Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases the 2018 song "Just My Luck" by African American singer/actress Coco Jones.
This post also presents information about the terms "colorism", "melanin", and "melanated" and archives selected comments about those topics from the discussion thread for that Rhythm & Blues song.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Coco Jones for her musical legacy and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post.
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INFORMATION ABOUT COLORISM
Excerpt #1:
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discrimination_based_on_skin_color
" "colorism" = "Discrimination based on skin color, ...usually from members of the same race in which people are treated differently based on the social implications from cultural meanings attached to skin color."...
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Excerpt #2
From https://www.bustle.com/articles/37427-5-truths-about-colorism-that-ive-learned-as-a-black-woman-in-nyc "5 Truths About Colorism That I've Learned As a Black Woman In NYC" by Kristin Collins Jackson, Nov 18 2014
..."Colorism is the principle that those with lighter, fairer skin are treated with a higher regard than those with darker skin, and it happens both between racial communities and within them. Media outlets have long been accused of using Photoshop to lighten darker-skinned folks in order to make them more appealing to the masses. During Obama's first run for president, sources audaciously pointed out that our first black president was a light-skinned man, suggesting that he may not have been elected or had the same opportunities to be elected if he were darker-skinned. This discrimination has historical roots — during slavery, lighter-skinned black people often worked in the house, while darker-skinned black people were relegated to work in the fields.
[...]
colorism is one of the worst types of discrimination, it in itself does not discriminate. It exists everywhere, in all cultures, and in all races."...
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Excerpt #3:
From https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Colorism
"Colorism
The discrimination of African Americans by Skin tone in their own community, usually subconsciously done, as most Blacks dont realize they're doing it until some dumb rapper or famous person makes a stupid untrue statement about darker toned women.
Perpetuated during slavery and by the media which seems to suggest lighter skin females to be of a higher stance than darker ones.
Perpetuated by rappers who often show more lighter skinned women in videos and hardly any darker ones.
Perpetuated by some Black men who treat lighter skinned females in a higher regard than darker toned ones.
An untrue Inplication that darker skin girls cannot be as fine as lighter ones. Bullsh&t*.
Example of statements made for colorism
1.(rapper) "She gotta be a thick lightskinned redbone...long hair..."
2. "Dang you cute... for a dark skinned girl."
3. "Lightskinned girls just way finer! I dont want no dark girl!"
#tone#black#racism#african american]#race"
by loblg88 January 17, 2010
-snip-
*This word is fully spelled out in this comment.
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COLLOQUIAL USE OF "MELANIN" AND "MELANATED"
The terms "melanin" and "melanated" have been widely used since around 2014 among certain populations of African Americans (those who are "woke" - conscious of the political & social realities of race). Among this population, "melanated" is an adjective that means "full of melanin" (i.e. full of Black African ancestry). "Melanated" is especially used to refer to Black people with dark brown skin.
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2019/05/what-does-term-melanated-mean-when-did.html for the May 2019 pancocojams post entitled "What Does The Term "Melanated" Mean & When Did "Melanin" Become A Popular Referent For Black People?"
Here's an excerpt from that pancocojams blog post:
From https://www.dictionary.com/browse/melanin
"any of a class of insoluble pigments, found in all forms of animal life, that account for the dark color of skin, hair, fur, scales, feathers, etc.
[...]
ORIGIN OF THE TERM MELANIN
First recorded in 1835–45; melan- + -in2
RELATED FORMS
mel·a·nin·like, adjective"
-snip-
That website doesn’t include the term “melanated”, which suggests that it is a relatively new form of the word "melanin". "Melanated" is an adjective.
"The earliest online use of "melanated" that I've found to date is 2011: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f966-oGe2ns "MELANATED people please wake up?????(no captions pt.1)" published by KingteamEmpire on Dec 29, 2011.*
-snip-
*WARNING: That YouTube sound file (with drawings & photos) contains some profanity, the "n word", and other verbal & visual content that I believe is inappropriate for children.
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SHOWCASE YOUTUBE VIDEO- Coco Jones- "Just My Luck" (Official Music Video)
cocojonessings, Published on Sep 18, 2018
-snip-
Statistics as of July 22, 2019 at 9:34 AM
total view - 1,554,131
total likes - 69K
total dislikes -593
total comments -3,375
-snip-
Here's an excerpt from the song "Just My Luck" composed and performed by Coco Jones:
..."Does my confidence offend you
Cookie cutter enough for you
Is my melanin offensive
Do I talk more than I should, you tell me
Do I meet the standard, well?
Do I fit in the box or am I just...
Too much to handle, no I'm just...
Too much to stop
'Cause I won't ever let you
In the way of me and only me
Still I rise what they raised me on
I guarantee ya
On my mama, and my sisters, I'ma get there
I'ma win it, twenty-nine years or fifteen minutes, we going up"...
-snip-
Click https://genius.com/Coco-jones-just-my-luck-lyrics for the complete lyrics for this song.
Click https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/coco-jones-34987.php for information about Coco Jones.
