Music
Chimamanda Adichie Features On “Flawless” in BEYONCÉ | iTunes Misspells Her Name!
Let’s file this under – “while you were sleeping”.
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter aka Queen Bey amongst her stans, released a self-titled “visual album”, the 5th in her solo career, today – Friday December 13, 2013 exclusively sold on iTunes.
Nigeria’s very own – esteemed author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie features on track 11, called Flawless, that starts with a snippet of track Bow Down, before transitioning into a rousing feminist speech by the author, then the new song.
For the video treatment, the author didn’t make an appearance.
Chimamanda says,
“We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller
We say to girls – you can have ambition, but not too much
You should aim to be successful but not too successful otherwise you will threaten the man
Because I am female I am expected to aspire to marriage
I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important
A marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support
But why do we teach girls to aspire to marriage and we don’t teach boys the same?
We raise girls to see each other as competitors not for jobs or for accomplishments,
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are
Feminist: A person who believes in the economic, social and political equality of the sexes.”
What a rousing message! Our only gripe though? Chimamanda’s name is misspelled on iTunes – Adichie is missing the second ‘i’ (see photo). Hopefully they correct it before the day runs out.
Have you heard the new track/album? What do you think?!
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tobi
December 13, 2013 at 8:33 am
HeHeHe First to comment : strong feminist speech
5'5
December 13, 2013 at 8:41 am
*yawns*
tish
December 13, 2013 at 8:47 am
Nice one!!
herdeyholla
December 13, 2013 at 8:51 am
Beyonce couldn’t have used a better speech…..thumbs up…..proud of our very own chimamanda Adichie….
Temmy
December 13, 2013 at 9:01 am
Good Job!
Thelma
December 13, 2013 at 9:07 am
This statement is sooooo on point. We teach girls to aspire to marriage yet we don’t teach men the same. Instead you see parents comfortably allowing their teenage sons have sexual affairs. A relative of mine just had a baby boy who’s penis is a little too big. His father constantly boasts that his son will “show all the ladies pepper with his dick”. This amazes me. No wonder men are the way they are. I often blame the parent for raising them with different standards. My Aunty watched as her 21 year old son kept guzzling bottle after bottle of bear at a family gathering. She was actually amused. Yet her daughters in their 20s are barely allowed to wear make up or tight clothes. SMH.
We need to learn to teach our children what’s important. Marriage is no one’s purpose on earth.
As for the misspelling, thanks for pointing it out to them but I don’t think I would have noticed.
thelmathinks.blogspot.com
Concerned_BaBe
December 13, 2013 at 10:24 am
“show all the ladies pepper with his dick” LoL…. Seriously??? Some men tho 😮
zsa zsa
December 13, 2013 at 6:43 pm
On point!
Professor X
December 15, 2013 at 12:49 am
I hope the baby does not have an endocrine disorder.
Congenital adrenal hyperplasia can cause clitromegaly in baby girls
and enlarged penises in baby boys
UUnista.com
December 13, 2013 at 9:37 am
Two of my favourite women in the world…. I am inspired. Purchasing the album on itunes right now….
new bride
December 13, 2013 at 9:43 am
Kaven Kaven from the 4aces blog is also in the video. And sorry, I don’t share your gripe about the ‘i’ missing from her name!
tomi
December 13, 2013 at 9:59 am
Abeg why is she famzing our Naija sister all in the name of forming unique? Let her go and carry oprah jor
Divad
December 13, 2013 at 10:04 am
Beyonce done slayed us again!! The fifth era is live…and chimamanda’s words were ***Flawless
Mike
December 13, 2013 at 10:13 am
Watch the full TEDxEuston talk by Chimamanda here youtube.com/watch?v=hg3umXU_qWc
Blossom
December 13, 2013 at 10:19 am
Chimamanda.. Cha ching!!!!
Ngum
December 13, 2013 at 10:26 am
nice! everyone should hear that TED talk Chimamanda laid it bare!
