Mr.Arroz
Staff member
he/him/his
BLACK GIRL DEBUT MAGIC™
PROLOGUE
this rate could literally be Azealia tweets too tbh for how iconic and unwaveringly unapologetic she is about speaking her truth
What’s poppin y’all? If you ain’t know by now, I’m @Mr.Arroz, one of the forum’s resident social justice advocates with a red-hot passion for all things marginalized in society, pop culture, politics, and in a Popjustice-specific lens: music, through those various intersections between the industry, identity, talent, class, gender, race, ethnicity, and a slew of other characteristics related to the politics of navigating one’s standing in society. Having registered as a member in early 2008, I’ve seen plenty a season here @Popjustice, as well as the many respective rates that have come and gone in the near decade that has passed. As my time on the forum and in the greater world itself has grown, as well as the knowledge that those years has provided too, I thought… what better time to put in the hard work of running a rate for something that I hold near and dear af to my heart: the work and talent of Black women. And to push even further with this objective, why not investigate those Black women that wildly tease, manipulate, and harness the staggering amount of social barriers placed on them in society in general, but in our case, in terms of pop music and its subsequent consumption? In approaching the creation of this rate, it was paramount to address not only #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, and a range of other contemporary social moments and movements (including many but especially BLACK GIRLS ROCK) that address how we shape our worlds - but specifically how Black women push forward in times like these, resisting and responding in their own intensely unique ways. In developing my nerve and confidence to run a rate with as much power as this one could potentially involve, I called on a strong personal and internal fire to drive me further: to honor my blood, and to go further in showcasing the sheer perseverance of those that have grounded me in my own sense of humanity as a queer man of color. I hope I can do all that I can, to do them justice with you all joining alongside me as well.
As a young bisexual man, raised among seven siblings in a hugely diverse family (Puerto Rican, Black, Choctaw, Indian, Mexican, of varying religious and linguistic backgrounds), whose formative years were spent with Black aunts, grandmothers, cousins, and most importantly, his Black mother, most of my journey in music has begun, and persisted with - the presence of Black women. The reference points in my life have been watching my mother raise me to be the man that I am today, with many years of distant co-parenting, a reality commonly evidenced as not only true of the other women in my world, but in many cases, the women that came to me on CD, though iTunes, and in today’s throwback age, vinyl. Through what many might consider fate, maybe faith, and to others maybe still, luck, I was able to enroll in and graduate from a school which changed and contextualized things that I’d witnessed as a boy/teenager in my Midwestern town. School finessed my world view and emitted me into a place that left me nothing but the supreme opportunity to pay tribute to those women that inspired me to capture dreams that I thought might always remain in my wildest imagination. Running this rate thus just feels the natural thing to do. So why not get started?!
THE RULES ®
PROLOGUE
this rate could literally be Azealia tweets too tbh for how iconic and unwaveringly unapologetic she is about speaking her truth
What’s poppin y’all? If you ain’t know by now, I’m @Mr.Arroz, one of the forum’s resident social justice advocates with a red-hot passion for all things marginalized in society, pop culture, politics, and in a Popjustice-specific lens: music, through those various intersections between the industry, identity, talent, class, gender, race, ethnicity, and a slew of other characteristics related to the politics of navigating one’s standing in society. Having registered as a member in early 2008, I’ve seen plenty a season here @Popjustice, as well as the many respective rates that have come and gone in the near decade that has passed. As my time on the forum and in the greater world itself has grown, as well as the knowledge that those years has provided too, I thought… what better time to put in the hard work of running a rate for something that I hold near and dear af to my heart: the work and talent of Black women. And to push even further with this objective, why not investigate those Black women that wildly tease, manipulate, and harness the staggering amount of social barriers placed on them in society in general, but in our case, in terms of pop music and its subsequent consumption? In approaching the creation of this rate, it was paramount to address not only #BlackLivesMatter, #SayHerName, and a range of other contemporary social moments and movements (including many but especially BLACK GIRLS ROCK) that address how we shape our worlds - but specifically how Black women push forward in times like these, resisting and responding in their own intensely unique ways. In developing my nerve and confidence to run a rate with as much power as this one could potentially involve, I called on a strong personal and internal fire to drive me further: to honor my blood, and to go further in showcasing the sheer perseverance of those that have grounded me in my own sense of humanity as a queer man of color. I hope I can do all that I can, to do them justice with you all joining alongside me as well.