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SELECTED COMMENTS
Here are some comments about "colorism" from the discussion thread for this sound file (with numbers added for referencing purposes only)
1. savagex samura 38heart, 2018
"Yes finally, a person who SPEAKS FOR SKIN COLOR
#NORACISMONMYSKIN
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REPLY
2. Miy'Ka El Lovai, 2018
"@cocojonessings Facts"
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3. cecez, 2018
"For me being a darkskin female this hit home for pointing out colorism even though it doesn't really say it you really have to listen to understand it. Love this song👏👏. Coco Jones looks beautiful 😍😍😍"
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REPLY
4. Tiffany Rose, 2018
"she said “is my melanin offensive?” WHEW. i love this. you’re my inspiration coco. my darkskin icon.
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REPLY
5. cocojonessings, 2018
"Tiffany Rose It’s real out hear... just had to tell my truth"
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6. rajecks, 2018
"Dear darkskinned women, rally around artists like this young lady. We have the power to change the narrative by putting our coins behind women who represent us. Don't wait for the mainstream to push people like her...companies recognize how and what you spend your money on. When you support her, they notice"
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REPLY
7. Tanisha Lashay, 2018
"dear BLACK women because we all need to support her instead of just lightkin sistahs all the time."
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REPLY
8. SuperRanchero10, 2018
"@Tanisha Lashay that part! Same thing I was thinking. We all need to support one another. Period."
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REPLY
9. latavia cloud, 2018
"Why dark skinned women? Why not all women? Why do we separate are selfs from the rest of the females? Young light skinned and dark skin ladies are still ladies. None of us have control over how much melanin is in our skin."
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REPLY
10. Anthony Collins, 2018
"@Tanisha Lashay thank you someone said black people in general p.s I'm dark skin and a man I love all my black woman there all beautiful queens"
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REPLY
11. Amber Turner, 2018
"Tanisha Lashay took the words out of my mouth"
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REPLY
12. rajecks, 2018
"For everyone who wants to “all lives matter what I said” now listen carefully, I said what I said. I’m sorry it triggered you, I’m specifically speaking to DARK SKINNED black women. I love how same black people who understand rascism and complain about it, almost always pretend not to understand colorism and how it has ravaged communities of color. You and I know, th at dark skinned ladies, no matter how beautiful and talented are not given same opportunities as their lighter counterparts! If you as a black person denies this, then you are delusional. The reason I pointedly mentioned dark skinned women, is because most of them know or understand to some extent what I’m speaking off. Also, because we can’t wait for anything external to help us. We must help our selves. Check out the statistics on how dark skinned people are treated in comparison to their lighter counterparts"
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REPLY
13. Tez Mania, 2018
"rajecks she really not darkskin"
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REPLY
14. Shantrelle Jones, 2019
"@rajecks i am light skinned, and I understand what your saying. I dont know how old you are, but from my understanding older generations have had to deal with colorism. I am only 18....light skinned, brown skinned, dark skinned....we are all still black. We all need to support each other, and stop making everything a shade controversy. Why is it that people want to make more of a problem within a black community? As if we need it. All of us black people need support each other."
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REPLY
15. rajecks, 2019
"Shantrelle Jones If you truly understood what I just said then your response would have been different. If you honestly think black people need to support each other, then you would have understood why it is important to support and elevate dark skin people. People are still being bullied/killing themselves over having dark skin and you are here talking about the older generation. Shade discrimination is very much alive today. I addressed dark skinned women because women like you pretend to understand but you really don’t understand as evidenced by your response. Look at the top 3 black women in music? Let that make you think about representation"
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REPLY
16. _galactic stars_, 2019
"rajecks thanks for acknowledging that colorism exists . and for giving us darker shades some love ♥️."
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REPLY
17. Victoria's World, 2019
"I'm not dark skin but we need to bring more artists with dark complexions to the fourth front like NAO,Fantasia,Jasmine Sullivan, etc"
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REPLY
18. Jay W, 2019
"@latavia cloud us dark skinned women are always pushed aside. Unfortunately in the industry we aren't just all women."
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REPLY
19. Dylan Sibanda, 2019
"Fact, those guys look at the numbers and not talent, so it's time we invest in the change we want to see and make them notice who we want to rise."
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REPLY
20. 1ron Lady, 2019
"@Jaulistine Sweets she's not white so......or red even (Guyanese term)"
-snip-
I recall reading online that people in the Caribbean referring to other Black people as "red" means that those people are what African Americans would call "light skinned". That meaning is different from the African American term "redbone" which means Black people who have a reddish tinge to their complexion.
Click https://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-redbone-yellowbone-and-browning.html for the May 2013 pancocojams post entitled "What "Redbone", "Yellowbone", and "Browning" Mean".
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REPLY
21. Iyana Rivera, 2019
"Why just dark skinned why not all shades of brown women‼️ We count too‼️‼️"
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REPLY
22. Yvette Mckinzie, 2019
"Colorism is not a secret and the way to break it is to acknowledge our whole spectrum! I'm a dark skinned sista and this statement does more harm than good! She is talented and she is black. We should rally behind her no matter what shade she is!!!"