Idak
December 13, 2013 at 10:28 am
The hypocrisy of the brand called Beyonce is mind boggling. A million Ms. Adichie’s poems or words wI’ll not change much.
Bernice is at the forefront of the objectification of womanhood, no wonder she inspires a morally bankrupt generation. I have not even gone into the fact that she is married to a man who used his music to objectify woman and portray them and their anatomies as primary object of male pleasure.
Thatgidigirl
December 13, 2013 at 11:28 am
The hypocrisy of your statement is also mind boggling. Please how does beyonce objectify womanhood? by owning her sexuality? Inspiration is relative, what you choose to percieve from her music or way of life is completely your business. While some people have chosen to see a strong independent woman who has successfully balanced a life as a wife, mother and entrepreneur, you have chosen to see the beyonce that objectifies woman hood and is married to a man that does same. I bet if she was you would be singing a different tune. This video says it all for me upworthy.com/nailed-it-this-ad-calls-out-5-ridiculous-double-standards-women-face-in-less-than-60-seconds-2?c=ufb1
Dupsy
December 13, 2013 at 12:11 pm
How is behaving like a stripper in most off beyonce video relate to owning her sexuality …… SMH. Beyonce objectifies the body a lot , she knows sex sells and she uses her body to sell her music , SIMPLE
Idak
December 13, 2013 at 12:26 pm
If in all sincerity you do not see how she objectifies her femininity then I am sorry, i can’t help you. Owning which sexuality? Real women have long been owning their sexuality without all these booty shows and several levels of nudity.
I actually have no problem per se with a woman choosing to flaunt her anatomy and use as a USP,what i have a problem with is the hypocrisy of hiding behind femininity to perpetuate such.
At least you did not attempt to defend the JayZ part of my argument.
Anyway, have a fun filled weekend and remain inspired by Queen Bee.
ogeAdiro
December 13, 2013 at 5:04 pm
I agree with you. If na flavour(my solid man) dey shake him waist women go dey gawk and men go dey praise. I think there’s a fight to be fought for the empowerment of the girl child but I think a lot of people go about it all wrong. I think women should have the opportunity to do anything they want and get judged just like men. Men don’t take off their clothes because that’s not as attractive as flashing money and cars. Shouldn’t we be telling the girl child that she can be whatever she wants to be without injecting our own moral comma inside.
Purpleicious Babe
December 17, 2013 at 10:59 pm
Abeg lets call a “spade a spade”. If you don’t see this as hypocritical then I don’t know. Yh, she might be entrepreneurial, balance everything out but am sorry I don’t agree with some of thing she/her boo sing about or have sung about.
I do like some of her music though not all but some.
[email protected]
December 13, 2013 at 11:36 am
You could not have said it any better
Mz Socially Awkward...
December 13, 2013 at 2:39 pm
Hehehehehe… Just did as @Lovely below recommended and went to iTunes to watch snippets of the vids. And wow! This Aunty Bey is sha, not really all that far away from Miley Cyrus’ nakedness atop a wrecking ball. Which kinda makes me wonder when this whole argument of “owning the female sexuality” comes up, how come the male artistes in the same industry own their sexuality very comfortably while being fully clothed? I’ve never seen Kanye, Justin T, Robin Thicke or even Jay-Z’s bits all up on my screen as part of them owning their male sexuality and yet they sell 100s of millions of tracks in spite of this. It’s just a point of curiosity for me…
As for the “Yonce” video clip wear a babe casually licked the top of madam’s boob? OKAY OH. Beyoncé shalln’t gree at all…
Psychiatrist
December 13, 2013 at 3:08 pm
Thank you. Marketing gimmick. She pulls the independent woman card when she wants and the next minute she is taking her clothes off and gyrating worse than miley cyrus. I say worse because she and madonna paved the way for the gaga, rihanna and miley we have today. Unfortunately this is what the world is craving for. We have to accept that it is a sign of the times. If you want to walk down the streets naked, walk but it is an insult to grown women who are making strides in their careers without taking their clothes off, women who may be homemakers but are raising beautiful children that will be a positive influence to the society for her to now pull this publicity stunt she is pulling. We know who her market is targeted at, it is the men. She should not try to win more women over to her side by this hypocrisy she is displaying. The Danish prime minister is one heck of a beautiful woman and powerful too with a lot of decency. Those are the women who should be passing messages like this across to fellow women. Those are the role models, and NOT the beyonce’s of this world. Who have done more for the cause of turning women into objects and dragging us into the 1800’s.
