we are convinced someone ous dissing us even when they are not…

  • A.J.

    I understand that this discussion does wear itself out at times, as it seems that someone is always focused on a discussion about complexion. However, we (Black people) did not start this color issue. Maybe people will stop talking about it when we stop trying to pass it off as just a preference, saying “leave it alone”, and denying that there is a deep-rooted issue here. Personally, I don’t feel that any woman would like being objectified in a song. However, the whole double-standard argument that he’s making doesn’t hold much water. And I also agree that we don’t just come in two shades.

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  • Just saying!!

    As a red-boned girl I’m offended that someone would even make a song like that. I’ve had bad experiences of men wanting to date me for all the wrong reasons and the fact that he’s a sex addict doesn’t help anything. And to those who ask why the double-standard…it’s because light skin was never liked by itself, but because of its relativity to whiteness. Therefore, light skin had always been seen as inferior. People can say what they want about “preferences” but I don’t think Lil Wayne and countless others disliking dark-skinned black women is random!!

    • Just saying!!

      That should say “light-skin has always been seen as superior”. Every time I leave a comment on this site I can’t seem to edit my comments and then have to write another one to correct my autocorrect. Ughh!!!

    • Nay

      Yea but alot of black music seems to be an ode to light skinned sisters–so its not shocking to me

    • Rhonda Chambers

      Oh yes!Most black men come around me for ALL the wrong reasons. You think they are nice and then comes the weird requests. These people are out of their minds. I think some of these men think we are the closet thing to a white woman. They have different practices that they enjoy when it comes to relations that many black women don’t. I”m Black and don’t claim to be anything else. Both of my parents are black. End of story. I don’t have anything to do with potential hidden DNA.

  • letsbereal

    It’s a song…… it won’t lower the unemployment rate or taxes. I swear WE are the most sensitive people. So what he made a song about light skinned girls, dark skinned girls, and soon Asian ones. Anthony Hamilton sang about the big girls and no one was complaining about him promoting diabetes and high blood pressure.

    • greyeyed girl

      It is not about sensitivity it is about how skin tone determines how one’s life is lead and access to opportunities. Lets face it, the lighter you are and the less black you look, the better you are treated.

      • letsbereal

        That is the common excuse that we use. People treat you how you LET them treat you.

        • Ash

          And if I try to correct someone on how they are treating me I am the “angry black woman” yet again…

          • letsbereal

            I’m called that all of the time but it doesn’t bother me because I will get my respect one way or the other. Stop worrying about what others think of you. It’s like the saying,”a hit dog gon holler” you can call me angry all you want but you will respect me.

      • Rhonda Chambers

        Being lightskinned hasn’t gotten me any special treatment. But it sure has gotten me plenty of discrimination from in house racist blacks.

  • Is It 5:00 Yet?

    I’m not really offended and I’m chocolate complected (if that’s a word). Everyone is entitled to their opinion and preferences.

    I don’t like it ,as someone stated, when someone puts their preferences as the universal standard of beauty.

  • http://www.facebook.com/adams.christina Christina Adams

    We are 1, when we’re protesting. We are 1, when we’re on the back of the bus. We are 1, when we understand racism. We were 1 when we became the greatest abolitionist of the 19th century. We were 1 when we welcomed our first black president. But, In our circle, we are shunned for being too light? We need to stop tearing each other down because of past scars that we did not bring nor inflict onto each other. I’m tired of backlash against lighter skinned women when the focus may for that moment be on them. I admire fully the beauty of the dark skinned woman. I personally think the black woman is the true definition of beauty. Society has tricked us by pitting us against each other. Why do we let them win? We need to wake up!!

    • allieesq

      Preach! As people of color, we fail to realize that the more we embrace the psychological tactics used to control and shackle us (the n word, the light skin versus dark skin, the good hair versus bad hair, etc.) is the more we allow the past to define our present and future. What we need to do as a community is learn to respect and love all our women of color, then maybe there would be fewer pretty little black girls (light, dark, and in between) posted up on the Internet starved for love and attention.

