On April 29th, 2016, Kesha and Zedd released their new collaborative single, "True Colors," on Vevo. Although it is a cover of the producer's song from last year, it is Kesha's first new release since the beginning of her long-running, heated legal battle against producer/label head Dr. Luke. If you aren’t privy to the situation, and are also willing to take E! Online with a grain of salt, go here. My position in the matter is that I am on the side of Kesha.
As someone who loves glitter, pounding bass, and an all-around good time, let me be the first to say that I have been waiting years for this track. Kesha has not released a new song since I was a junior in high school.
I’m now a rising senior in college. Clearly both she, and I, have changed.
A lot.
I don't care about the technicalities, loopholes, whatever that allowed this song to happen. I just care that it happened and I'm ready for it to keep happening to such an extent that Sony comes to their senses and lets this girl have the physical, emotional and artistic freedom that I firmly believe she damn well deserves.
Once midnight hit on the 29th, I didn’t even preview the track before purchasing it on iTunes. I’m so glad I did because lemme tell you:
KESHA,
TAKE MY MONEY!!!
A woman who has received a myriad of humanitarian awards on causes from LGBT rights to animal rights, she uses her fame and experience as what I feel is a victim of sexual abuse to shed light upon important social issues that most people will not talk about. She unashamedly understands her party-hardy persona as an artist, but will not allow that to overshadow her principles as a individual. I love versatile artists who can put out a good club banger or ballad as much as they can rally for their passions and beliefs. I enjoy the aesthetics of music just as much as I value the potential of music and artists to become platforms and spokespersons for socio-political issues.
As they say,
Get you a girl who can do both.
She’s received constant criticism for the arguably grimy, substance-less lyrics in her music. If this is your primary concern with Kesha, listen to her new song and tell me that there is no substance to it.
"True Colors" is a re-boot of a track that previously appeared on Zedd’s album of the same name in 2015, but even so it has been said that:
“knowledge of Kesha’s legal wrangles weigh heavy on this new version, imbuing the lyrics, which address overcoming hardship and knowing your own worth, with powerful new meaning.”
This praise is a far cry from brushing one’s teeth with a bottle of Jack, which, by the way, is fun to dance to. Stop hating and go pet a dog or something…
If you want to really criticize something, please feel free to direct all your lyrical defensiveness towards Jennifer Lopez’s April 7th, 2016 release “I Ain’t Your Mama”. According to Billboard.com, the song “celebrates a woman who is independent and won't accept a partner who needs to be taken care of”. This girl anthem is painfully ironic, considering that Dr. Luke of all people has co-produced this track. As a Feminist Puerto Rican woman, I am absolutely ashamed of JLo for putting her musical success(of which she’s got enough to last a lifetime, by the way) above what she is preaching in her Meghan Trainor-penned hit. How can such a song really be pro-woman when one of the forces behind it has accusations of sexual abuse against a woman surrounding him?
Sony should have dropped Dr. Luke’s ass long ago. So should have Jennifer.
Was there no other person that dancer-turned singer-turned movie star Jennifer Lopez could have possibly gotten to hop on this track with her?
Are you serious?
I had made the mistake of listening to the song for the first time before knowing its production team, but once I found out I decided to completely boycott it on all fronts. I’ll skip it on my Pandora stations, ignore it on Spotify, and change the radio station. I want nothing to do with this song. If you want to listen to “I Ain’t Your Mama”, the lyrics of which are absolutely weak to say the least, to hear the hypocrisy dripping from this song, feel free.
If you’re interested in some real empowering music, you can listen to Kesha’s new track pretty much everywhere.
I'll be throwing my celebratory glitter in the air in the meantime.
#FreeKesha
