#femalefrontedfriday

When I first heard the opening lyrics of “History Eraser”, I had an immediate reaction that me feel connected to Courtney Barnett. It was like she understood everything about those moments in my life that I’m not particularly proud of and which seem to happen way too often.

"I got drunk and fell asleep / Atop the sheets but luckily I left the heater on / And in my dreams I wrote the best song that I’ve ever written / Can’t remember how it goes”

"Phoebe Bridgers is a musical unicorn. When I listen to her sing and play guitar, it feels to me like what it feels like when I listen to Bob Dylan. It’s like having an experience that seems devoid of bullshit. There’s a taste of blood in the words and she is separated from the pain but a few tiny silver threads. The threads are probably the hair of some wild animal she killed with her bare hands and turned into an animal cape that flows behind her as she rides her stallion, Mortimer through the dusty wasteland of modern music.” - Ryan Adams

If anyone ever comes across a more colorful translation of a music experience, please send it my way. 

My white girl fantasy is to one day participate in an epic rap battle. But let’s be real.

So when I came across the young English rapper, Little Simz I was totally blown away. This kid is the definition of fresh. What I love about her music, in particular songs like “Mandarin Oranges Part 2”, “Devour”, and “Time Capsule” is that they open with a very dreamy, almost melancholy sound – a feeling that for me evokes a sense of defeat. And just as you think she’s about to start going on about loss and love, she hits you with a massive beat and strikes like a ninja. And if that’s not gangster enough, her songs evolve to a point where I’m not sure whether I should start a mosh pit, break out in an African dance, or recreate the Harlem Shake.

If you can manage to keep up with her speedy lyrics, she’s surprisingly not rapping about sex, drugs, money, or other generalizations about “thug life”. She explores themes of youth, the music industry, and staying true to herself and her dreams. She sings about the kind of encouragement and resilience that we can all benefit from listening to. I find it a welcome change after tiresome lyrics like “And I impregnated your mouth, girl”.  Some of my favorite lines from “Devour” take a stab at a male dominated rap and hip hop culture:

Many many men will attempt to devour my throne I empower my own I’m just tryna be the best me but in gold they will shower my throne If a rebel tellin’ in a city young people Wonder what the fuck’s down I won’t even try to explain The best way around is to sing my songs, ah

In a recent interview, Little Simz expressed her distaste for being labeled a “female rapper”. She made a valid point that people don’t preface male rappers in the same way. But you can’t help admire her for being one of the only female artists listed in countless lists of rappers to watch this year. Personally, I want to high five this shit out this kid.