    • fergie81

      I totally agree with this all black is beautiful,,what difference does it make what shade of black another black person is making a song about???!!! We should have more confidence in ourselves as a people to not get caught up in bull crap like this. I am light but I don’t get mad when a rapper references a red-bone female in a song, because you will turn around and see lil wayne with Nivea who is not a red-bone!!! We sometimes take some issues out of context, but that is something “we” have to work on, first work on yourself and then we can evolve as a people. We get worked up over some of the most un-important issues but the issues we need to stand together on we don’t. Of course these type of stigmas have been going on for centuries within our own community. If it’s light then it is right and black get back!!!Just because you are light don’t mean you didn’t get beat upsided the head with an ugly stick let’s be clear. And I love dark chocolate aint nothing like it. Let’s love ourselves and each other!!!!!!!!,

  • UNQUE43

    PPL WHY CAN’T HE SING ABOUT WHAT HE WANTS? WHEN WILL WE STOP WEARING OUR FEELING ON OUR SHOULDERS. NO MATTER THE COLOR OF OUR COMPLEXION WE ARE ALL BLACK WOMEN THAT IS WHEN WE ARE BLACK. IT MAKES ME SICK WHEN I HEAR BLACK PEOPLE SAYING THINGS LIKE WHAT ANGEL COMMENTED. HE DIDN’T SAY ANYTHING ABOUT OUR BLACK FEATURES WELL ALL BLACK WOMEN DON’T HAVE THE TRADITIONAL BLACK FEATURES. WHEN WILL WE GET OUR BACK BONE AND STOP NEEDING SPECIAL TREATMENT BECAUSE WE ARE BLACK. YOU SEE WHEN YOU TALK LIKE THIS IT MAKES US (BLACK) SEEM WEAK AND NEEDY, TO THE OTHER RACE OF PEOPLE ON THIS EARTH. I RECALL MY YOUNG SON SAYING MOM WHEN A DOG IS A DOG NO MATTER THE COLOR, SHORT HAIR LONG HAIR, LONG TAIL, SHORT, TAIL POINTY EARS, FLOPPY EARS HE IS STILL A DOG. IT’S THE SAME WITH PEOPLE NO MATTER THE SHAPE OF YOUR NOSE, THE COLOR OF OUR COMPLEXION, TALL, SHORT, WE ARE STILL ONE RACE THE HUMAN RACE. @ AILLAH COME ON NOW WE ALL CAN’T HAVE THE SAME COMPLEXION. IF HE MADE THE SONG AND IT TALKED ONLY OF DARK SKINNED WOMEN WOULD YOU FELT BETTER. NOW I AM A BLACK WOMAN DARK SKINNED I LOVE ME AND I HAVE NO ISSUES WITH HIS SONG MATTER OF FACT I LOVE MANY OF HIS SONGS. COME ON PEOPLE STOP BEING WEAK ABOUT OUR BLACK FEATURES WHO TOLD YOU THAT OUR FEATURES WERE INFERIOR. NO DOUBLE STANDARD HERE JUST SOME WHO HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THEIR OWN BLACKNESS. SO ITS OKAY FOR SOMEONE TO SING ABOUT HOW HE LOVES A DARK CHOCOLATE WOMAN BUT IF HE SING ABOUT LIGHT COMPLEXION YOU WHAT TO CRY FOUL. GET A SPINE. WE GOT TO IMPROVE OUR MINDS, EDUCATE OUR CHILDREN, BE GOOD PARENTS, SUPPORT OUR ECONOMY AND BUILD OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD INSTEAD OF COMPLAINING ABOUT CRAP LIKE THIS. TIME TO BUILD OUR BACKBONE AND TO STOP THIS DOWNWARD SLIDE INTO THE PAST. DON’T FORGET THE PAST BUT DO BETTER. LOOK AROUND DON’T YOU SEE THE DOWNWARD SLIDE?

    • Angel

      Why did I say that made u sick? I was explaining why some people were probably upset.

    • Ash

      Why are you yelling?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Robbin-Melton/100000684532644 Robbin Melton

    I guess this centuries old argument will never end until humans cease to exist since skin tone is a global issue within all brown races. He just needed some publicity, so what better way? And frankly, I wouldn’t be flattered to know he wrote a song about me if I were these women.

  • Madeline

    Where is this uproar happening??? I smell a PR stunt, this must be the next single. It’s the worst song he’s ever done and not because of the title, either (I’m red).

