Once again, R&B has proverbially topped the woman. "Back to Sleep," Chris Brown's latest hit, has a catchy bass line, smooth vocals, and an undeniable sway to the rhythm. However, its lyrics reveal much less pleasant things about the way men and women interact. The song is inspired by "Sexual Healing," a popular Marvin Gaye song from the '80s that became an instant R&B classic. While the original features phrases like "Let's make love tonight" and "the love you give to me will free me," Chris Brown's modern-day version is a more crude plea for sex. Most people probably rock to this song without paying much attention to more lyrics than those in the chorus, but a line-by-line breakdown could disgust sensitive feminists.

"Back to Sleep" represents, in a lot of ways, the "bottom" position of women in present-day America. It opens up with Brown asking this woman whether she's noticed that he's "just posted [his] landing" into town. Translation: haven't you been stalking my social media to check up on me? Next he's "wondering if the same old understanding stands," which means this is not even his girlfriend or significant other, but just a "buddy." Then he suggests that he's going to show up in the middle of the night despite knowing she has to wake up for work in the morning, all for the sake of some late-night sex to satisfy his craving. Sound like a familiar dialogue? I think the most offensive part of the song is everyone's favorite: the chorus. It goes:

Just let me rock, sex you back to sleep girl
Don't say a word no, don't you talk
Just hold on tight to me girl
Sex you back to sleep girl, rock you back

So not only is the woman supposed to wake up out of her sleep to please this man, but she doesn't even have a say in how the sex goes?! Does anybody else see a problem here?

Looking at this song from a feminist viewpoint, I can appreciate that clearly the woman has chosen to have this kind of arrangement with a man rather than depending on a solid relationship to give her status. Great, so we're halfway there. But in this scenario, all the power still lies with the man. And can we please make our own demands in the bedroom now? Cue eye roll.

Am I going to boycott Chris Brown? Absolutely not. My point is that we should pay attention to our music and what it says about our generation. Music is a reflection of the culture that produces it—is this really how men and women interact? And are we proud of that? If you thought this was bad, check out the remix.