Women’s History Month began March 1st and has pretty much been extended until Fall 2018 (for now). Between the release of Cardi B’s debut album “Invasion of Privacy” and Drake’s newly released “girl power / twerk anthem” (@DreaOnassis) “Nice For What”, women are continuing in their reign to be seen as the powerful innovative forces of the world, while balancing the various adversities we face in our personal lives, careers, and relationships.
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And while some may resist the evolution of social media, I believe it serves as as a therapeutic expression of confidence for women. It’s creating a new type of woman, a resilient woman. One that is real, one that shines but also pivots through any form of a hard knock, especially relationships.
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For some women, nothing sets us back like a stale or failed relationship. The bounce back has always been a long extended journey, one that can sometimes take a toll on every aspect of our life. We grab our favorite bottle of wine and curl up to the legendary Lauryn Hill, as she croons out “Care for me, care for me, you said you care for me.” (“Ex Factor”, Miseducation of Lauryn Hill). It’s always been this sad, yet amazing song we associate with “that ex” we just couldn’t get over. We sing it to the top of our lungs, word for word, hurt. She made something so bad, hurt so good.
But ladies, a new day is upon us. “Nice For What” is here! Now 20 years later (right, 20 years), Drake creates a new experience for the popular tune. Sampling the lyrics of Ms. Hill, combined with the noticeable Louisiana sound inspiration, his lyrics acknowledges our ability as women to recover, boss up and slay with our girls.
Not only did Mr. Graham drop the single, he also dropped a super fire visual to accompany the certified Summer hit. Leaning on female story teller Karena Evans, the “Nice For What” video features highly reputable women in the industry making strides not only in their careers, but personal lives as well. We get to see the beautiful “Grow-ish” star and activist Yara Shahidi. This young leader is on our televisions, in every high fashion magazine, on stage with Auntie Oprah and more. And while one would think that this would consume most of her time, the talented beauty is slated to attend Harvard University, starting Fall 2018. I appreciate someone like Yara being an example for a woman with intelligence and of many talents. Women often balance a multitude of tasks, and wear so many hats, which is sometimes overlooked and under appreciated.
We also see women like Issa Rae, who have become one of the leading women in the television and media industry (also one of my favorite people to follow on social media). She’s introduced this wave of being professionally real, as she takes full advantage of the freedom to creatively be herself. She demonstrates this not only through her hit show “Insecure”, but even her social media. We are privy to her during the first table read of the new season one day, and her friends partying on her IG story the next.
There are other notable women who make appearances in the video; Tracee Ellis Ross, Misty Copeland, Jourdan Dunn, Rashida Jones, Tiffany Haddish, Zoe Saldana, Letitia Wright (Wakanda Forever), and more.
Ironically enough, I recently completed the book “Nice Girls Still Don’t Get The Corner Office” by Lois P. Frankel, PhD. In a weird but similar way, both the book and “Nice For What” (alongside with the video) convey the same message. As girls, we are taught to be nice and play nice. Not anymore. We are making noise about what we want,One things for sure, no matter the age, or the situation, we will no longer be sad listening to the “Ex Factor” tune. As a matter of fact, we are twerking and moving on in life.
Christina is the author of “Do It For The Gram: A Quick Caption Guide For The Millennial Woman” is available on both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.