I Been On (Ratchet): Conceptualizing a Sonic Ratchet Aesthetic in Beyonce’s “Bow Down”

Guest Post by Regina N. Bradley at Red Clay Scholar     While listening to Beyonce’s latest single “Bow Down/I Been On” an eyebrow raised in amusement along with a low “woooooord?” I couldn’t believe that Beyonce, Mrs. “Girls-Run-the-World” was talking to bitches and – gasp! – demanding they bow down. But it wasn’t Bey’s emphatic […]

Trigger Warning – How to Love?: Thoughts on Wayne’s “Emmett Till” Lyrics and More

By CFs Moya and Whitney We’d initially planned to post this the monday after the Oscars but other things were more pressing. *Trigger Warning for expletives, misogyny, and violent lyrics*   In the remix to Future’s Karate Chop, Lil Wayne sings the “very unfortunate” (really, Fader?) lyric that compares sex to the beating of Emmett […]