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Ray BLK has said that the controversy surrounding Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion‘s ‘WAP’ serves as an example of Black female artists being “held to a different standard” within the music industry.
The explicit joint single was released back in August, and while many praised it for empowering women its message was also criticised by various right-wing commentators, including Ben Shapiro and Candace Owens.
Following the release of her new “revenge song” ‘Lovesick’, which deals with women “taking control and reclaiming your power”, Ray has now addressed the negative reaction to ‘WAP’ in a new interview with Metro.
“Maybe I’m just desensitised to it but we’ve been hearing music like this for years now. We’ve been hearing men speak about women like this for years,” she said.
“The language that’s used might be different but we’ve been hearing pop music, rock music speak about sex for years and I just think it’s sad that Black women are held to a different standard or are held way more accountable than our counterparts have been.”
Asked whether Black women were respected in the industry, Ray replied: “Definitely not. The issue is that when there’s not equality, people are held to different standards.
“And I think that’s clear in the music industry where Black women have to be extremely excellent, three times as good to be given the same recognition that their counterparts do, that’s number one.
“Number two, the sad thing is when we do the same thing that our counterparts do, it’s not looked at in the same way. I had a discussion with somebody about how Black music and Black women or female rappers and the sexualisation of us.”
She added: “[It’s] looked at as tasteful when Madonna wears a cone bra and nothing else or wears lingerie on-stage, it’s art or fashion.”
Speaking about ‘Lovesick’ upon its release, Ray explained: “I’m always trying to empower women not to take disrespect sitting down but to keep a distance from people who don’t make them feel good about themselves and boss up because success is the best revenge.”
It was reported last week that ‘WAP’ won’t be in contention at next year’s Grammy Awards.
The post Ray BLK on the reaction to ‘WAP’: “Black women are held to a different standard” appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.
