About Young BW Determined to Live Well

After being a faithful reader of various blogs dedicated to positively influencing black women, I recognized quite a few young black women in their teens, 20's, and 30's who were touched by the message as much as myself. This blog is my attempt to reach out and connect with young black women on issues we may be facing at a very transitional time in our lives. I encourage all, irrespective of age, class, origin, etc. to participate in the discussions and brainstorming sessions we have. I look forward to the potential of this blog and hope to hear from Young Black Women Determined to Live Well like myself!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Estelle's "Thank You" Music Video

I plan on continuing with this post as I find there are a multitude of things that can be analyzed about why the artist Estelle and her "team" of people decided to go with this route. However, due to being pressed for time, I will make a list of several things that stand out to me after the first viewing:
- The video does not show Estelle at all. There was a few shots toward the end of the video of what appeared to be a woman with a scarf over her head and hand shots, but nothing to clearly make the viewer say, she is in fact Estelle
- The lyrical content of the song deviates from Estelle's happy an upbeat vibe when she first jumped the pond for America on the music scene. The song seems to be about a woman who is thanking a former lover for all of the pain he caused her because it has made her the woman she is. For myself, this bares a close resemblance to the "Woe is Me" mantra some people stereotypically find black women projecting in particular.
- Perhaps my ears are not as keen to picking up on certain sound effects done to a singers voice, but I hear a little auto-tune when it comes to her voice in this song. Akon, the rapper, is said to have written the song for her.
- I think the song sounds pretty cool, but I find it a very interesting move and maybe a smart one considering the American music Industry and it's historically complex relationship with black women of a darker hue.
To Be Continued...and Happy Thursday!