she/her
robbed
20GAYTeen the Rate: WINNER!!
- Thread starter Trouble in Paradise
- Start date
londonrain
Staff member
Poor Up In Flames.
Janelle still remaining unbothered, I see.
Janelle still remaining unbothered, I see.
He/Him
Sorry girls! My computer crashed and wouldn't charge but it's up and running! Next elimination coming #soon
He/Him
Here to introduce our next cut is Audre Lorde the highly influenctial black lesbian feminist/womanist scholar, writer, poet, and civil rights activist. If you don't know her, fix it. Here's her oft-quoted and still powerful statement on the anti-intersectional state of feminism:
Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society's definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference – those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older – know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master's house as their only source of support.
17. “Django Jane”
By Janelle Monae
8.268
Highest Scores: 10 x 11 (@CorgiCorgiCorgi @GimmeWork @ufint @constantino @happiestgirl @inevitable @Cutlery @Remyky22 @Music Is Life @kalonite @KingBruno) 9.5 x 1 (@yuuurei)
Lowest Scores: 4 x 2 (@Untitled @Hurricane Drunk ) 4.5 x 1 (@Riiiiiiiii)
My Score: 9
Let the vagina have a monologue
In a rate with 93 songs, Janelle Monae has lasted with all 7 of her songs until #17! The talent that has, the international implications that has… I mean, are we surprised that the “rapping” one is the first to go? Of course not! The absolute fire of these lyrics is undeniable and the song totally knocks as well. Janelle is probably one of the most articulate and thoughtful artists in the game right now so I gotta give her at least two quotes around the genesis of “Django Jane” even as I’m trying to keep these write ups slim!
First, she explains to the Guardian:
She goes further explaining in her inspiration in the song’s Genius breakdown:
Now what did you less articulate and less thoughtful voters have to say, jk love you all!:
First, a defense of a terrible score from Untitled: see, the importance of the message cannot be overlooked or overstated but i just can't get past her sounding like she's playing in a Kendrick Lamar biopic. like, the instrumental and her speaking just don't flow well together. i wish i could enjoy it but i can't.
Pop3blow2: A lot to unpack in the lyrics here, but they are soooo good.
Constantino he really SNAPPED, didn’t she? It’s funny that the media is pitting Nicki and Cardi against each other as the queens of rap as if Janelle didn’t end rap with one song on her eclectic, acclaimed alberm? And the way Screwed transitions into this so seamlessly? I can hear GOD.
Yuuurei I always love a song about not taking any shit at all.
Ufint THIS IS YOUR PALACE and you deserve some fucking Veuve Cliquot in your pussy chalice for making such a masterpiece.
The Hot Rock This is hard to separate from Screwed since they flow together so well. This is pretty solid but I'm not a fan of the Van Gogh line.
KingBruno Her doing hip hop and dropping bars like an esteemed legend is incredible. This is a force of a track, with that thumping kick drums journeying the instrumentation as a whole.
Kalonite The lyricism here is great, but it's the delivery that gets me. The vocal depth and power that Monáe loads each word with makes every line hit home. There's a fury there, but it's tempered and controlled, and it's ready to be put to action. I love this.
Slaybellz The transition from “Screwed” is flawless. I love when she raps, her flow is just so smooth.
Posh Spears She snapped’t. Simple as that.
Those of us who stand outside the circle of this society's definition of acceptable women; those of us who have been forged in the crucibles of difference – those of us who are poor, who are lesbians, who are Black, who are older – know that survival is not an academic skill. It is learning how to take our differences and make them strengths. For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master's house as their only source of support.
17. “Django Jane”
By Janelle Monae
8.268
Highest Scores: 10 x 11 (@CorgiCorgiCorgi @GimmeWork @ufint @constantino @happiestgirl @inevitable @Cutlery @Remyky22 @Music Is Life @kalonite @KingBruno) 9.5 x 1 (@yuuurei)
Lowest Scores: 4 x 2 (@Untitled @Hurricane Drunk ) 4.5 x 1 (@Riiiiiiiii)
My Score: 9
Let the vagina have a monologue
In a rate with 93 songs, Janelle Monae has lasted with all 7 of her songs until #17! The talent that has, the international implications that has… I mean, are we surprised that the “rapping” one is the first to go? Of course not! The absolute fire of these lyrics is undeniable and the song totally knocks as well. Janelle is probably one of the most articulate and thoughtful artists in the game right now so I gotta give her at least two quotes around the genesis of “Django Jane” even as I’m trying to keep these write ups slim!
First, she explains to the Guardian:
[It’s] a response to me feeling the sting of the threats being made to my rights as a woman, as a black woman, as a sexually liberated woman, even just as a daughter with parents who have been oppressed for many decades. Black women and those who have been the ‘other’, and the marginalised in society – that’s who I wanted to support, and that was more important than my discomfort about speaking out.