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REPLY
23. puppy princes, 2019
"@Shantrelle Jones There would always be a problem in the black community if we ignore colorism. You literally used the same rhetoric yt ppl say about avoiding racism."
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REPLY
24. walter stewart, 2019
"Their is nothing wrong with a darkskin woman."
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REPLY
25. Dr. Nikki YaYa, 2019
"Honey Beyoncé done put her stamp on darkskinned girls as her new album with the song BrownSkin Girl... go listen"
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26. HERCULES SQUAD, 2018
"You better sing this song melanin queen 😍😍💯‼️🔉✅"
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27. lanre hokedele, 2018
"Your melanin is beautiful. Black is strong, stay strong... Great sound"
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28. Jhope's Wonhae Manhi Manhi, 2018
""what you want from me, what you need me to be" - This song is more than melanin/skin color. This is about society's standards and how people try to make us fit into boxes. We are turned into little characters who are pulled here and there, our selves forgotten in the process.
Thank you for singing such a beautiful song with honest and raw lyrics! Thank you. I really needed to hear this."
**
29. Liah Booker, 2018
"Yes Queeen! Do it. This needed to be on Nappily Ever After's sound track"
-snip-
Here's information about Nappily Ever After from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nappily_Ever_After
" "Nappily Ever After" is a 2018 American romantic comedy film directed by Haifaa al-Mansour and written by Adam Brooks and Cee Marcellus. It is based on the novel of the same name by Trisha R. Thomas. The film stars Sanaa Lathan, Ernie Hudson, Lyriq Bent, Lynn Whitfield, Ricky Whittle, and Camille Guaty.
The film was released on September 21, 2018, by Netflix."...
-snip-
The word "nappily" was coined from the word "happily" and the word "nappy", which is a referent for hair textures that many people of Black African descent have.
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30. Valeria H, 2018
" "Is my melanin offensive?" .... this line hit me hard 😔I love coco💖👏🏽🔥"
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REPLY
31. Aaqil Bey, 2018
"All of you stay strong DARK is beautiful sisters!!!"
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32. PrincessPercie, 2018
"Sis said ''Is my melanin offesive?'' THIS LINE HIT MY SOULLLLL"
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REPLY
33. Anthony makhubu, 2018
"just that line, (fire itself)"
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REPLY
34. Dieulaine, 2018
"I literally cried bC some people make jokes in my class about how dark you are and stuff but they don’t talk bad about me but this one girl 😭
this is America"
-snip-
"this is America" probably means "This is in the United States of America."
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REPLY
35. Bridgette Richardson, 2018
"What does it mean"
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REPLY
36. Starr J, 2018
"Bridgette Richardson it's about colorism."
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REPLY
37. Natasha Phiri, 2018
"@findme iseeu We do accept ourselves! Nothing about that just that we still living in times when we are still being judged for something we can't control. I love being brown - I've embraced it but I just wish that I wouldn't get discriminated because of my skin colour...your statement don't make sense, your statement makes it sound like it isn't a problem.Btw this isn't throwing any shade your way. x"
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REPLY
38. Kharryn Albert, 2018
"@Dieulaine What you do is you make friends with her and make her stronger than she doesn't know that she is. Mostly all of my friends are darkskinned goddesses. No hate to the light sisters but I hear what they say in the background, ain't paying it no mind though."
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REPLY
39. Dieulaine, 2018
"Kharryn Albert your right and I did and everytime someone’s messing with her i be messing with them too cause you ain’t gonna talk about God’s creation like that"
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40. Jimams_Jamz, 2018
"Dark skin women anthem"
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REPLY
41. Shayla Johnson, 2019
"Black skin women anthem"
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42. the2006mvp, 2019
"Sis sang the life outta me and back in me again! Beautiful voice, beautiful young lady, and beautiful message. Keep at it!"
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43. Lay lay, 2019
"This song makes me feel good about my melanin thank you"
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44. Paula Gillison, 2019
"THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! SO MUCH SOUL, PURE ESSENCE.... I FEEL YOUR HEART SIS! SING CHILE!"
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45. monica f, 2019
"I love it! Coco, danielle brooks, and joi campbell with these recent songs talking about women of color is very touching. I love it and I hope more young girls hear these positive songs and know that their color/complexion/features are majestic and extraordinary!"
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46. James Owens, 2019
"Coco Jones, V Bozeman, and Danielle Brooke need a song together! Empowering black woman is what we need more of in today’s society. Too many people disrespecting, discouraging, and unappreciative towards black woman."
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47. Ashu Kelly, 2019
"😭 😭 😭 My ex told me my Melanie is just too much.. He wanted me to change my skin colour.. I told him to walk out of my house, and he did..."
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48. JavLyn Harris, 2019
"I NEEDED THISSSS LAWDDDD HAVE MERCYYYY😩😩😩"
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49. Pheonix, 2019
"As a Goddess among peasants...Yes, dark skin beauty offends, evokes jealousy in its purest form and terrifies the simplest if minds. There's more darkness in the universe than there is light...we will always be first and will therefore be last....
The color of creation...made in her image."
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50. KRE8TAHZ, 2019
"MelaNATION STAND UP🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯"
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