Sophie Mbeyu Blog: Are there any dark skinned women in Africa? You wouldn’t know it from looking at many of our music videos

Sunday 31 July 2016

Are there any dark skinned women in Africa? You wouldn’t know it from looking at many of our music videos

Dark girls? No thanks! : Why are so many African artists so colorstruck? (Photo: YouTube video still)

There’s no denying that Africa has some of the most talented musicians in the world. By making hit after record-breaking hit, these artists have proven that the continent’s musical talent stacks up against the best in the world. There’s just one problem: too many top artists seem to be promoting the warped impression that true beauty only comes in one form: light/white skin. Is this a wrong-headed marketing ploy or are these artists truly blind to the negative body image attitudes they are promoting?

Hey Africa! Let’s talk about something. We’ve noticed it and we know you have too. Unless you live under a rock, you must know that the music industry in Africa is going through a bit of a “golden period.” Artists from Nigeria, Tanzania, South Africa and Uganda (you name them) have taken Africa and the world by storm. That’s meant lots of flashy music videos popping up almost every day of the week.

Creativity abounds but, unfortunately, so does something else: many of the artists seem to prefer using white or light-skinned models to dark-skinned ones. If you went on YouTube right now and cued up ten of the latest music video offerings from top artist in West, East and Southern Africa, this would quickly become apparent. In fact It’s impossible to avoid the conclusion that top African artists are a colorstruck bunch. Just to drive the point home, here are a few that leap out even from a cursory glance.