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Nothing brings me more heartache and sometimes dismay over being a Bajan than anything Rihanna related. From the get go I’ve said she was over rated and the nothing but the product of good production, and even though this is still the majority of my opinion I am humble enough to say that she has improved a lot over the last few years and her last album was pretty decent. My conniptions with things Ms. Fenty related are now over how we Bajans react to any and everything she does.
She received a Grammy a few years back and the only thing we didn’t do was make her queen or have a life size bust made(I better not speak just yet cause there is still time for the DLP to outdo themselves). That was quickly followed by a Brown patch where the only thing we didn’t do was demand he be extradited to Barbados for a public flogging. Other minor up and downs but now, apparently, she has gone too far and will face the never ending wrath and scorn of the pure Christian society that is Barbados.
Rihanna has dared to be, of all things in Hollywood, sexy. Now admittedly this new video for her hit single S&M is a bit raunchy and on the edge as they say but I’ve seen much worse at primary school fairs. Mind you these same puritans of our society who are now calling for the stripping of all titles bestowed on our frequently scantily clad song bird, are the ones who watch and cheer on their single digit aged children in their preteen dry humpings, which Rihanna’s impression of at the Grammys left poor Drake grinning from ear to ear.
The song is called S&M and the hook states that sex is in the air and she loves the smell of it. Now with such lyrics I do not believe that a video with Sister Marshall pushing her snow cone cart and hundreds of smiling little children rushing for a Red and Coconut with milk would have been very appropriate. The video satirically looks at the relationship between the media and celebrities and the way the media is constantly in the love affairs of celebs. Despite the lov/ hate affair Barbadians have with her, she even saw it fit to place Barbados across her ever improving pectoral region.
Now I’m a huge fan of music and all genres and I would rate this video as a 6.5 on the sexy/raunchy scale. Videos such as She Wolf where Shakira makes men want to use the key to free her from her cage and investigate her midregion’s sexy movements rate higher than this for me. Females were going crazy over Ciara’s Ridin’ and proclaiming it as a great video and to me all she did was encourage teenage boys to sit alone in their rooms and dream of being ridden by her. Heck this video couldn’t make it onto BET Uncut back in the day.
So why is there all this drama? Simple she is a Bajan and there is nothing we Bajans enjoy more than to talk about another Bajan. She’s not being a proper role model; she’s making bajans look bad; she’s not acting like a lady; are all complaints that have been echoed. To you I say this: if you can’t raise your children to pick better role models than entertainers you should be attacking yourselves and not Rihanna; I’ve gotten free drinks in America because I was able to talk about the little island Rihanna was from instead of hearing what part of Jamaica is Barbados and being a lady means you get to decide how you feel is appropriate to carry yourself.
Instead of attacking Rihanna I would like us to get together and rid Barbados of people like Mr. Frontteethgoldteethgargleoutmouthwithlisterinenationbuildingpumawearingms.wigginslastboy aka Mr. PatandCrank aka Peter Ram. How can a man go from winning the Nation Building Award to having a bigger Jamaican accent that Buju Banton is beyond my skills of comprehension. So instead of looking to pull down a young lady who is expressing her personality, being successful and putting this little rock of ours on the map lets all start at home with our children and with the goats we have here.
Those who know me know I love me Alicia Keys, Chrisette Michelle, Angie Stone et al and will never be a big fan of Rihanna type music but I am now willing to give Jack his jacket and say stop being hypocrites and let the girl do her thing.
Well said. When it comes to hypocrisy Bajans wrote the book and then denied it. Unfortunately (??!) I have neither heard nor seen this "latest and greatest" of our Ri-Ri's work so I must refrain from comment. However, I do agree that we need to take responsibility for raising our own children and stop devolving that very important role to the "remote-controlled nanny" and so called role models and then turn around and decry society. I have tried to understand the dilemma that seems to be facing our countrymen and I think I have a glimmer of understanding of it -"How to reconcile being envious of a persons's achievement while being too righteous to "do what they do" to get it?"
ReplyDeleteThen we blame others for enslaving us! SMH!!
I like your angle, I see your point. I believe that the actions of those in the public are under more scrutiny and held higher, because of their access and reach. That in itself is a double standard, that I too have been guilty of. I like her music and she had improved as an entertainer. So as you say, let Rihanna do her thing.
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