^{_{The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice}}

^{_{The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice}}

^{_{The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice}}

^{_{The blacker the berry, the bigger I shoot}}

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick has a modern-day take on 2Pac’s feminist anthem “Keep Ya Head Up.” While both songs have roots in Wallace Thurman’s novel The Blacker the Berry, 2Pac’s version expands on the idea that black women are beautiful. 

The original phrase, “the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice,” was a positive affirmation of blackness. This phrase was also referenced by the Harlem Renaissance novelist Wallace Thurman in the title of The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life.