She goes further explaining in her inspiration in the song’s Genius breakdown:
It was a combination of things. Just feeling like as a young black woman, my very existence felt less than the people in the position of power right now, in that regime, and feeling like my rights as a woman were being trampled on. My agency was constantly trying to be taken away. Take the artist Janelle Monae out of it, the make-up, all that. When I go home, and when I’m in the grocery store, I’m looked at as a young black African-American woman. Not just me going through that, just what they say about women’s rights, what they say about us in this world, made me feel like my back was literally against the wall and like I had to come out fighting, you know?
There were a lot of times where I left the studio recording the song, I was so upset. But I knew that I needed to channel that energy, and I try my best to channel it, and I wanted to make sure the black girl magic was at the root of it. The love of black women, that they felt seen, they felt heard, and they felt like they had an anthem whenever they got down, whenever they got weary.
There were a lot of times where I left the studio recording the song, I was so upset. But I knew that I needed to channel that energy, and I try my best to channel it, and I wanted to make sure the black girl magic was at the root of it. The love of black women, that they felt seen, they felt heard, and they felt like they had an anthem whenever they got down, whenever they got weary.
Now what did you less articulate and less thoughtful voters have to say, jk love you all!:
First, a defense of a terrible score from Untitled: see, the importance of the message cannot be overlooked or overstated but i just can't get past her sounding like she's playing in a Kendrick Lamar biopic. like, the instrumental and her speaking just don't flow well together. i wish i could enjoy it but i can't.
Pop3blow2: A lot to unpack in the lyrics here, but they are soooo good.
Constantino he really SNAPPED, didn’t she? It’s funny that the media is pitting Nicki and Cardi against each other as the queens of rap as if Janelle didn’t end rap with one song on her eclectic, acclaimed alberm? And the way Screwed transitions into this so seamlessly? I can hear GOD.
Yuuurei I always love a song about not taking any shit at all.
Ufint THIS IS YOUR PALACE and you deserve some fucking Veuve Cliquot in your pussy chalice for making such a masterpiece.
The Hot Rock This is hard to separate from Screwed since they flow together so well. This is pretty solid but I'm not a fan of the Van Gogh line.
KingBruno Her doing hip hop and dropping bars like an esteemed legend is incredible. This is a force of a track, with that thumping kick drums journeying the instrumentation as a whole.
Kalonite The lyricism here is great, but it's the delivery that gets me. The vocal depth and power that Monáe loads each word with makes every line hit home. There's a fury there, but it's tempered and controlled, and it's ready to be put to action. I love this.
Slaybellz The transition from “Screwed” is flawless. I love when she raps, her flow is just so smooth.
Posh Spears She snapped’t. Simple as that.
He/Him
I'm convinced you've hacked me and @ohnostalgia cause the way you post these messages right before an elimination or a reveal on the song chart is eerie.
Also, I won't be able to get 16 out tonight due to the computer mishap. Hopefully will get #16 and the Top 15 recap tomorrow morning! As always, your patience is greatly appreciated!
He/Him
Remind me to never ever get @londonrain to mention Dalida in the Winners Rate, please!
londonrain
Staff member
"Pure Shores" beating "No Scrubs" though...
Also, France Gall had three songs in the French Divas rates and they all held on until the top 8.
He/Him
Introducing our next cut are Julie and Hillary Goodridge who were plaintiffs in the landmark Massachusetts Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States for the first time! They recently spoke with NPR about the experience and the tole it took on their relationship (the couple divorced in 2009).
16. “What I Need”
By Hayley Kiyoko featuring Kehlani
8.306
Highest Scores: 11 x 1 (@happiestgirl) 10 x 7 (@GimmeWork @ufint @Blob @slaybellz @Music Is Life @Remorque @Trouble in Paradise)
9.7 x 1 (@Untouchable Ace) 9.5 x 2 (@yuuurei @Hurricane Drunk)
Lowest Scores: 5 x 1 (@Untitled) 6 x 1 (@Empty Shoebox)
My Score: 10
When we're all alone, girl, you wanna own it
When we're with your fam, you don't wanna show it
Oh, you try to keep us on the low
I only want a girl who ain't afraid to love me
Not a metaphor of what we really could be
Oh, I ain't putting on a show
I really thought this has a shot at the Top 10 cause it is a tour de force featuring two incredible queer women of color at the top of their game! I mean I don’t even need to listen to the song and it’s stuck in my head just thinking of it. There’s something about the production that floors me every time, it’s propels the song with such force without overtaking the lyrics or melodies. Our ladies really did THAT.