As a young bisexual man, raised among seven siblings in a hugely diverse family (Puerto Rican, Black, Choctaw, Indian, Mexican, of varying religious and linguistic backgrounds), whose formative years were spent with Black aunts, grandmothers, cousins, and most importantly, his Black mother, most of my journey in music has begun, and persisted with - the presence of Black women. The reference points in my life have been watching my mother raise me to be the man that I am today, with many years of distant co-parenting, a reality commonly evidenced as not only true of the other women in my world, but in many cases, the women that came to me on CD, though iTunes, and in today’s throwback age, vinyl. Through what many might consider fate, maybe faith, and to others maybe still, luck, I was able to enroll in and graduate from a school which changed and contextualized things that I’d witnessed as a boy/teenager in my Midwestern town. School finessed my world view and emitted me into a place that left me nothing but the supreme opportunity to pay tribute to those women that inspired me to capture dreams that I thought might always remain in my wildest imagination. Running this rate thus just feels the natural thing to do. So why not get started?!
THE RULES ®
- Score between 0 to 10. Decimals are chill but keep it cute.
- A single song can be your 11. Pick with care!
- PM your scores to @Mr.Arroz anytime after voting begins.
THE SONGS ©
Here presented are some of my favorite albums ever released by Black women in recent times. A stretch of nearly a decade exists between, denoting, weirdly, the year I began college (2008) and the year I took my dream job, working for a QTPOC magazine (2017). All however, represent some of the most innovative and compelling sounds to grace the pop soundscape - including one that hasn't even fully been released just yet.
Santigold - Santigold (April 29th, 2008)
Youtube: Album
1. L.E.S. Artistes
2. You’ll Find a Way
3. Shove It (feat. Spank Rock)
4. Say Aha
5. Creator
6. My Superman
7. Lights Out
8. Starstruck
9. Unstoppable
10. I’m a Lady (feat. Trouble Andrew)
11. Anne
12. Your Voice
Dawn Richard - Goldenheart (January 15th, 2013)
Youtube: Album
1. Intro (In the Hearts Tonight)
2. Return of a Queen
3. Goliath
4. Riot
5. Gleaux
6. Pretty Wicked Things
7. Northern Lights
8. Frequency
9. Warfaire
10. Tug of War
11. Ode to You
12. ’86
13. In Your Eyes
14. Break of Dawn
15. [300]
16. Goldenheart
Tinashe - Aquarius (October 3rd, 2014)
Youtube: Album
1. Aquarius
2. Bet (feat. Dev Hynes)
3. Cold Sweat
4. 2 On (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
5. How Many Times (feat. Future)
6. Pretend (feat. A$AP Rocky)
7. All Hands on Deck
8. Far Side of the Moon
9. Feels Like Vegas
10. Thug Cry
11. Bated Breath
12. Wildfire
13. Watch Me Work
14. Vulnerable (feat. Travi$ Scott)
Azealia Banks - Broke with Expensive Taste (November 7th, 2014)
Youtube: Album
1. Idle Delilah
2. Gimme a Chance
3. Desperado
4. JFK (feat. Theophilus London)
5. 212 (feat. Lazy Jay)
6. Wallace
7. Heavy Metal and Reflective
8. BBD
9. Ice Princess
10. Yung Rapunxel
11. Soda
12. Chasing Time
13. Luxury
14. Nude Beach A-Go-Go
15. Miss Amor
16. Miss Camaraderie
SZA - Ctrl (June 9th, 2017)
Youtube: Album
1. Supermodel
2. Love Galore (feat. Travis Scott)
3. Doves in the Wind (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
4. Drew Barrymore
5. Prom
6. The Weekend
7. Go Gina
8. Garden (Say It Like Dat)
9. Broken Clocks
10. Anything
11. Wavy (Interlude) [feat. James Fauntleroy]
12. Normal Girl
13. Pretty Little Birds (feat. Isaiah Rashad)
14. 20 Something
Kelela - Take Me Apart (October 6th, 2017)
