I'm Black, Does My Mother Know?

In my previous post I mentioned Rhianna's irritating contribution to my summer. In a discussion today I made a mention of my detest of this song and it resulted in diagnosing me with "Race Ignorance", as my friend called it. Then she went on to mention of the lack of Black female influences on the British Pop Charts and it was great to see Rhianna at number one. She longed for the days Whitney, Foxxie Brown, Lil' kim, Mary J, Faith Evans and Missy Elliot had the Pop charts in their control. She also mentioned how Fergie, Amy Winehouse, Nelly Furtado and Gwen Stephani were all using black music to their advantage like Elvis and others before them.

Firstly, I don't think there will ever be a lack of black female role models in music. There are B-B-B-Beyonce (Big-Bummed-Beautiful-Beyonce), Kelly Rowlands, Keri Hilson and Eve who are all currently on the British charts. I did not say I had anything against Rhianna either, but, I just don't think that her song deserved the right to invade my ears to repeatedly scratch at my eardrums with her "UMBER-ELLA, ELLA, ELLA." I also think that Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry" is a much better song, lyrically and acoustically.

When I expressed this to my dear friend she told me that I should look in the mirror - Yeah I'm black. NO, I'M BLACK! DOES MY MOTHER KNOW!?!? Stop the press!

Why should my liking a song and defending it over another have anything to do with my ethnicity? From what I can tell Fergie has not done anything to offend me or my race. Until that day, (which I am sure will never come as she is so FIT), I will continue to show appreciation of her music that I like.

I would beg to differ on her point about Whitney, Foxxie Brown and Lil' Kim being good role models for young black women. If being a drug addict and emotionally unstable is something that is accepted as the norm then please give every little girl a book titled "Crack is Wack - Life and Times of Whitney Houston, complete with CD containing chart topping singles which continue to pay for her habit." Then if sexual profanity is added to 13-15yr old young women's school curriculum then by all means remove the Explicit Content sticker from Foxxie Brown's and Lil' Kim's album covers.

People should never rate their acceptance of a song according to the race of the artist. If Rhianna had to rely on the Black-British public to gain the top spot it may never happen. Statistically, if Rhianna or Timberland (who is number one now), based their entire single purchases and airplay requests on the British population they will find that only 2% of that would be by Black Britons.

To think I had to go through all of this because I didn't like Rhianna's song about her dear Un-Ber-Ella, Ella, Ella...