Esi
December 13, 2013 at 3:10 pm
Well said!
TA
December 15, 2013 at 2:52 am
@ Idak,I need to meet you so I can find out how you managed
to live in my head rent free,and type the words on BN before I get
a chance to. Well said brother,well said.
babajide
December 17, 2013 at 11:42 pm
what you call hypocrisy is nothing more than an opinion which is not even valid. you cannot state that beyonce brand is fake because you haven’t even stated any real proof that it is fake. so why attempt to diminish the work she has strived so for ? are you so insensitive to her tenacity for her music ? or are you a sad person looking simply to make a statement. furthermore her being married to jay z does not change anything. if you listen and read her lyrics you will clearly see why people believe she is inspirational. therefore due to the fact that you haven’t listened and read her lyrics thoroughly i think you have no right to debunk beyonce
natty
December 13, 2013 at 10:35 am
Chimamanda couldn’t have said it better. That’s the sad reality of things. As a female once you start approaching your late 20’s people start telling you, you are getting old , better manage any man you see. As if Marriage is an achievement, this same mentality is why some women stay in abusive marriages, because of the societal backlash they’ll face if they walk out.
beth
December 13, 2013 at 11:06 am
jus listened to it, on point!!! the song is bow down bitches but towards the mid chimamanda’s voice comes in.
Lovely
December 13, 2013 at 11:10 am
I am in serious SHOCK… This beyonce new album is something else.. I think she was trying to shock the world and well she did just that.. Even if it’s clips of it in iTunes..people should look @ it… It’s mind boggling..
Tincan
December 13, 2013 at 1:20 pm
I thought you were exaggerating and then I watched them myself. My mind was going ‘riiiiight’. Na wao…
pynk
December 13, 2013 at 12:13 pm
Bella pls i hope you guys told itunes they mispelt the name instead of coming here to tell us.
Inebaby
December 13, 2013 at 12:40 pm
A real Feminist! Love her scata….
madman
December 13, 2013 at 12:47 pm
Trash…. women need men. you should how women fight for men in Lagos. Women need men. Would you be the one to sleep around or the one be married to one man? Double standards are not going anywhere soon. Unless you want to live on the moon or somewhere in space.
Wooooo
December 13, 2013 at 6:58 pm
I wish you what you wish women
Wooooo
December 27, 2013 at 2:56 pm
sorry
madman
December 13, 2013 at 1:03 pm
Both Beyonce and Adichie are married women. Better not be fooled. Go and marry.
Guess...
December 13, 2013 at 1:23 pm
I bet they didn’t get married cos they were pressured into it. I mean Beyonce dated JayZ for five years before the relationship progess to marriage and Chimamanda also dated her husband for a long time before settling down. That is usually NOT THE CASE with girls there in Nigeria/Africa….
madman
December 13, 2013 at 2:07 pm
Pressure or no pressure: go and marry.
Psychiatrist
December 13, 2013 at 2:58 pm
You are still single too madman. You too Go and Marry. The door swings both ways.
Idak
December 13, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Na by force?
The Real Madam the Madam
December 13, 2013 at 4:28 pm
Come and marry us na.
zsa zsa
December 13, 2013 at 6:53 pm
Madman, i know you are just seeking attention but i have 2 questions;
1. You said “go and marry” and i ask…where? where exactly is it that women should “go” to and marry? Could you please clarify so that willing sisters can go there and get the deed done? Thanks!
