Kendrick Lamar is not the first rapper (or man) with a boner for stretch marks and booty dimples. Earlier this year, the rapper Offset said it–with less sensitivity–on Migos' "Get Right Witcha": "I like a b*tch with some cellulite." But unlike Offset, Lamar actually introduced fans to his archetypal "natural" woman in the now viral video for "Humble."
Directed by Dave Meyers and the Little Homies, the same duo that produced a PSA featuring Lamar and Barack Obama, the video gives viewers plenty to dissect: Lamar as the Young Pope, Lamar head-nodding in a sea of bald men, Lamar passing the Grey Poupon, and most memorably, in profile, next to 21-year-old model Carter Kim's stretch-mark-striped backside, an image that set off an eruption of praise on social media.
And a fair share of criticism from those who felt that Lamar missed the mark.
Others took issue with Kim's personification of "something natural," dissecting her complexion and hair.
When I watched the video, Lamar's heteronormative brand of female empowerment didn't do it for me. I already know straight men get off on stretch marks (and cellulite). Reducing Kim to Stretch Mark Bae just perpetuates the idea that beauty standards are set by men and women are expected to comply. Like Drake–"sweatpants, hair tied, chillin' with no makeup on"–Lamar wants you to know that he's allergic to cosmetics. "It's the beauty in her but when the make-up occur, I don't see it, all I see is a blur," he raps on "No Makeup (Her Vice)" from his 2011 debut studio album, Section.80.
At the 1:44 minute mark, "Humble" looks like a socially aware rendition of "Blurred Lines," with Kim cast in the Emily Ratajkowski role. Except "Blurred Lines" catapulted Ratajkowski to hot-girl super-stardom. Amidst all the buzz around "natural beauty" in "Humble", Kim has barely been identified by name. Instead, she's "that ass with stretch marks" or a "sugar brown mama with a Brazilian body wave frontal."
"That part is extremely frustrating," Kim tells me over the phone. Growing up, "I used to get teased for my hair and told my hair is fake." Since "Humble" came out, she has faced similar accusations–that her natural hair is a frontal weave. "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," she says.
Kim is quick to defend both sides of the real/fake hair witch hunt that plays out on social media too often. Just a few weeks ago, Tyrese took to Instagram to deliver his own misguided hair PSA on the topic: "I just feel the need to send a message to all the ladies who just think DUDES are just stupid???.....WE KNOW the difference in real hair and fake clip ons." Tyrese's original post is gone, but his tired ideas linger every time a woman is expected to qualify how she wears her hair. "I definitely don't shame anybody who wears them [weaves]," Kim says. "I have a lot of people around me who wear hair and wigs and it's a lot of fun."
Kim is used to people making assumptions about her background. As a multicultural actress and model, she's "gotten a few different odd responses from black producers, when they're like, 'are you just Filipino or are you just Asian?' A lot of people don't really see that I am black. It's been a journey," she explains. "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." She continues, "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.'"
For Kim, actresses like Karrueche Tran serve as role models. "I'm sure Karrueche gets [comments] all day that's she's not black enough," she says. "To watch her still progress and watch others progress without worrying about negative comments is kind of where I get my strength from."
Kim's role in "Humble" was mostly a mystery when she agreed to take part, but the casting director, a close friend, thought she would be a perfect fit. "They basically told me: 'You are the natural girl that is represented in 2017 in the society that has a ton of imperfections, but still loves herself and still doesn't care what anyone else thinks.' And also: 'You are the music video girl vixen. You are that very exotic pretty girl that the normal girl transforms into,'" she says. "I was very blind going into it."
