It’s the first real hot day of May in New York, which means the drivers on Houston Street are finally rolling down their windows as they blast contenders for the song of summer. This year there’s Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin’s “I Like It,” and Drake’s “Nice for What” — and, as Jorja Smith and I eat lunch at a Caribbean restaurant in Soho, I hear one of hers, “On My Mind,” which is from 2017 but still feels fresh enough to end up on this year’s summer playlist.
It was purely because “I was a female working with a huge celebrity,” she says. “But nah, I have my man. I’m happy I did it and so grateful. Loads of people found out about me because of that song.” Somewhere in between the appetizer and the entrée, she realizes it’s happy hour, claps her hands together, and suggests we get a drink — it’s summer, she just finished her tour, the album is about to drop. We both agree on matching rum punches, the color of the best sunrise you’ve ever seen. Then, just before the waitress comes over, Smith hesitates. “Do you think it matters I’m not quite 21?” she whispers. It doesn’t.
Looks — having them, or not having them, or which kind you have — are one of those perpetual problems. This is true even when you’re Smith, who has the sort of skin that makes normal people think, God, I need to drink more water. She looks like she sounds: buttery and languid, with full lips and what she jokingly calls her “stoner eyes.” Growing up, though, she says she felt unattractive. “I wanted to be pale,” she remembers.
“There’s this — an issue where I’m really doing well and got hate ’cause I’m too light-skinned.” She pauses again. “I understand why people say that ’cause it’s, like, throughout history the lighter you are, that’s how it’s been, innit. But it’s not my fault! My mom and dad had me, and that’s not my fault! I look how I look. I grew up with my dad telling me, You’re not white. You’re black. I’m mixed race, but I was told, You’re never going to be white, which is true.
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