We love us some Beyonce. We do. But we ran across this article from the blog A Belle in Brooklyn, and the writer has made such a good point, we decided to share it with you. What’s your response?
“So I watched the “Video Phone” video yesterday…
Here’s what I do wonder: what exactly is the difference between Bey, Lil Kim, and say, Trina? Yes, Bey sings, they rap. She can dance too and does her own beats and production whereas it’s still a big question mark if Trina and Kim even write their own lyrics. I fully acknowledge all of Bey’s talents. But content-wise, where’s the difference? Bey’s lyrics are just as materialistic, her video and stage outfits are just as scanty, and she spreads and P-pops it just as good as (if not more and better) than both Kim and Trina in their heyday.
So I’m confused. Is it that Bey cleans up nice for awards shows? That she comes from a two-parent home? That she’s from the ‘burbs? That she manages to be raunchy without cursing? That she’s light-brite and generally assessed as pretty? (just throwing ideas out there.) That she mixes her catalogue of raunch in with empowerment anthems? That she hides her raunchiest side behind an alter-ego, Sasha Fierce so it seems like it’s not really her? (Pause. You have no idea how disturbing I find it that a alleged 28 year old woman feels compelled to express her sexuality solely as a stage persona or an alter ego of said stage persona.) I’m really, really curious where the distinction lies.
CHECK OUR BEYONCE VS. SASHA FIERCE GALLERY!
And so we’re clear, this isn’t me trying to diss Bey. I’m not a hardcore Bey Bey fan, but I’ve got enough on my iPod to do a train ride to work and a three-mile run without doubling up. And though I don’t like all the content she puts out (frankly her film career is mediocre at best), I do respect a woman’s hustle and grind. I am, however, a hardcore Lil Kim fan (no pun) and can recite her debut album line for line. This is not me trying to bring Bey down, more like bringing Kim up, and Trina too, by extension.
VIDEO: Bey Stage Dives In London
How do you get away with lyrics like:
you like it when i shake it / shawty on a mission / wat yo name is? / what you want me naked / if you liking this position / you can tape it / on yo video phone - “Video Phone”
and not be called a bird? Trina and Kim would be torn to bits for rapping about sex on tape, and they were hardly held up as role models. Let’s also keep in mind that 9/10 of Bey songs about men are for “soliders” i.e., dudes with their pants sagging low and in white tees. Picture Wayne (who was in the “Solider” video), or better, Jay… but in his dealing days, ‘cause 9/10 when you see him now, he’s in thong sandals on the beach or grown man sweaters around New York or Londontown. What kind of occupations to dudes you know have if they still wear white tees and sagging pants post-college? Exactly.
IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT YET, HERE IS “VIDEO PHONE”:
And Bey’s just as materialistic as Kim and Trina as we can see from the “Upgrade You” lyrics:
Audemars Piguet watch / Dimples in ya necktie / Hermes briefcase / Cartier top clips / Silk lined blazers / Diamond creamed facials / VVS cuff links / 6 star pent suites
And while she may not curse, she’s just as raunchy. Recite any double entendre on “Ego” and get back to me.
[You got the key to my heart /but you ain't gonna need it / I'd rather you open up my body / and show me secrets / you didn't know what's inside / it's too big, it's too wide / it's too strong, it won't fit / it's too much, it's too tough / he talk like this 'cause he can back it up / he got a big ego / I love his big ego / It's too much]
Beyonce: “Not Time For Kids Yet”
Maybe it’s because she started out pretty wholesome—despite the barely-there bedazzled “costumes.” I mean there was “Independent Women,” “Survivor,” “Me Myself and I” (I’m just gonna overlook “Bills, Bills, Bills,” an entire song about a man picking up the tab, for the sake of my argument.) There was also that song that I can’t remember the title to, but with lyrics, ["Nasty, put some clothes on”]. (Oh, the irony!)
But that’s evolved, into every other single being say… “ Freakum Dress” where women are encouraged to “spin it all around and then take it to the ground.” Or maybe we can refer to, “Ring the Alarm,” where instead of leaving a cheating lover, Bey decides to stay, referencing and recounting all the expensive and name-brand gifts she’ll be missing out on if she bounces. If that doesn’t sound like a bird anthem or the blueprint to a Kim or Trina verse or two, I don’t know what does….
Beyonce & A.Keys Share Duet On “Elements Of Freedom”
I really don’t get it. I mean Kim wore next to nothing on stage, and was damn near stoned. Like Amber Rose, Trina got called all manner of “sluts” and “whores” for her all –Spandex, all the time get ups. But Bey shows up to sing Ava Maria, the “Hail Mary” of Catholic songs, in a leotard and veil and it’s like *crickets” from everyone, including the Catholic church. She shows up at the European Music Awards wearing red lingerie and matching garters on stage and no one bats an eye. A few years back, she gave Terrance Howard a lap dance on the stage for the BET Awards and barely a peep from anyone.
Is Bey benefitting from our relatively high shock-value, a bar raised by the antics of Lil Kim and Trina, so that she can do exactly what they did and not inspire the same level of outrage? Or is there something more to it than that?
I’m honestly confused.”
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
