UnConfined

“To be born a woman has been to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men.” Berger, 46

I spent most of my free time into underground music, wether it be researching or going to hear it live.  

Since I can remember I have been interested in females in hip hop, more specifically I am interested in the new, up-and-coming artists. Although my respect for Lauren Hill, Queen Latifah and Salt ’n’ Pepa are undeniable, I seek and am constantly looking for the new, trying to understand and live my times the best I can. 

Lately music has seen an interesting increase in women empowerment through music, although it is not a new phenomena (Aretha Franklin etc) there is an increase in explicitly, owning of their sexualities, desires, bodies and femininity through a mix of empowering vulnerability and strength. From more famous Beyonce’s Lemonade album, to many many underground women finding their way through the music world it is a growing phenomena. 

Princess Nokia

She is an outright feminist, her song ‘Tomboy’ places her at the center of the world, of the music, she narrates the video, she flashes her breasts, camera angles depict her as the boss of the situation.

She claims she is a tomboy, because society calls tomboys girls that act particular ways (the ways she is acting, and dressing in the video). Super man symbols of their underwear, unafraid to show it, superwomen. 

Her lyrics are strong, and play a lot with sexuality, she is proud about her little titties and her fat belly, they’re damn pretty. She is uncovered, she is empowering herself, reclaiming herself. The women are active, playing sports (football and skating), belly fat moving, smiling, female friendship and girl squads, yet still feminine and although with tomboy gestures, still appeal to using sexuality, as a tool of empowerment. 

Jamalia Woods

Similarly strong and empowering there is Blk Girl Soldier by Jamalia Woods, the song is filled with strong lyrics. 

We go missing by the hundreds

Ain't nobody checkin for us

They want us in kitchen

Kill our sons with lynchings

We get loud about it

Oh now we're the bitches

Look at what they did to my sisters

Last century last week

They put her body in a jar and forget her

They love how it repeats

Also in this video the camera angles, and way she is positioned in the frame of the music video is powerful, she is center, she is the leader, the guiding force behind her song, and next to her, little girls, again like Princess Nokia she uses symbols of females together joining forces, to empower each other.  

These two artists are just two examples of women that are breaking free from their confined space, from the keeping of a man. 

EXTRA: QT

QT is a more controversial and multi-layered artist. I think she is interesting to know and understand in the context of the class we are studying.

When she met male producer Sophie, she began working with him, in fact, he produces all her songs. She originally just wanted a song to market her QT energy drink, thus the song “Hey QT” repeats QT over and over again. 

QT is a virtual character, the concept of QT drew comparisons to Japanese pop star Hatsune Miku and 2002 film Simone. Her music and the drink are supposed to be two direct manifestations of the same product, the energy drink, they have both been described as “fizzy” and “energetic” 

She personally says she wants people to be able to talk about 'Hey QT' and have DrinkQT talk about 'Hey QT' and 'Hey QT' talk about DrinkQT.

Her music video, released in March 2015, depicts QT developing the DrinkQT, laboratory measures her emotional state, distills it and makes it into a drink formula. Of course, the reactions to this was very divided, many people responded with confusion or repulsion. 

Personally, I find her concept and music absolutely fascinating and to have been groundbreaking. I went to see her live, last November in a small venue. She is on stage, does not play any music, the dj behind her, Sophie makes all the music, she simply moves and dances, bringing music away from the sonar field and into a visual reality, where the dj and conceptual artist share unclear boundaries. 

She is a living hologram, fitting into the style of hyper-technological music of the 2015s, the video is hyper technological, somehow it is unsure whether you feel sexual attraction to her, she is a little numb, and part of the screen yet distant from reality, in a hyper reality world, but yet, like the other artists she is the guiding and active force of the scene, the music video and the live performance, little is known about the man behind her making the music, and full focus is on her, although, she is no longer, herself, she is only fiction.