Jhene Aiko's New 'Lyin King' Video Gives Me Chills
Jhene Aiko has a lot to celebrate.
She has slayed several magazine features this year, including Vogue, Elle, Complex, and GQ. She’s been nominated for several Grammys, and the cherry on top is that her music gets better and better. So it’s only right that “Miss Chilombo” celebrated the one-year anniversary of her highly acclaimed Souled Out album with a music video. The video for “Lyin King”, one of the tracks from ‘Souled Out” is about humanity, love, a dying ego, and it will probably give you the chills.
No really, I got the chills looking at this video.
As far as the meaning behind the visuals, she shared with The FADER:
A mysterious, time traveling medicine woman has a prophetic vision of an early civilization in trouble.
The men have neglected the women and deprived them of love. By orders of their chief, the men of the tribe have taken away the women’s hearts and voices.
The women are powerless. The children are suffering.
The medicine woman travels for many days to reach the primitive village.
Upon her arrival, the medicine woman performs a miracle. She instantly restores the grace of the women of the tribe and gives them their voices back.
The men of this early tribe are not pleased.
With the men of the tribe’s attention, the medicine woman and the women of the tribe begin a ceremony in which they tell the story of how they are taking their voices back.
The chief is infuriated.
The medicine woman leaves the now capable women to conduct a private ceremony for the chief.
The chief is intrigued and frightened.
What he thinks will be a sexual experience turns out to be something very different.
After the ritual is performed, the medicine woman passes on her apocalyptic prophecy of how the world will end due to the lack of love throughout humanity.
The chief experiences ego death. He sees that it starts with him."
Put on a sweater, watch the video below, then get ready for the chills
What did you think of Jhene's new video?
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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Rihanna Talks Shedding Expectations And Finding Balance As A Mother
Since becoming a mother in 2022, Rihanna has defined parenthood by her terms and hopes to pass that sense of autonomy on to her children.
For Vogue China’s April cover story, Rihanna shared her perspective on raising her two sons with A$AP Rocky, and how she hopes to preserve her children’s uniqueness, devoid of societal expectations.
"The most beautiful thing...is that [children] come into the world with their own individuality and sincerity, without any logic or conformity,” she told the publication. “Which usually makes you feel that you must fit into a certain group."
The “Work” artist, known for her trendsetting style and captivating persona, expressed her desire to support children in fully embracing their individuality and encouraging them to be whoever they want to be. "It's really beautiful to see and I want to continue to help them navigate that and make sure that they know they can be whoever they want to be,” she says.
She continues, “They should embrace it completely, because it's beautiful, and it's unique. I love them just that way."
From shattering music charts to shaking up the beauty industry, Rihanna has forged a path that has since created the “dream” life we see today. One that she says has made her parents proud of.
“I’m living my dream,” she continued. “My parents were very proud of that because they just wanted me to be happy and successful. So, I think the key thing is to find some kind of balance. Yes, balance is important. Do this and you get the best of both worlds. You can write your own life the way you want, and it will be beautiful. Sometimes, you just need to let go of everyone’s expectations and start living your own story.”
Rihanna, who shares sons, RZA, 23 months, and Riot, 8 months, with rapper A$AP Rocky, recently shared her vision for expanding her family in the future in Interview Magazine.
When stylist Mel Ottenberg asked about the number of additional children she hoped to have, Rihanna replied, "As many as God wants me to have.”
"I don't know what God wants, but I would go for more than two. I would try for my girl,” she adds. “But of course, if it's another boy, it's another boy."
Featured image by Neil MockfordWireImage