2. You said “Would you be the one to sleep around or the one be married to one man?” Why does it have to be one or the other? so if a lady is not married then she must be sleeping around?
You dey mad gan o 🙂
Wooooo
December 13, 2013 at 6:59 pm
Back to sender
Guess...
December 13, 2013 at 1:19 pm
I say brilliant track and I love it.
DayZee
December 13, 2013 at 2:51 pm
The album is off the hook. really mind boggling. did she really shoot all the videos???? i haff die and wake up. nice one B. please y’all should check out her 30mins video previews on Youtube. Loving it (sing and dancing round the office).
Guess...
December 13, 2013 at 3:10 pm
@ Madman…..I am a happy married man. That said, I wasn’t desperate to get married which is the difference. While I appreciate my husband, I DON’T NEED A MAN to complete me. Being a married woman DOES NOT DEFINE ME but my accomplishments as a woman DOES!!! I thank God for giving me a husband who understands and encourages my independence without feeling threaten by it. I wonder that can be said after you and a lot of men in Nigeria/Africa???
You will not get the previledge of my time and response again.
Guess...
December 13, 2013 at 3:12 pm
I meant happy married woman 🙂
Guess...
December 13, 2013 at 3:15 pm
I meant a happy married woman 🙂 and not man. I wonder if that can be said about you and a lot of men in Nigeria/Africa????
amaka
January 5, 2014 at 9:23 pm
i like you’re statement maybe u should be the second chimamanda
Bobosteke & Lara Bian
December 13, 2013 at 3:23 pm
I remember when I first watched Beyoncé’s “My Big Ego”, I recall thinking the intro of that song could be elevated to soft porn. Don’t get me wrong, I love to “Check on It” while I “Up Grade You” as much as the next person. Now that was a song, Up Grade You. There’s this line: This aint a shoulder with a chip or an ego/ But what you think they all mad at me for?”
Beyoncé is what every girl is “afraid” of but secretly wishes she is. I believe the basis of this beef is that someone who is so evidently sexual and sensual evidenced by the out pouring boobs, molded thighs, and “come and get it” lines can lay claim to the same stage where demure hemlines, thinking minds and secondary looks interface. Beyoncé thinks, not just with a lot on, and because she is the very embodiment, the precise example of objectification she seems to want to share the platform to cry out against, it seems difficult to reconcile.
Beyoncé calls attention to her body and she does it on a world wide stage. If she has a message she will pass it, because you listen when you hear her name.
Demi
December 13, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Every girl kwa. Generalising much. I have and will have no intention or wish to be like her. If my daughter says she wants to be beyonce, I will beat that wehre out of her. beyonce is a pretty woman, note that I didn’t say beautifulm she has made a career off her body. She should drop the hypocrisiy please. You can’t embody objectification and then turn around and be speaking from the other side of her mouth. She has made millions from objectification. She should continue along that path. Let her inspire girls who their parents have failed them in parenting. Just because she makes money doesn’t mean she is someone any girl should aspire to. She may be on times whatever influential list that no one believes, but when it gets to real power, influence and making a difference you need to look elsewhere please and stop the generalisation while you are at it. Every girl. Ve
Idak
December 14, 2013 at 12:41 pm
High five and a big hug,dear sister.
Wooooo
December 14, 2013 at 2:47 pm
can we focus on the real message?
Bobosteke & Lara Bian
December 14, 2013 at 10:19 pm
I said every girl and by that i mean those on the threshold of that confluence of insecurity and acceptance. When you pad your bra with foam and spent the whole night taking in the hem of your school skirt an inch or two; when you discover your body and the heaviness of your chest and you find the mound between your legs curious; that stage when you are so many persons before you find yourself. At this stage you try to emulate those who you feel have it all: serious looks , attention, but most importantly, confidence and these people they see on screen are the closest they see to identifying what they feel they need to be to be accepted.
