{"id":4837,"date":"2022-06-20T17:52:35","date_gmt":"2022-06-20T17:52:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=4837"},"modified":"2022-06-20T17:52:35","modified_gmt":"2022-06-20T17:52:35","slug":"redbone-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/redbone-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Redbone \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did your favorite rapper just reference a woman as a \u201credbone<\/em>\u201d in a track? What does that mean? Is it a racist term? This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n

Meaning<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201credbone<\/em>\u201d refers to a woman of African-American descent with a light skin tone. Specifically, it relates to women with a reddish-brown skin tone. It\u2019s similar to the term \u201cyellow bone<\/em>,\u201d which means an African-American woman with the lightest skin tone possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rap music popularized the expression, and the person responsible for its first use is an African-American. Therefore it would be incorrect to call it a racist term. However, \u201cwok<\/em>e\u201d people advocate that the term is offensive to African-American women and should be considered hate speech.<\/p>\n

Example Usage<\/h2>\n

\u201cI have a thing for redbone women. I love the color of their skin tone, it looks so exotic, and it drives me wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s interesting that you and your sister are so different. You have a much lighter skin complexion. Have people ever called you a redbone?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know what a redbone is? It\u2019s an African-American person with a light, reddish skin tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI was listening to this track by Lil\u2019 Wayne, and he\u2019s talking about a redbone. What on earth is that? Is he talking about a Native American person or what?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom is white, and my father is black. People say I\u2019m a redbone because I have a light brown skin tone, but I don\u2019t care what labels they place on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy would you call a person a redbone? That sounds terribly racist. I feel like someone should charge you with hate speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you know the difference between a yellow bone and a redbone? The yellow bone has the lightest skin tone of African-Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYellow bone, redbone. It all sounds like a load of racist garbage to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\" \"\"<\/p>\n

Origin<\/h2>\n

The expression \u201credbone\u201d originates from the Southern United States in areas around Louisiana. The Cajun community would use \u2018redbone\u201d to describe women of mixed heritage, typically with Caucasian and African-American parents.<\/p>\n

The rapper \u201cLil\u2019 Wayne\u201d popularized the expression in his 2012 track, \u201cNo Worries,\u201d where the rapper utters the phrase as follows.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, that\u2019s Tunechi right there, Redbone mangos right there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lil\u2019 Wayne uses the word to describe a woman of mixed heritage. According to the details of the song, she has a light, reddish skin tone that the rapper finds attractive.\u201d<\/p>\n

The term spread around the hip-hop community, with many other rappers using it in their lyrics. An example is Donald Glover, aka \u201cChildish Gambino.\u201d His track \u201cRedbone\u201d from his 2016 studio album \u201cAwaken, My Love\u201d broke multiple chart records.<\/p>\n

BBC Radio 1 DJ, Annie Mac, was the first to play the song on air during her \u201cHottest Record\u201d segment. The song talks about Gambino\u2019s suspicions of his girlfriend\u2019s loyalty. \u201cRedbone\u201d received nominations for Album and Record of the Year, Best Urban Contemporary Album, and Best R & R&B Song. Redbone won the Best Traditional R&B Performance at the Grammys that year.<\/p>\n