  • Commom Cent$

    I can completely get where is is coming from as a dark skinned woman I didn’t get what all the hype was about. Now I will admit that I get irritated when I hear ignorant people like lil wayne say beautiful black woman but I bet that she would look better red because that goes beyond a personal preference that is saying a woman can’t be attractive unless she has a lighter complexion. However I know these songs don’t define me so I take it with a grain of salt I refuse to live my life based on what someone says in a song or on tv. Part of the beauty of black people is that we are incredibly diverse from our skin tone to hair texture we really need to get it together there is more that unites us than divides us.

  • Guest

    I agree with Zillah. We all have preferences. I don’t know why some people need to broadcast them. I really don’t want to know or care what you like. Just appreciate her for who she is and treat her right!!!!

  • Zillah

    Why make any song making reference to skin complexion? It’s plain stupid….I’m much more than just a shade of black. These guys have issues.

  • MLS2698

    Lots of people have skin color preferences. I am caramel colored, but I like DARK skin on a man. Reds, yellows, tans………nope. Pink….not gonna comment. I also agree with Lola.

    • Guest

      I agree people like what they like. I noticed that the dislike button was pushed alot when speaking of people exercising their personal preferences. I guess we haven’t moved past the point of taking a compliment to one as an insult to the rest of us. I guess all this fabulosity and self bragging being displayed now by the sisters is just a front for the obvious deep insecurities that still plague so many of them!!!!!

  • Angel

    I think the “double standard” is because when ppl praise dark-skinned women its like they are praising black beauty, but when ppl praise light-skinned women it comes across like they are praising non-black features/looks. Also, like someobody already said these types of features have always been seen as superior so when someone praises it, it looks like colorism.

    • Miss Anonymous

      Idk, When my friend was pregnant with her 3rd baby, she was sad and upset. She wondered how she would explain to her unborn daughter about her (the baby) being so “dark and ugly” where her brother and sister is so “light and pretty”. She had her daughter by a black man and her older two by mixed men. I shook my head at it. Now she has another child by a mixed man (married him) so instead of worrying how to explain why they all have different daddies, she doesnt know how to explain why her youngest girl isnt “light,t pretty and mixed” like her siblings.

      • Angel

        smh…sad

        • Miss Anonymous

          Yes it is. She feels that if her children are lighter then they will have a better life then she had and she look just like Tyra Banks. I guess she saw how when we would go out how the black men would flock to our latina friend first, her and then if they are bored me. Our friend slept with the guy on night one and he married her the next week. My friend she has had alot of marriage proposals (yes with 3 kids) and got married where as me (the dark one) I havent had any marriage proposals but plenty of “ooh i looove me some dark girls, come over and chill in my room” offers. Plus we stay in the south so you know how that goes. lol. I even had guys I was dating want to be with them after seeing them only once. smh, I must be the ugly friend in the group.

          • Angel

            WOW….idk if i would be abe to survive in the south honestly.My mom grew up there (South Carolina) and she has told me how ppl down there are about color. My aunt is much lighterwith curly hair and she said ppl would always randomly ask if shes jealous of my aunt bcuz my aunt is “so pretty” smh.

  • Delores

    Yes, he has a point. No uproar about singing about a dark skinned sister, but uproar when he sings about a light skinned sister. Why the double standard within our own community?

    • Lola

      You raised a good point but I think the reason people get irate over lyrics such as Benet’s is because historically, light-skin women were perceived as superior to dark-skin women. But to be honest I’m just so tired of these kinds of discussions – it is exhausting.

    • greyeyed girl

      Don’t think it is a double standard, its just darker skinned black women tend to be excluded. This is a known fact, whether we want to face it or not. it is the truth. Thank god I don’t have this issue and don’t live a “black” life even though I am a black woman…one that so happens to have natural light grey eyes.

      • monitorette

        Oh, lucky you!! so you should thank your white ancestor along with thanking God for not having those issues and this ‘black’ life???

      • Staro

        Please leave the plantation . . ..

      • Staro

        And while you don’t live a “black life” (whatever the hell that means), you do, however live in the darkness of your own delusions. Grey eyes saves you from the perils of “black life”??? Hilarious. Your blind as blind as a bat.

      • Rhonda Chambers

        Ha! Your grey eyes don’t mean a thing to a racist. I’ve had my share of racism from whites and Im no where near dark skinned. You folks need a reality check.

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