Hayley spoke to GQ of the song and it’s connection to others in the album saying:
She also spoke to GQ about working with Kehlani:
Now what did y’all have to say?
Constantino If only Kehlani’s mostly-terrible, indulgent album was on-par with her many excellent collabs...
Yuuurei This is the song that got me interested in Hayley's music, it's just a nice little bop with a good message. Kehlani and Hayley sound really amazing together imo. The video's cute too.
Ufint So how Kehlani manages to upstage most of the artists she works with I will never know. This is a masterpiece, though.
Untouchable Ace Unexpected for a feature to open a song. This is a true collaboration which has created great storytelling.
Music is Life Another bop. Can see this growing on me.
Slaybellz This was my 2nd choice for my 11. Like two of my faves making a whole ass gay banger together. What more could ask I for? Actually I would have loved to see them do choreography to this in the vid or in a performance since they’re both trained dancers! What a missed opportunity.
16. “What I Need”
By Hayley Kiyoko featuring Kehlani
8.306
Highest Scores: 11 x 1 (@happiestgirl) 10 x 7 (@GimmeWork @ufint @Blob @slaybellz @Music Is Life @Remorque @Trouble in Paradise)
9.7 x 1 (@Untouchable Ace) 9.5 x 2 (@yuuurei @Hurricane Drunk)
Lowest Scores: 5 x 1 (@Untitled) 6 x 1 (@Empty Shoebox)
My Score: 10
When we're all alone, girl, you wanna own it
When we're with your fam, you don't wanna show it
Oh, you try to keep us on the low
I only want a girl who ain't afraid to love me
Not a metaphor of what we really could be
Oh, I ain't putting on a show
I really thought this has a shot at the Top 10 cause it is a tour de force featuring two incredible queer women of color at the top of their game! I mean I don’t even need to listen to the song and it’s stuck in my head just thinking of it. There’s something about the production that floors me every time, it’s propels the song with such force without overtaking the lyrics or melodies. Our ladies really did THAT.
Hayley spoke to GQ of the song and it’s connection to others in the album saying:
That song was kind of in the same time during the ‘Curious’ situation. [It’s the] same girl! I was really frustrated, because it was like, ‘You need to know what you’re doing, please stop involving me in these games. You need to love yourself and know who you are before involving me in this situation. I can’t teach you how to love yourself.’
She also spoke to GQ about working with Kehlani:
I’m just obsessed with Kehlani. That’s what I’m obsessed with. If I could sing like her… We do sound really lovely together. I was like, ‘Oh my God, this is a really nice match.’ We wrote that song in four hours. I’ve been trying to work with her for a year and a half because I’m a hardcore fan. She is one of the first artists to really support me and be like, ‘Yo, you’re dope,’ and that means a lot. It was such a 50/50 collab. It was just so easy and flowed so well.
Now what did y’all have to say?
Constantino If only Kehlani’s mostly-terrible, indulgent album was on-par with her many excellent collabs...
Yuuurei This is the song that got me interested in Hayley's music, it's just a nice little bop with a good message. Kehlani and Hayley sound really amazing together imo. The video's cute too.
Ufint So how Kehlani manages to upstage most of the artists she works with I will never know. This is a masterpiece, though.
Untouchable Ace Unexpected for a feature to open a song. This is a true collaboration which has created great storytelling.
Music is Life Another bop. Can see this growing on me.
Slaybellz This was my 2nd choice for my 11. Like two of my faves making a whole ass gay banger together. What more could ask I for? Actually I would have loved to see them do choreography to this in the vid or in a performance since they’re both trained dancers! What a missed opportunity.
He/Him
Our Top 15!
Hayley Kiyoko
Hayley Kiyoko “Feelings”
Hayley Kiyoko “Curious”
Christine and the Queens
Christine and the Queens “Doesn’t Matter”
Christine and the Queens “Girlfriend”
Christine and the Queens “Girlfriend”
Troye Sivan
Troye Sivan “My My My!”
Ssion
Ssion “Comeback”
Ssion “Comeback”
MNEK
MNEK “Tongue”
Years & Years
Years & Years “All For You”
Janelle Monae
Janelle Monae “Make Me Feel”
Janelle Monae “Screwed”
Janelle Monae “Pynk”
Janelle Monae “I Like That”
Janelle Monae “Americans”
Janelle Monae “Screwed”
Janelle Monae “Pynk”
Janelle Monae “I Like That”
Janelle Monae “Americans”
SOPHIE
The Extras!
Rina Sawayama “Cherry”
St. Vincent “Fast Slow Disco”
ohnostalgia
Staff member
She/her
I gave thirteen out of the fifteen songs left a score of 9.25 or higher.
I'm sure you can guess which two didn't make that mark.
I'm sure you can guess which two didn't make that mark.
she/her