J. Cole: "Obama Would Not Be President If He Were Dark Skin"

J. Cole made some comments during a recent interview with BET that might raise a few eyebrows, even if there might be some truth to it.  He was asked if he believes he would still receive the same level of success if he were dark skinned.  The question came during a discussion of the Trayvon Martin case, and whether or not Martin would've been racially profiled if he was white.

"I can't say it for sure but I just think we're still in America. We're still Black Americans. Those mental chains are still in us. That brainwashing that tells us that light skin is better, it's subconsciously in us, whether we know it or not... still pursuing light skin women.

"But Barack Obama would not be president if he were dark skin. You know what I mean? That's just the truth. I might not be as successful as I am now if I was dark skin. I'm not saying that for sure, I'm still as talented as I am and Obama is still as smart as he is, but it's just a sad truth... I don't even know if this is going to translate well into text and people not hearing what I'm saying, but it's a sad reality. So I can only naturally assume it's probably easier for a light skin male rapper than it might be for a dark skin male rapper. It's all subconscious s**t, nobody's aware — I think that s**t still subconsciously affects us."

Source: hiphopwired.com