Remarks:
“Losing You” came out on October 2nd 2012 and has not yet charted in the States, though it is up to #37 in Britain. Not her best song – it sounds like warmed-over Madonna – but probably her best video to date. It is certainly interesting to watch! It is shot in Langa, a black neighbourhood of Cape Town, South Africa (Yes, it does have a Harlem Ave). Solange was in South Africa at the time for a fashion shoot for Elle magazine.
The video: I like how she seems to take part in the life of the township – she dances in a kitchen, she takes the minibus, etc. She does not seem to hold herself apart from it or use it merely as a backdrop. But it is not quite as it seems: her friends in the video are mostly Americans (you might notice Azealia Banks) and the men in colourful suits are from Le Sape Society of Brazzaville, Congo – 4,000 km away. You can tell both are out of place since they dress more expensively and less warmly than everyone else. The video most reminds me of M.I.A.’s “Bad Girls”, which also uses a subculture as an exoticized backdrop.
Stereotypes: The video arguably plays to the stereotype that “Africa is a country” by the way it mixes and matches the Sapeurs with Cape Town. It also plays to the Broken Africa stereotype – because even Langa itself is more well-to-do than you would gather from the video. The whole neighbourhood is on Google Maps Street View so you can see for yourself.
Lyrics:
Tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good
We use to kiss all night but now it’s just no use
I don’t know why I fight it, clearly we are through
Tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good
I knew you waiting for the rest that you can’t get from me
Just chew me good and baby i’ll give you the rest of me
I’m not the one that you should be making your enemy
I’m not the one that you should be making your enemy
Tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good
We use to kiss all night but now it’s just no use
I don’t know why I fight it, clearly we are through
Tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good
There’s something I know you taking it away from me
I gave you everything and now there’s nothing left for me
I’m not the one that you should be making your enemy
I’m not the one that you should be making your enemy
Tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good
We use to kiss all night but now it’s just no use
I don’t know why I fight it, clearly we are through
Tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good
Tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good
We use to kiss all night but now it’s just no use
I don’t know why I fight it, clearly we are through
Tell me the truth boy, am I losing you for good
It’s very colorful. I’m not feeling the song. But the clothes are are fun. The life in the township and the beautiful people I like that. But can’t cosign on the song.
I like the song, I’m a big fan of hers. I did notice that the kind of used the area as a backdrop but it’s far better than what have people have done in the past. And on the flip side, she reps for natural hair well, and she had others in the video with natural hair and she had POC of different shades in the video. There are a lot of pluses that come with the video aside from the style and the things mentioned above.
But overall, can get past entirely of those stereotypes.
hope she’ll do better next time.
Sweet. I like her. Realistically though it’s true that the area they shot this video is better off than most parts in Douala, Yaoundé, Lagos, Nairobi or Kampala.
Video + song = excellence.
Solange glows in this video. Makes one momentarily forget Beyonce.