Album
1. Frontline
2. Waitin
3. Take Me Apart
4. Enough
5. Jupiter
6. Better
7. LMK
8. Truth or Dare
9. S.O.S.
10. Blue Light
11. Onanon
12. Turn to Dust
13. Bluff
14. Altadena
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Here presented are some of my favorite albums ever released by Black women in recent times. A stretch of nearly a decade exists between, denoting, weirdly, the year I began college (2008) and the year I took my dream job, working for a QTPOC magazine (2017). All however, represent some of the most innovative and compelling sounds to grace the pop soundscape - including one that hasn't even fully been released just yet.
Santigold - Santigold (April 29th, 2008)
Youtube: Album
1. L.E.S. Artistes
2. You’ll Find a Way
3. Shove It (feat. Spank Rock)
4. Say Aha
5. Creator
6. My Superman
7. Lights Out
8. Starstruck
9. Unstoppable
10. I’m a Lady (feat. Trouble Andrew)
11. Anne
12. Your Voice
Dawn Richard - Goldenheart (January 15th, 2013)
Youtube: Album
1. Intro (In the Hearts Tonight)
2. Return of a Queen
3. Goliath
4. Riot
5. Gleaux
6. Pretty Wicked Things
7. Northern Lights
8. Frequency
9. Warfaire
10. Tug of War
11. Ode to You
12. ’86
13. In Your Eyes
14. Break of Dawn
15. [300]
16. Goldenheart
Tinashe - Aquarius (October 3rd, 2014)
Youtube: Album
1. Aquarius
2. Bet (feat. Dev Hynes)
3. Cold Sweat
4. 2 On (feat. ScHoolboy Q)
5. How Many Times (feat. Future)
6. Pretend (feat. A$AP Rocky)
7. All Hands on Deck
8. Far Side of the Moon
9. Feels Like Vegas
10. Thug Cry
11. Bated Breath
12. Wildfire
13. Watch Me Work
14. Vulnerable (feat. Travi$ Scott)
Azealia Banks - Broke with Expensive Taste (November 7th, 2014)
Youtube: Album
1. Idle Delilah
2. Gimme a Chance
3. Desperado
4. JFK (feat. Theophilus London)
5. 212 (feat. Lazy Jay)
6. Wallace
7. Heavy Metal and Reflective
8. BBD
9. Ice Princess
10. Yung Rapunxel
11. Soda
12. Chasing Time
13. Luxury
14. Nude Beach A-Go-Go
15. Miss Amor
16. Miss Camaraderie
SZA - Ctrl (June 9th, 2017)
Youtube: Album
1. Supermodel
2. Love Galore (feat. Travis Scott)
3. Doves in the Wind (feat. Kendrick Lamar)
4. Drew Barrymore
5. Prom
6. The Weekend
7. Go Gina
8. Garden (Say It Like Dat)
9. Broken Clocks
10. Anything
11. Wavy (Interlude) [feat. James Fauntleroy]
12. Normal Girl
13. Pretty Little Birds (feat. Isaiah Rashad)
14. 20 Something
Kelela - Take Me Apart (October 6th, 2017)
Album
1. Frontline
2. Waitin
3. Take Me Apart
4. Enough
5. Jupiter
6. Better
7. LMK
8. Truth or Dare
9. S.O.S.
10. Blue Light
11. Onanon
12. Turn to Dust
13. Bluff
14. Altadena
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
Deadline to be determined. Voting officially opens October 6th. So make sure y'all stay ready!!! xoxoxo
Last edited:
