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Brown Skin Girl
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Brown Skin Girl
| cover = Blue Ivy Carter, Saint Jhn, Wizkid & Beyonc - Brown Skin Girl.jpg
| alt =
| artist = Beyonc, Saint Jhn and Wizkid featuring Blue Ivy Carter
| type = single
| album = The Lion King: The Gift
| released =
| recorded = 2019
| studio =
| genre =
| length =
| label = * Parkwood
* Columbia
| writer = * Beyonc
* Carlos St. John
* Adio Marchant
* Shawn Carter
* P2J
* Stacy Barthe
* Anathi Mnyango
* Michael Uzowuru
*Ayo Balogun
| producer = * P2J
* Beyonc
| misc =
}}
"'Brown Skin Girl'" (stylized in uppercase) is a song by American singer Beyonc, Guyanese-American rapper Saint Jhn, and Nigerian singer Wizkid, featuring Beyonc's daughter Blue Ivy Carter. Produced by P2J and Beyonc, it is taken from the 2019 soundtrack album 'The Lion King: The Gift'. The song was sent to Top 40/Rhythmic radio on July 23, 2019, as the second single from the album.
The song was released to widespread critical acclaim and received numerous awards, including the Soul Train Music Award for The Ashford & Simpsons Songwriter's Award and the BET HER Award.
The music video for "Brown Skin Girl" was featured in Beyonc's 2020 film 'Black Is King' and was released separately on August 24, 2020. Directed by Beyonc and Jenn Nkiru, the video acts a celebration and affirmation of the beauty of dark-skinned women. The video, featuring Beyonc, Blue Ivy and Wizkid won the award for Best Music Video at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, as well as the Soul Train Music Award for Video of the Year and the MTV Video Music Award for Best Cinematography.
Background
The song marks the second collaboration between Beyonc and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, following "Blue", a song from Beyonc's 2013 album 'Beyonc'. Carter is also credited as a songwriter and contributed vocals. The song caused the #BrownSkinGirlChallenge to go viral upon release.
Composition and lyrics
The song contains "spare, syncopated African rhythms", while its lyrics deal with colorism faced by darker-complexioned women: "'Brown skin girl / ya skin just like pearls / Your back against the world'". 'Billboard' magazine called the lyrics "compelling", noting how the song shout-outs pioneering brown girls such as Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong'o, and Beyonc's former Destiny's Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
Critical reception
In a positive review, Imani Bashir of 'Teen Vogue' described the song as a "celebration of dark-skinned women". Amanda Mitchell at 'O, The Oprah Magazine' complimented the song for being "unapologetically and fearlessly Black". 'Time' magazine praised Blue Ivy Carter's appearance, calling it a "gracious cameo". Ellise Shafer of 'Billboard' noted that she added a "sentimental tone to the track". Alexis Petridis writing for 'The Guardian' pinpointed "Brown Skin Girl" as one of the album highlights, describing it as "brilliant".
Lupita Nyong'o also reacted by posting a video of herself on Friday, July 19, 2019 via Instagram, singing and dancing along to "Brown Skin Girl", in which her name was specifically applauded by Beyonc.
At the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards, "Brown Skin Girl" won the Ashford & Simpson Songwriter's Award and was also nominated for Best Collaboration.
Cover versions
In September 2019, Stormzy covered "Brown Skin Girl" for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. The song was also covered by Kanye West and Sunday Service Choir in December 2019. In April 2020, Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson performed a cover of "Brown Skin Girl" for Global Citizen One World: Together At Home. The performance was nominated for a LiveXLive Lockdown Award for Digital Chemistry: Favorite Duet. The song was also covered by [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hdjwGikjRqk Emino.]
Music video
Release and synopsis
A music video for the song, directed by Beyonc and Jenn Nkiru, was included in 'Black Is King', a visual album and film based on the music of 'The Lion King: The Gift' which premiered on Disney+ on July 31, 2020. On August 24, 2020, a standalone version of the music video was premiered on 'Good Morning America' and subsequently released through Beyonc's YouTube channel. It became the second music video from the film available to officially watch outside of Disney+, following "Already" which premiered on YouTube and was uploaded to Instagram a few hours prior to 'Black Is King's release.
The video acts as a celebration and affirmation of the beauty of dark skin. It depicts a black debutante ball (a tradition in African-American communities in the Southern United States) and showcases a variety of black and brown girls and women, including Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o, British model Naomi Campbell, American singer Kelly Rowland, South Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech, Sudanese model Aweng Ade-Chuol, Beyonc's mother Tina Knowles-Lawson, and Beyonc's daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi Carter.
Development
's skull elongation inspired a hairstyle in the videoBeyonc explained the development of the music video, telling 'Good Morning America', "It was so important to me in 'Brown Skin Girl' that we represented all different shades of brown... We wanted every character to be shot in a regal light Jenn Nkiru came up with the black debutantes. It was important that we are all in this together and we're all celebrating each other." The music video was primarily filmed in South London, as it was intended for 'Black Is King' to feature locations from throughout the African diaspora. Nkiru told 'British Vogue' that the video aims to showcase images that are not typically seen on screen, such as a black debutante ball which is a rite of passage in African-American culture, and display "intimacy, sisterhood, [and] celebrations" between black women.
In an interview for 'Essence', Nkiru explained how as well as featuring the "incredible star-studded cast", she also cast "women who are lesser known but are on the ground really doing work" and "who are the activists in their field". Nkiru also wanted to expand the conversation by highlighting non-black women who face colorism in their communities, and consequently included an indigenous Brazilian woman and women of southeast Asian heritage in the music video. Nkiru picked South Asian model Sheerah Ravindren to be featured in the video, who said that it was "such a blessing to be in this beautiful art piece that shows the beauty and power of Blackness" and adding that Beyonc has "already done so much MORE for representation and empowerment for South Asians than the South Asian film industries." Nkiru also asked Selma Nicholls, founder of casting agency Looks Like Me, to cast children for the video. Nicholls called it "a dream come true, not just for me, not just for those children that were selected, but for all black children". Nicholls' own daughter was chosen for the film; Nicholls explained that "it's made my daughter be part of something where five years from when she wanted to look like Elsa and Anna, is singing along to the song "Brown Skin Girl".
Beyonc's hairstyles in the film were inspired by traditional African styles, according to hairstylist Neal Farinah. This included a braid crown inspired by the Mangbetu people of the Eastern Congo, whose Lipombo skull elongation technique represented royalty and status, and a style known as Orisha Bunmi, which is a Nigerian hairstyle worn for special events.
Critical reception
Zoe Haylock for 'Vulture' declared the "Brown Skin Girl" video "a revolution in six minutes", praising the "African influences, intricate, opulent styling, and pure Black-girl joy". Haylock added that the video should be placed in the Louvre and would rival the Mona Lisa. Jem Aswad of 'Variety' similarly described the video as "almost more like a series of paintings" and praised the series of "beautiful" costumes. 'IndieWire' named the "Brown Skin Girl" video the sixth best music video of 2020. Leonardo Adrian Garcia wrote that 'Variety'Impact
The release of 'Black Is King' kicked off hair and makeup trends, with stylists and artists around the world creating looks particularly inspired by those seen in the "Brown Skin Girl" video. For an exhibition in the African American Museum titled "Hair Story", artist Youveline Joseph produced artworks inspired by "Brown Skin Girl" that recreated some of the braided hairstyles from the video.Awards and nominations
At the BET Awards 2020, "Brown Skin Girl" won the BET HER Award, making Blue Ivy the youngest BET Award winner of all time. The "Brown Skin Girl" music video won Best Music Video at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. For this award, Blue Ivy received the Guinness World Record for the youngest individually credited winner at the Grammy Awards.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Ceremony
! Award
! Result
! Ref(s).
|-
| rowspan="4" |2019
|The Daily Californian Arts Awards
|Best Song
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| rowspan="2" |Soul Train Music Awards
|The Ashford & Simpsons Songwriter's Award
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;" |
|-
|Best Collaboration
|
|-
|All Africa Music Awards
|Best Collaboration
|
|style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="3" |2020
| BET Awards
|BET HER Award
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
|NAACP Image Awards
|Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
|Soul Train Music Awards
|Video of the Year
|
|style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="8"| 2021
| AICP Post Awards
| Color Grading: Music Video
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Cannes Lions Awards
| Excellence in Music Video
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| Grammy Awards
| Best Music Video
|
| style="text-align:center;" |
|-
| NAACP Image Awards
| Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album
|
| style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| rowspan="2"| MTV Video Music Awards
| Best Cinematography
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Best R&B
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| UK Music Video Awards
| Best R&B/Soul Video International
|
| rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;"|
|-
| Best Wardrobe Styling in a Video
|
|}
Charts
Certifications
Release history
References
Category:Singlechart usages for Billboardhot100
Category:Singlechart called without song
Category:Singlechart usages for Billboardrandbhiphop
Category:Singlechart making named ref
Category:2019 singles
Category:2019 songs
Category:Beyonc songs
Category:Songs written by Beyonc
Category:Song recordings produced by Beyonc
Category:Saint Jhn songs
Category:Wizkid songs
Category:Songs written by Wizkid
Category:Songs written by Stacy Barthe
Category:Songs written by Jay-Z
Category:Songs written by Michael Uzowuru
Category:Songs from The Lion King (franchise)
Category:Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video
Category:Columbia Records singles
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