Shades
Wale ft. Chrisette Michelle Lyrics

Chip on my shoulder
I have a strong feeling of anger or annoyance due to past experiences.

Big enough to feed Cambodia
My feeling of anger or annoyance is so big that it could be used to feed an entire country.

See, I never fit into they quotas
I never matched the standards or expectations set by others.

Sneakers wasn't fitting and my knees needed lotion
My appearance wasn't up to par and I needed multiple adjustments to meet the standards of others.

Long before I knew the significance of a comb
I had issues with my hair that were beyond my knowledge at the time.

I roam like phone with no vocal reception
I feel disconnected and unheard, like a phone with no service.

Immigrant parents had me feeling like a step-kid
I felt like an outsider in my own home due to my parents being immigrants.

And black Americans never did accept me
I was never fully accepted or embraced by the black community.

That's why I thrive so much, win and respect dig
This is the reason why I push myself to succeed and gain respect from others.

I never fit in with them light skins
I didn't identify with or fit in with people who had lighter skin tones.

I felt the lighter they was the better that they life is
I believed that their lighter skin tone gave them an advantage in life that I didn't have.

So I resented them and they resented me
I felt anger towards them and they felt it towards me as well due to our differences.

Cheated on light-skinned Dominique when we was seventeen
I was unfaithful to a girl named Dominique who had a lighter skin tone when we were both 17 years old.

I figured I'd hurt her, she'd evidently hurt me,
I thought that by cheating on her, I would hurt her back for hurting me.

And all women who had light features
I held a grudge against all women who had similar features to Dominique because of our past.

See, I never let a light broad hurt me
I made a promise to never allow a woman with light features to hurt me again.

That's why I strike first and the first cut's deep
I make the first move and it's always a powerful one, to ensure that I am not hurt first.

All my light skinned girls to my dark skin brothers
I want all people to know that skin tone doesn't matter when it comes to love and relationships.

Shades doesn't matter heart makes the lover
Love and relationships are about the person's heart and not their skin color.

Just another knotty head nigga
I am just like any other black man with coarse hair.

Hoping Wes Snipes make my life a bit different
I hope that someone like Wes Snipes, a successful black actor, can change my life for the better.

In middle school, I had the right to be timid
I had the right to be shy or lacking in confidence during my middle school years.

I had beautiful words but girls never listened
I had a way with words, but girls were not interested in me regardless.

Blacker the berry, sweeter the product
The darker the person's skin tone, the more attractive they are.

Well, I'm fruit punch concentrate and they water
I am not as attractive as someone with a darker skin tone.

Walk into my room thinking how to make moves
I am constantly thinking about ways to be more successful, especially when it comes to women.

Ain't thinking like a student but how Ice-T do it
I am not approaching life like a typical student but more like a successful rapper like Ice-T.

Light dudes have the girls looking there all year
Men with a lighter skin tone are more attractive to women and get more attention from them.

It's not fair, the ones with the good hair
It is not fair that those with a lighter skin tone also have good hair, making them even more attractive to women.

Couldn't adapt to naps, I wavecap they naps and slept on me
I am not able to style my hair like those with a lighter skin tone and they made fun of my inability to do so.

Man, I hate black
I feel resentment towards my own blackness because I see it as a disadvantage.

Skin tone, I wish I could take it back
I wish that I could change my skin tone because I see it as a negative thing.

Or rearrange my status, maybe if I was khaki
If I had a different skin tone, it could possibly change my social status and how others perceive me.

Associating light skin with classy
Lighter skin tones are seen as more proper or sophisticated.

The menstrual show showed and me, that was not me
Racial stereotypes portrayed in media did not represent me or my experiences.

They say black is beautiful
People say that blackness is something to be proud of and beautiful.

But ask them beautiful light girls
But ask those who are seen as beautiful due to their lighter skin tone.

If its black they attract to usually
Do they usually find themselves attracted to those with darker skin tones?

What if Barack skin was all black, truthfully?
If Barack Obama had a darker skin tone, would he still be as successful and respected as he is today?

Would he be a candidate or just a black in community?
Would he still be seen as a political candidate or just another black person in the community?

Because black dudes tend to lack unity
The black community often lacks unity and support for one another.

And them blacker girls ain't on the tube, usually
Darker-skinned women are not usually represented or shown on television.

Right now, at 23, I ain't mad at them reds no more
At 23 years old, I am not angry or resentful towards lighter-skinned people anymore.

But for long time I had gone cold
For a long time, I was very distant and unfriendly towards those with a lighter skin tone.

Blindfolded my own insecurity was holding me back to reds,
My own insecurities were preventing me from forming relationships with people who had a lighter skin tone.

I ain't know how to act
I didn't know how to properly behave or interact with those who had lighter skin tones.

They would get the cold shoulder and know it was an act
I would deliberately ignore those who had a lighter skin tone to try and distance myself from my own insecurities.

A defense mechanism what I thought that I lacked
I saw my actions as a defense mechanism to protect myself from being hurt or rejected.

Confidence
Ultimately, what I needed to overcome my insecurities was confidence in myself and my own identity.