Sophia Grace Brownlee is back, and she’s bringing more than “Super Bass.”
The British 11-year-old gained stardom after singing Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” with her cousin in a now viral video. The pair appeared on “Ellen,” where they met Minaj herself, and Brownlee demonstrated the extent of her rap skills.
Brownlee recently dropped a new single, titled “Best Friends,” about female comradery. She raps, takes her girls on a shopping spree and makes it clear that “we don’t want no boys ‘round here.”
But it seems this new edition of pop music has received unnecessary hatred.
Honestly, I’m disgusted by the comments left on YouTube about this video.
Yes, watching it leaves a sugary aftertaste in your mouth, and for a moment I had a terrible feeling I was transported back in time to Club Libby Lu.
But there’s nothing wrong with Brownlee’s video, and there’s no excuse to rag on someone who’s yet to enter her teen-angst phase.
All the girls shown in the video are happy, fully clothed and gathering for a girls’ night. Brownlee’s lyrics describe the necessity of having a friend to watch her back and take on the world together.
If anything, the only problem I find with Brownlee’s work is the exclusivity of a girls’ club. But if I remember correctly, we gender our children significantly at that age, and there aren’t many opposite-sex friendships as a result.
Much of the backlash stems from the absence of Brownlee’s cousin in the music video. People ask how Brownlee could make a song about friendship without the girl who’s been with her from the start. But I’m assuming Brownlee is like most 11-year-olds and swaps best friends every other weekend.
It’s nothing compared to James Taylor’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” nor does it reach the pinnacle ladies’ anthem “Single Ladies,” but I’m happy to know there’s someone out there who’s boosting female friendship instead of tearing it down.
It seems we have no idea how to analyze young girls in the media.
We either sexualize them or assume they are being sexualized, as we have done in Sia’s new video “Elastic Heart.” Or, we berate them as the Chuck E. Cheese brats that they are.
No one should be threatened by a song that contains the schoolyard pledge, “cross my heart and hope to die.”
But maybe people are spewing hate just because they weren’t rappers who bought their own Kmart clothing line in a music video before even entering middle school.
Props to Brownlee for making this song and keeping it strong. I’m sure if anyone turned the heat onto our 11-year-old selves, we wouldn’t be able to take it.
maehogan@indiana.edu
