“A Lot Of It Comes From African American Women” The Multiracial Woman in K. Lamar’s “Humble” Speaks Out About Backlash

A few weeks ago The Internet lost its collective shit when Kendrick Lamar released his latest single, “Humble” (Read about it HERE). Most people praised the song, but a lot of women, including yours truly, weren’t so keen on Kendrick’s “ode to the natural women.”

I’m so fuckin’ sick and tired of the Photoshop
Show me somethin’ natural like afro on Richard Pryor
Show me somethin’ natural like ass with some stretchmarks
Still will take you down right on your mama’s couch in Polo socks, ay

humble

I won’t waste your time re-hashing the criticisms lodged against Lamar, but suffice it to say, that for some, the woman chosen to represent “natural beauty,” looked very much the “typical” or idolized Black woman in hollywood.

Also, from what I recall, most of the heat was directed at Kendrick Lamar, not so much the model. Sure she didn’t exactly have hair like Richard Pryor’s afro, and she didn’t look all that different without photoshop, so we were annoyed, but it didn’t really go beyond that. At least not for me.

In an interview with Elle, the model, 21 year-old Carter Kim, opens up about her ethnicity and some of the challenges she’s faced as a multiracial woman both before and after the video’s release:

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A lot of people don’t really see that I am black. It’s been a journey…My mom is full Korean, but she’s adopted, so she’s very Americanized now. I am Korean, French, and African American, and that’s what I am aware of. My dad is black and French….I have gotten denied by some agencies and some projects for either being too multicultural or even being ‘too pretty’ for a role. … I’ve gotten denied for being black a few times. Surprisingly, that has happened and I have gotten ‘not black enough.'”

As for the comments she’s received about her hair and complexion:

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“That part is extremely frustrating….I used to get teased for my hair and told my hair is fake….I’m a little puzzled because a lot of it comes from African American women. I’m just like, why wouldn’t you empower another African American woman who’s just trying to pave the way for her career and also just represent us as women in a music video that has now gone viral. I would just think they would be happy with that, but everyone finds something…

Her role model in the industry right now is Karrueche Tran:

“I’m sure Karrueche gets [comments] all day that’s she’s not black enough…To watch her still progress and watch others progress without worrying about negative comments is kind of where I get my strength from.

Click HERE read more from Carter’s interview with ElleFollow her on Instagram HERE .

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8 Comments

  1. Kerdisha St.Louis says:

    I guess its all about embracing diversity….some black women are bitter about the fact that very dark women are not as recognized as their multicultural and “lighter” counterparts…In my opinion a mixed black woman is still that a BLACK woman…so a win for her or any multicultural women is a win for black women in general.

  2. Black women are not 1/2 Asian or 1/2 white. Black women are created by a black biological mother & a black biological father. Biracial women only have ONE black biological parent. Why did Kendrick Lamar choose a biracial woman to represent a black woman in his video? I guess no beautiful black women were available that day?

    1. you sound stupid… Both parents can have black. Fyi I bet you’re not 100 % black. Ignorance.

    2. Right Olympia! They love to say black woman are bitter or jealous. Nah, just tired of people especially our own man not getting it.

  3. Kym Norfleet says:

    Let’s say we are harder on each other than others are on us. Stop judging who’ s black or not black enough. This is the 17 or 1800’s. Will we ever drop that slave competition mentality. Curly or nappy, stretch marks or not, we are all worthy. I’m tired of women whining about how hard it is to be mixed. You are black. Some may be confused, the world is not. I was always told I was too light so I must be mixed or cause my sister had blue eyes we were mixed race. Both sides parents are black. We all have our struggles. The focus should be on his message not on her. Why is she even responding?

  4. She is not black, she is bi-racial. Bi-racial is not black. A black person has a black mother and a black father. Think about why when someone is bi-racial they are called black, not white, not korean, not whatever. It is because other races consider black people inferior and do not want to claim them. It is insulting to call bi-racial people black. If you want to call them black, then you should also call them white, call them korean. You can’t can you? Think about why and then you will realize why they are NOT black. They only claim blackness because they cannot claim anything else!

    1. “They only claim blackness because they cannot claim anything else!” You are so right sommer

    2. Winter_Reserve says:

      Sommer, you’re saying that biracial people are neither black nor white, when in fact they are black AND white.

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