Bobosteke & Lara Bian
December 14, 2013 at 10:28 pm
And if your daughter says she wants to be like Beyonce,
tell her this: tell her Yonce herself is insecure, that is why 3 in
every 5 of her songs have mirrors in them.
Purpleicious Babe
December 18, 2013 at 1:51 am
Abeg tell me something. GBAM
Every girl wishes to be? lol. o. How can?
I think she sha has a team behind her telling what to do and how to do it.
She needs to be on top of her game and I guess to the world its acceptable.
Me sha, I still stand that lets call a spade a spade. finishito.
On Chimamanda, I can only congratulate for her what she stands for. Bey using her poem or not is all part of strategy o jare.
http://lifeinstagesdoz.blogspot.co.uk/
sefi-ann
December 13, 2013 at 6:19 pm
but the least they could have done was to spell her name right -‘adichie’ not ‘adiche’
observer
December 13, 2013 at 7:13 pm
I looooove this album. I respect this album. I loooove this girl.
diff2define
December 13, 2013 at 11:38 pm
The female child is often seen as inferior to the male
child. This misconception is further fueled by the female gender
itself, concurring somewhat and handing down an unwritten written
law. I agree with the message but definitely not through the use of
few clothings.
oyin
December 14, 2013 at 2:59 am
Beyonce is so overrated. I believe in women’s rights and artist like Alicia keys better exemplifies it. I just don’t understand the obsession with her. This rubbish album she just released is nothing but garbage. Same gimmicks and antics. She released it bcos she wants to avoid the criticism. And no, she’s not inspiring in any way, and none of her songs has ever made sense where it’s positively mature and inspires women to be better instead she sings one song if u like it put a ring on it, smth willow smith can come up with. All she does is shake your yansh, she makes u own ur sexuality. Isn’t that what women are trying to not only be seen as. She doesn’t have any foundation or charity dedicated to girls. She’s saying or doing anything special and people need to stop idolizing her.
NNENNE
December 14, 2013 at 10:02 pm
I must be a soothsayer. I was listening to Chimamanda’s TEDx speech on feminism on my way from work yesterday.
How can a woman love another to pieces? I simple adore her.
To Beyonce,Shine on. I love your music.
kemi
December 15, 2013 at 1:26 am
funny enuf that track ended being one of my best tracks,
very true words 4rm ngozi
M
December 16, 2013 at 10:37 am
Usher , D’angelo , Ja rule, 112, Mick Jagger … All men who flexed that body heck even D banj. I think women should not be told how to be women . What B does isn’t what I’d do perhaps but I’m not her . I think all that matters is happiness in ones self.
It’s an upward struggle for women but so much has changed globally in the last century that the sky is the limit ( Amen) .
Oyin
December 18, 2013 at 10:37 pm
Let’s stop blindly making nonsense comparisons oh, but men do it. First, women’s body is more sexual meaning just the sight of breast and butt is enough. So, to show more by wearing revealing clothes is totally different. Men show off their muscles. She’s a wife and mother, do better.
pee
December 20, 2013 at 11:40 am
You can atleast all learn the sense in the speech abi lyrics or is it a song and then run with it rather than loosing it to Beyonce nudity issue ,for all you should know she is got her life to lead and live.
Karo
December 22, 2013 at 6:21 am
Happy feminist
karosstoryblog.blogspot.com
Amber
January 27, 2014 at 12:58 pm
I agree there is an extent where she goes overboard in using femininity for her sex tricks. For me personally it makes me want to dance put on a show for my fiance. I know how to separate the 2. To create a fantasy for my fiance after we get married and have a sassy song to to it to is why I like her. You can listen to her music anf just want to get up and dance! The only issue is young girls are worshipping her. More women need to step up and teach their daughters the Bible andwhat it means to be a virtuous woman not just a sex toy. Sex is an added bonus let’s not forget Bey is married, she gets her husband’s approval on everything! Thst is a missed fact. Although she is very independent and liberated she’s still running things by the real King of the castle!