Syd's 'Fin': Black Women Will Find Their Own Way
“I feel they’re all rapping about the same thing. I don’t think they’re showing us who’s the best rapper. For me, it’s like strippers rapping and as far as rap goes I’m not getting who’s the best.” - Jermaine Dupri on female rappers.
At this point there’s nothing men can say that will surprise me. Men have an infinite capacity to downplay talented and successful women, but, for some reason, Jermaine Dupri’s words stuck with me. If someone as influential to the culture as JD isn’t actively supporting Black women, and whatever they decide to rap about, then how can we convince Black men to respect and validate their female counterparts? But at the same time, I wanted to just ignore him instead of allowing myself to believe that his opinion really matters. Because I know Black women don’t need men to validate their talent to be successful.
When I watched all of this unfold on the timeline I found myself wanting to revisit an album that captures this ethos of self-assurance and self-made success for me. Syd’s 2017 album Fin felt relevant in this moment and reminded me that no opinion is as valuable as a Black woman’s ambition and ability to do for herself.
Syd is the former DJ for the now-defunct rap collective Odd Future and current front-woman for alternative R&B outfit The Internet. She released her debut solo record Fin shortly before the band’s fourth album Hive Mind. On Fin, Syd explores the benefits and pitfalls that come with being a successful, creative woman. She questions whether she’s on the right path and ultimately concludes that it’s the right path because she drew it. Fin opens with “Shake Em Off,” which sets the tone for the rest of the album. On the track Syd admits her own insecurities and decides that she will reach greatness as long as she ignores the critics and continues doing what she wants, how she wants. And in true legend fashion, she finds room to flex the fruits of her labor (“No Complaints”). This album felt especially poignant because Syd switches between different themes while still maintaining undertones that stress the importance of a healthy ego. The album’s lead single “All About Me” just about sums things up:
Take care of the family that you came with
We made it this far and it’s amazing
...
Keep enemies close you know the basics
People crowded all around me
I guess it’s all about me.
Find a community that loves your art, love them back, and they’ll get you everything you need. With this formula, there is no need to rely on anyone else to accomplish your goals. And as the internet plays a bigger role in the trajectory of a music career, young women like Syd have the platform to manifest their own success.
Music moves by more than just word of mouth these days. And in the age of social media and streaming, where retweets and playlist placements can streamline your art into the right ears, a cosign from a well-established man in the industry just doesn’t do the work it once did. Trina and Trick Daddy, Lil’ Kim and Biggie, Nicki Minaj and Wayne—some of our faves found their initial mainstream success when a man put them on. Syd herself initially came up through her connection with Odd Future’s all-male team, but she found her voice and found her audience when she built The Internet, and her own sound, on a foundation of her own creativity. Women are opting for community rather than competition. And I find that I often discover women when through another female musician’s work or retweets. This is all to say that a cosign isn’t what it used to be. And Black women don’t need a cosign to be great. We have access to so many Black women who rap about their bodies, who write about every topic under the sun, who make bangers, who make slow jams—I could go on forever. There is a woman who is creating the art you need if Cardi isn’t your cup of tea and another woman who is championing both of them. Black women are good for protecting their own, especially when men just aren’t showing up.
Although Black women are still trying to find their place within an industry that devalues their art, social media has created a platform for women to find a community of support when they are excluded from the mainstream conversation. And whether or not JD, or any other man for that matter, ever decides to give his female contemporaries the respect they deserve, Black women are always going to find a way, anyways.
Imma do that anyways cuz that’s how I am
