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Dirty Girls

by Shunaji

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about

‘Dirty Girls’ is a reflection of my roots and inspirations that lie deep within jazz, trip-hop, synthwave and soulful music.

The track explores gender and sexuality through hip hop lyricism. Sexuality is a natural occurrence while gender is a social construct. Our society's gender-based morals expect women to conceal or isolate sexuality in our lives. In relation to slut-shaming, the Madonna-Whore dichotomy explains the polarised perception of women as either “good,” chaste, and pure Madonna’s or as “bad", sexual and tainted creatures deserving blame. In Dirty Girls, I denounce this gender-biased morality that prevents us from accepting women as fully-fledged, sexual humans.

The single alludes to deeper meanings. I use my lyrical dexterity to break down my worldview, with an eloquent and thought-provoking critique of topics such as slut-shaming, gender-based morals and the media’s role in normalising the misrepresentation of women. On ‘Dirty Girls’, I reclaim the definition of “Dirty”, to demonstrate that talking about sex and sexuality does not affect who I am as a woman, my credibility or my intellectual ability.

On ‘Dirty Girls’, I surrounded myself with talented musicians leading the lines on Trombone (Laura Impallomeni), Piano (Maria Graspa) and Drums (Shakira Malkani) and Bass (John Wright). Ultimately, ‘Dirty Girls’ is a tool to push the boundaries of gender and genre, inspiring conversation within the hip-hop and wider music communities, and challenging the status quo.

lyrics

I could give a f*** about mascots
Superficial forget-me-nots,
Audio-visual petticoats
I’m Joshua in Jericho
My profession is clerical,
I rap plenty, numerical,
Drove to Portland, in Oregon
Fantasising on Eragon, prophylactic
Like when William’s wearing a jacket
When you wonder where I’m from
You know it’s another planet
Channelling Janet, and Lauryn
And Nina Simone, nome e cognome,
Poi non chiedermi quando né come,
Ma come fa come fa?
Whatever happened to the wishes
That I’d wish on a star?
Since I’m never looking back
I’m gonna get very far,
When he reads between the lines
We’re gonna kiss through the bars
Riding with boys in their cars
You know that I’m –


I’m like those girls you call dirty
Dirty, dirty, dirty though
I’m like those girls you call dirty
Dirty, dirty, dirty


This is the warning, you’ve been warned
It’s early morning and we set sail
Before the storm, it entails
Letting go of your baggage and roles
And the socks with the holes, now deck the halls
With boughs of holly, “Who’s calling?”
I’m Hollyhock Horseman and the story just shocked me
My brother’s a creep, boy’s always horny
I don’t know my mum but then my fathers adore me
Now tell me where to go so I can pick up my trophy?
I can’t speak on the topic
It’s very, very, very, very, very, very, very dystopic
Suffice it to say, I want a house in the tropics
Reparations are logical, so shook that it worries me
What if we buried MTV? More like reality
TV mental insanity, fundamentally Hannity should just die
Don’t cut it there cause I’ve gotta hide controversial diatribes
I be the raven with the eyes, you know that I…


I’m like those girls you call dirty
Dirty, dirty, dirty though
I’m like those girls you call dirty
Dirty, dirty, dirty


Louder than a mountain
I don't speak before I think
Holding onto happy
And the joy that lives within
My name you can’t say S-H-U-N-A-J-
I and I’m I and I thrive every day
The pattern is so cyclical
A story that is biblical
Your influence is minimal
We never stay the same
The game plan I change
I breathe with the rain
My importance is proportional
To all the lives I saved with soul
That erases every pain
And the difference of the moon
And the distance that remains
If the chains are unchained
I am free of constraints
And the man ascertains
That I have no complaints
I don’t hear and I don’t see
Without fear, I can’t be weak
See my face through the trees
And the blood on the leaves
If you listen to the stories
That the wiser people speak
I know you, you know me,
You do you and I’m free

I’m like those girls you call dirty
Dirty, dirty, dirty though
I’m like those girls you call dirty
Dirty, dirty, dirty

I’m like those girls you call dirty
Dirty, dirty, dirty though
I’m like those girls you call dirty
Dirty, dirty, dirty

credits

released April 17, 2020
Written and produced by Shunaji

Bass: John Wright
Drums: Shakira Malkani
Piano: Maria Grapsa
Trombone: Laura Impallomeni

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Shunaji London, UK

Bookings:
info@shunaji.com

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