Crissle X Nicki Minaj: Say No To F*ckboys
If you listen to the The Read, you're probably familiar with Crissle's "Say No to Fuckboys" rant from one of the early episodes. It's her feminist, anti-misogynoir mantra, and it's awesome. When I heard Nicki's new song, I IMMEDIATELY thought of Crissle, because (unlike Jezebel apparently) I recognized that it expresses the exact same sentiment. They actually talked about the song on this week's episode which was awesome. They both love it and recognize the (pretty blatant) feminist message in the lyrics, and they also both agree that the rape line was not okay. (It's really not, and Crissle does a great job explaining why.
Well, yesterday, Crissle tweeted this:
Nicki need to put my "say no to fuckboys" read on the lookin ass niggas remix. I can be her Chimamanda.
— king crissle (@crissles) February 21, 2014
And someone did! And it's legitimately awesome!
Seriously, give it a listen. If you didn't understand why some women really love the song, (despite the offending line) listening to the parts of Crissle's rant that are inserted into the track will explain exactly who Nicki is talking to, and why. Despite the problematic line, it is an AMAZINGLY feminist song that I guess, is admittedly pretty specific to black feminism.
The guy who created it also included a pretty good explanation:
Inspired by the feminist anthem ***Flawless by singer Beyoncé which incorporates a sample of Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's legendary speech "We Should All Be Feminists", I decided to blend together Crissle West's just-as-legendary read "Say No To Fuck Boys" and Nicki Minaj's new buzz single "Lookin' Ass Nigga". Both women attack and destroy the same enemy, a misogynistic enemy who belittles women and can be commonly found in black communities. However, don't be deceived, these same "fuck boys" and "lookin' ass niggas" can be found in communities all over the world.
Similar to ***Flawless, the sampled speech is not used in its entirety and I have edited the speech a tad bit to better suit the song. I recommend that you listen to both the speech in its entirety and the song as well.
I've always really loved the way that Kid Fury and Crissle have espoused feminist ideology in a way that is relatable on a basic, loved experience way. They have a huge audience, and they have always been very responsible and mindful about what kinds of ideas they endorse. I LOVE THAT. If you haven't been listening to the show, you should definitely start.