Yesterday I was scrolling through Twitter, as I normally do nine-million times a day, and I came across a tweet that led me to this Instagram post by Tracee Ellis Ross (Diana Ross's daughter):
The song is by an artist named Lizzo. Who is this Lizzo? I've never heard of her. Not surprising, since I don't really keep up on music as much as I should - I listen to more podcasts than music when I'm driving - so I started to do some Googling.
And I'm now a fan.
The song in the Tracee Ellis Ross clip is this one, called "Soulmate".....I'mma marry me one day. Here's the video, with the lyrics. Sing along!:
Now I'm going to save you some time and post all the videos of the songs I listened to so you can binge-listen like I did. You don't have to YouTube 'em yourself. You're welcome.
Let's start with "Good As Hell". I heard this song in the movie I watched the other night and it was very catchy. "Hair toss...check my nails...baby how you feelin'?..feeling good as hell..."
Then we come to "Juice". So snappy. So joyful. So fun! "Ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee, ya-ya-ee"
This next video is called "My Skin". Lizzo sings, "I woke up in this. I woke up in this. My skin." Wow. Fantastic lyric.
This is what Lizzo said about this song: "This is a summoning of bodies: all shapes, sizes and shades to unite in their pride, and wear their skin like the gift it is.
My Skin literally matters. It matters because it’s the largest organ on my body. Because it’s my exterior. It’s been stretched, sunburnt and covered in glitter. It’s the first thing you notice about me. My skin is dark brown, but if you asked someone they would say it’s black. My blackness is my largest assumed ‘accessory.’ Not my gender, religion or wealth. Because of it, I’ve experienced countless misconceptions from people— neck rolls and gratuitous gestures, overt southern dialects superimposed onto my own voice, perceived “ghetto-ness.” I laugh it off because it’s seemingly harmless, but when we think about where this originates it’s actually poisonous.
I'll leave you with one last one I like, called "Scuse Me". You can YouTube the rest.
She's so talented.
She even plays the flute.
Let's start with "Good As Hell". I heard this song in the movie I watched the other night and it was very catchy. "Hair toss...check my nails...baby how you feelin'?..feeling good as hell..."
In this song, "Cuz I Love You", her voice is astounding. If you don't get chills listening to this QUEEN belt out this song, you better check yo damn pulse. "AHM CRYIN' (huge inhale) cuz ah looooooooOOOOooooOOOOOOOOVE UuuuuuuuUUUUUuuuuuuUuuuuuuuU" Mother Jones magazine compared her to Beyonce.
This is what Lizzo said about this song: "This is a summoning of bodies: all shapes, sizes and shades to unite in their pride, and wear their skin like the gift it is.
My Skin literally matters. It matters because it’s the largest organ on my body. Because it’s my exterior. It’s been stretched, sunburnt and covered in glitter. It’s the first thing you notice about me. My skin is dark brown, but if you asked someone they would say it’s black. My blackness is my largest assumed ‘accessory.’ Not my gender, religion or wealth. Because of it, I’ve experienced countless misconceptions from people— neck rolls and gratuitous gestures, overt southern dialects superimposed onto my own voice, perceived “ghetto-ness.” I laugh it off because it’s seemingly harmless, but when we think about where this originates it’s actually poisonous.
Being black in America is a unique experience. All people have a unique American experience, but I can’t speak for all people. I can only speak from my unique experience as a black woman. The “African-American” myths that cloud non-black people's judgment are taken from the worst part of our struggle and paraded as fact. I could write this essay trying to debunk “black-on-black crime” and fill it with pleading persuasive prose, but I’d rather just tell you what I know."
She even plays the flute.
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2018: Bathroom Essentials
2017: The Red Planet
2016: The Calm Before And After
2015: Cheese On Horseback
2014: A Life That's Good
2013: The Big Weekend Event 2018: Bathroom Essentials
2017: The Red Planet
2016: The Calm Before And After
2015: Cheese On Horseback
2014: A Life That's Good
2011: The Lonely Road
2009: She Needs To Wear A Bell
2008: Budding
2007: I Hate When He Does That
2005: Sorry, no post on this day. The blog didn’t start until May 2005!
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