The cost of being “real”: black authenticity, colourism, and Billboard Rap Chart rankings

ABSTRACT

Research on black authenticity identifies “oppressive othering” and “white standards of beauty”, particularly lighter skin tone, as key components. Few studies disentangle which of these two theoretical components matter the most for a particular outcome. Rap music, whose lyrics are often categorized as authentic expressions of blackness, offers an intriguing case to compare the effects of “oppressive othering” (as alcohol and drug lyrics) and “white standards of beauty” (as the rap artist’s skin tone) on national music charts. Analysing artists’ skin tone and lyrical content of songs ranked on Billboard Rap Year-End Charts from 2007 to 2011, results show that lighter skin tone is significantly and positively related to higher chart rankings. Alcohol and drug lyrics, however, had a non-significant effect. Implications are discussed in relation to the effects of the commodified imagery of “authentic” blackness in the new digital era of music.

KEYWORDS:

• Black authenticity
• colourism
• content analysis
• controlling images
• rap music
• hip hop

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.