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Spice

Source: SPEX PHOTOGRAPHY, INC / SPEX PHOTOGRAPHY, INC

***Update***

Spice finally responded to the backlash surrounding her album cover.

Colorism is an issue not only prevalent in American culture but in Caribbean culture as well and this Love & Hip Hop Atlanta artist Spice (real name Grace Hamilton) is using her platform to speak out about it. Spice scammed all of us when she posted a questionable photo on Instagram that left fans speculating she bleached her skin.

It turns out, the image was a super effective marketing ploy to grab our attention. Spice released her mixtape Captured, which debuted at #1 on the reggae charts.

Spice’s controversial promotion raised eyebrows, but for good reason. Her first single is about the affects of colorism and how it could push someone to bleach their skin.

“I get hate from my own race yes that’s a fact,” she raps. “Cause the same black people dem say I’m too black and if you bleach out you skin dem same one come a chat.”

Celebrities and artists like Michael Jackson, Vybez Kartel and Sammy Sosa infamously bleached their skin to appear lighter.

Spice’s stance, banish colorism, was met with polarizing comments. While some fans understood her message, others couldn’t understand her tactics.

In 2017, website SoulReflectionz.com spoke with six Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaican natives, who shared their thoughts on the idea that lighter skin is more desirable.

“There’s no question that in Trinidad and Tobago, a lot of people see light-skinned individuals as superior to those with darker skin. Here, light-skinned means ‘exotic’ to many, and exotic, in turn, is considered to be more interesting,” Michael from Trinidad and Tobago said. “Light-skinned people tend to have the advantage/upper hand when it comes to the way they are treated by the general public. I’m not just saying that. I’ve seen it with my own eyes, and, being dark-skinned, have been on the receiving end of negativity because of my shade of black. Slavery definitely has a part to play in this mindset.”

Spice is using her platform to promote change in the culture. We’re here for it. Stream her mixtape, here.

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‘LHHATL’ Star Spice Just Pulled Off The Best Marketing Ploy To Get People To Listen To Her Mixtape  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com