I’m a
journalist by profession, or rather a writer- the title I prefer most- who
makes a living working as a journalist. Part of what I do is about defining
things and I have to say, as journalists we often fall into the trap of labelling
things and more often than not I find that we reach for the easiest words just
to get the job done. We call people fashion gurus when they are really just
happy snappers of well clad folk on the streets or because they have a blog or
they are simply gay men who know a thing or two about looking good. We call people “It girls” because we don’t know what the
fuck else to say. It would be easier just to ask the person what they want to
be called, really, but we’re too smart for that. Anyway…
The
reason I am bringing this up is because late last year I became obsessed with the
title “alternative R&B”. I was beyond taken with Miguel, Solange ran my
life and the discovery of Kelela and Jhene Aiko made me an advocate for
R&B’s “second coming”. Trust me, I was preaching that gospel, as many
others were, I suppose. It was only later, just a few months ago, that I
discovered FKA Twigs and I don’t think I’ve been as obsessed about something as
I am about Miss Twigs. Her music makes me want to just lose all inhibitions and
indulge in its psychedelic effect. One thing I know for sure is that her electro-infused,
genre bending and somewhat pattern defying sound is NOT R&B and while it is
experimental, I feel like calling it alternative R&B is a cop out. The only
way that anyone can box her sound within R&B is if R&B and hip-hop is
what we’ve decided people of colour are to be categorised as regardless of how
they sound. There’s not much sense in that. She’s an artist with a unique sound
and it’s okay if we can’t exactly box her because that in itself is an act of
reducing her craft to a racial stereotype.
To
my surprise, as I thought about how unfair it is that writers and critics have
decided that FKA is an alternative R&B artist, a friend pointed out to me
that Miss Twigs has herself rejected the label.
"I love annoying
sounds, beats, clicks... I don't see anyone else doing that now. It's got loud
noises in there, the structures aren't typical, it's relentless. It's like
punk; fuck alternative R&B!" That’s what she’s been quoted as saying.
Who are we to decided otherwise. In case you haven’t heard anything from this
gem of a rock star, click on any of the videos below and then you can tell me
just how R&B-ish it sounds because I most certainly can’t hear it. I'd understand if they simply capped it at saying her sound has an R&B sensibility, but that too can be a bit of a reach, I think.
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