You Da Shit Girl!
I spent a lot of time in front of the TV watching music videos in the 2000s soaking in every image I saw, believing everything that was told to me about how black women should be through these lyrics and images. I quickly came to believe that I was inadequate and would never, physically, amount to the big booty, long weave "model" chicks were seemingly the epitome of what black men wanted their women to be.
Rarely did you hear a song in which black women were praised and embraced for the ethereal, magical (watch it now, magic doesn't mean inhuman) creatures that we are. No one was celebrating the woman who holds down the house hold, gets her degree, breaks corporate America's barriers or the black girl who's just happy being herself. My formative years wren't really filled with "love yourself" from the media or any outlets at all. It was more like "chase these unattainable qualities and eventually one day someone will pick you". Fuck all of that.
As we close out a year that has truly been life altering and eye opening for many people in this country, especially brown ones, music artists DAVE + SAM have dropped a gem into our laps. An anthem paying homage to the ladies who diligently set their alarms, wake up on time, get that money, bust ass on the side hustle, rock and feed those babies, hold your man's hand and hold him down, show up to that office with your fro/braids/head wrap and dare a soul to question it and manage to keep their spirits and souls in check.
Set to a jazzy house beat that's guaranteed to make you chair dance at your desk, Dave saunters over the track giving love to all of the girls: the thick girls, the waitresses, those who seem to always magically skip the line, the classy in the street freak in the sheets girls, the hood girls, and the homemakers.
The visuals, directed by Whitney McGuire, take you inside of one girl's mind as the typical images that creep into our psyches and have us bugging out about our own value swim in her head. In a moment of clarity she takes to her bathroom mirror and writes you "You Da Shit" in bold red lipstick and pushes through.
The rest of the video, set in classic Brooklyn street views, share with us images of everyday black and brown women, dancing, smiling, posing and appreciating their own greatness. Chalk-like graphics decorate the scenes giving things a cartoon-like feel and also highlighting the lighthearted nature of a much, much needed soul inspiring track.
Enjoy!
- Elle
