Why "Shinin’" Said Everything We All Needed to Hear

This past Sunday (Feb. 12, 2017) we all witnessed one of the most stunning Beyoncé performances to date, at the 2017 Grammys. Beyoncé presented a 9 minute, beautifully intricate and visual performance that seemed to be an ode to motherhood and Black women. This performance being the first time many of us has seen her since the February 1st announcement that The Carters were having twins. Beyoncé’ received 9 nominations for her 5th album titled “Lemonade”. The album doubled as a film, a visual representation of each track, taking us through the stages following heartbreak to healing.

This year was a particularly interesting year for The Recording Academy, at the heels of national protest against our President, and last year’s outcry of “#OscarssoWhite” We all wanted to see if Beyoncé’s incredible album could snag the coveted Album of the Year recognition. While Beyoncé did win for Best Record, and Best Urban Contemporary Album, she lost out on AOTY to Adele’s 25. Adele in turn gave a tear jerking acceptance speech that proclaimed Beyoncé as the one deserving of the AOTY. Rihanna’s 8 nominations for Anti went unanswered, which Justin Tinsley proclaimed as her Magnum Opus, but I’ll save that topic for a different post.

Immediately following the end of the award broadcasting, Tidal, the Jay-Z owned music streaming service, released “Shinin” a DJ Khaled joint featuring Beyoncé and Jay-Z. As the up-tempo beat comes in and we hear DJ Khaled say “I worked my whole life for this one.” It was evident that we had another Carter classic.

  “Shinin', shinin', shinin', shinin', yeah
All of this winnin', I've been losin' my mind, yeah

Oh, hold on
Don't try to
Slow me down
Hold on
Don't try to
Slow me down"
 

The chorus holds all the love of this track for me, a poignant point following the alleged Grammy snub. The lyrics go on to say that, “We smilin’ for a whole nother reason, it’s all smiles through all four seasons” followed by a classic Jay verse where he joyously raps about the upcoming birth of his twins.

While the scathing think pieces roll out criticizing the institution of The Recording Academy, who has only awarded AOTY to 2 Black artists in the last 20 years, The Carters are back to business. The loss of this award has no effect on the reasons this family is smiling and will continue to smile. They’re blessed beyond even their own imaginations, and with two new lives coming into the world what’s another Grammy in a home that already houses 43 in total.

My Formal Apology to Migos

 In 2013 I was in my kitchen cooking dinner while my boyfriend played a collection of trap/drill music. It was a mixture of Chief Keef, Young Thug, and Migos. He was playing songs just to watch me roll my eyes. “They all sound the same to me, why would anybody listen to this.” Coming up in a household as the only child living among adults who ranged in age from 48 to 17, I heard a variety of what I believed is good ass music. From Ray Charles, to Maxwell, to Slick Rick, and N.W.A, I can’t deny that I’m a tad bit of a music snob. Born in 89, I experienced growing up during the golden age of Hip Hop. Like anybody who loves the lyricism of the 90s, I’ve had low tolerance for the new age rap that relies heavily on its producers and not so much on forming poignant thoughts through rhyme schemes and punchlines.

Well herein lies the problem, the original producers were DJs and everyone knows there would be no Hip Hop without the DJs. The original Emcees, spit catchy lyrics over familiar beats and the magic seemed to be in the simplicity of the rhymes. A lesson in Hip Hop history will make you less of music snob, but that wasn’t the turning point for me with Migos, and while I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve just recently caught the wave, I should’ve been a fan.

“Bad & Boujee” is Migos latest chart topping single. I wasn’t checking for the song until I seen a video posted of them doing a show in Nigeria (see below), the crowd was gassed up when the beat dropped and the infamous “Rain Drop, Drop Top” line came in full blast. Seeing how Hip Hop is still connecting cultures and continents gave me goosebumps. After watching the video a half dozen times, then playing “Bad & Boujee” 20 more times, I went through their catalog and thoroughly enjoyed myself. It made me regret my early dismissal of their sound, because it’s some of the best music to come out in the oversaturated rap era.

