This song is about educating society on beauty standards, especially colorism. Colorism affects the black community profusely due to its roots, which spawn from the history of slavery in America. In the song, Kendrick details the importance of loving all people no matter how light or dark.

In an interview, Kendrick described the song saying:

The idea was to make a record that reflected all complexions of black women. There’s a separation between the light and the dark skin because it’s just in our nature to do so, but we’re all black. This concept came from South Africa and I saw all these different colors speaking a beautiful language.

In the same interview, Rapsody said the original idea wasn’t for Kendrick to even have a verse, Kendrick wanted Prince to do the hook and have Rhapsody spit two verses.

Also note: A Tribe Called Quest, one of the pioneers of jazz rap, referenced the Universal Zulu Nation many times throughout their discography. The Universal Zulu Nation is described as an “organization of individuals in search of success, peace, knowledge, wisdom, understanding and the righteous way of life.”