Young Rich Niggas is now in regular rotation and “Rich Than Famous” is not just a motto it’s a lifestyle. Seriously, listen to YRN and see if you can make it through the whole thing without bopping.  It’s inspiring to see 3 Black men carve a way for themselves without taking on the pitfalls of signing to a label. They represent a mindset that all Black creatives should be adopting, never taking no for an answer, going into business for yourself, and never forget the ones you started with.  

I’llI spend the first few months of the year familiarizing myself with Quavo, Takeoff, and Offset. And simultaneously trying to figure out which one is the “Beyoncé” of the group. I would like my readers and Migos to know, I apologize. 

Oh yeah, shout out to Donald Glover for helping catapult "Bad & Boujee" to become the #1 song in the country. Look what happens when we stick together.

The Real Reason I Love Jay Z

Most people who know me have always known me to be a Jay-Z fan. The reality is I was 6 when Reasonable Doubt dropped, and I was too busy loving Tupac, Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill and Nas to really ever consider Jay. When the Nas & Jay-Z beef took a strong hold on Hip Hop culture, I was undeniably on the side of Nas. He made music that inspired me, songs that made me want to write stories in lyrical form. Nas influenced the poet in me. I didn't become a Jay-Z fan until my mom bought me The Black Album for Christmas in 2003. I was in the 8th grade and was having the first inklings of what I wanted life to look like for myself. The first single "Change Clothes" was a jam to two step too, not my favorite Hov song, but it made me interested enough to bump the album. The first song that took me from a passive fan to an active stan was 99 problems. 

8th grade was filled with beef, rumors, and sexual pressure and temptation. In my mind I had 99 problems but a "nigga" would never be one. I had the same boyfriend all the way through middle school and later into high school, so it resonated with me on the most basic bitch levels possible. Delving deeper into the album Lucifer became a favorite, much to my Christian grandma's chagrin, I couldn't get enough of his effortless flow. My love for the 9th Wonder produced "Threats" pushed me over the edge, I had to have anything and everything Jay ever spit on. 

What appealed to me about Hov, in his music was his undeniable desire to succeed. The story of Rockafella was secondary because like I said I was only 6 when Reasonable Doubt dropped. Jay-Z could rap with the confidence of a cocky businessman because he was a confident, cocky businessman. He laid the bricks to his own path while still maintaining his street aura.

The hood I grew up in was most likely 100x nicer than Sean Carter's. My hood had a lake in it. My hood was clean, but growing up it still had the same problems any hood had. Drugs, poverty, and desperation. My family had some money, we were better off than most families, and in my mind we were the ceiling. I met a girl who would later become my best friend in middle school and her family had long money, money I had never seen up close. I never envied her. Their wealth motivated me. Whenever people would tell her she was rich, she'd say "We're not rich, we're comfortable." A phrase probably passed down to her from her parents, and I wanted to know what that type of comfort felt like. I had everything I could want materially, but she had everything she could need financially. I wanted that for myself. At 13 memorizing Jay lines, I knew I could have it, cause he came from a bottom I didn't know and reached a top I had only recently become familiar with. 

There were days I wouldn't have gotten out of bed without Jay. "Some How Some Way" got me through losing my childhood home. "Song Cry" got me through my first heartbreak. "Heart of the City" was my anthem to my haters. "Say Hello" later became the song that cures my doubts as a young mom carrying too much on her shoulders to be responsible for the feelings of everyone around me. 

I love Jay because he brought out the best in me. He showed me that rising to the top is a matter of business and strategy, not of luck or circumstance. As a young Black woman there's parts of Jay's music that will never resonate in the way of someone who has lived a hardened street life. But the desire to win, to defy the odds, is universal.   

I enjoy the seasoned Jay. I enjoy the family Jay who takes his daughter to lunch, and kisses the ankles of his wife. We joke that Jay went from "Forever Macking" to "My Wife's Beyoncé, I brag different" but I believe this was the goal. Jay has shared so much of his world with us through his music, his desire for a better relationship with his father and his aspirations to be a father his own children could be proud of. Jay had the dream we all have, to provide comfortably for our families. I see Jay in me and in my struggle, and that's the real reason I love Jay.