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Perfect Like Venus

by Shunaji

/

about

‘Perfect Like Venus’ represents a new chapter in my ventures as a producer, rapper and singer-songwriter. I developed it from one of the first beats I ever produced, Eazy, Chill. For two years, I listened to the demo over and over, captivated by its C minor chord progression and trying to decide its future. I immersed myself into the demo’s energy, slowly shaping a creative direction for the track that I am now delighted to release into the world.

I wrote the lyrics for ‘Perfect Like Venus’ while contemplating womanhood and its implications for me navigating modern society. This summer, I had been reading Kim Chernin’s The Hungry Self, “an inspired psychoanalytic meditation on contemporary female identity and eating disorders”. The book delivered an important message for me, explaining the complex issues of body image and self-perception that I’ve battled with as a young woman. It explained the social dynamics in which women find ourselves to compete for validation from men, all the while accepting that our worth can be relegated to physical appearance. In ‘Perfect Like Venus’, I wanted to challenge the idea that women’s identity must be intertwined with our body image.

In the second verse of the track, I take a step back from traditional rap lyricism to embark in a spoken word performance.
“This goes out to all my Venuses out there, all my sisters out there struggling on a daily basis around these dudes”. Drawing from an “I-kid-you-not” real-life experience of cat-calling, stalking and harassment, I tell the story of a man who almost crossed the line of abduction to talk to me in a store. The experience made me realise how resigned I had become to the male gaze, all the while coming to terms with how our masculinist society designates my body as my most important identifier as a woman.

Women’s collective experiences of rape, sexual harassment and cat-calling, and our disproportionate tendency to develop image issues, are not a simple coincidence: these experiences are a reminder that our bodies have become a social issue. In ‘Perfect Like Venus’, I express the inner monologue around femininity and self-awareness, while taking a stance against the overt misogyny that I’ve experienced throughout my life. In the hook, “I don’t intend to be another one of your whores. This is a fallacy, I’m telling you because I am the birth of Venus. I don’t need to be perfect like Venus, and I don’t want to be perfect because I will never be perfect like Venus”.

Accompanied by Beth Hopkins on alto saxophone, the melodies in the track are bittersweet yet energetic and inspired by my musical interpretation of Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus. On keys, Munashe Caleb brings a feeling of suspense that mirrors the experience narrated in my spoken word. Shakira Malkani on drums showcases the surgical groove that I was looking for in producing this project – an outstanding performer. Inspired by the likes of Portishead, Björk, Handsome Boy Modeling School and Fever Ray, I decided to creatively pan the saxophone to infuse drops of jazz into the track’s synth-centred melodies. In the chorus, my vocals are inspired by the tonalities of Alison Goldfrapp, Syd Tha Kyd and Romy Madley Croft. ‘Perfect Like Venus’ will appeal to a wide audience, ranging from lovers of the jazz-fuelled hip hop renaissance to electronic music enthusiasts, the lo-fi beats scene and those drawn towards sultry, downtempo vocals.

Releasing this track has been an emotional journey. In recording take after take, I learned a valuable lesson. As an artist, I will never attain perfection but instead, I aim to evolve and experiment with sound as much as possible. As a woman, I will always fall short of impossible societal expectations and unrealistic beauty standards, but I will reflect and critique these through my music and lyricism, with the hope of inspiring others to do the same.

lyrics

I was never resonant I became the resident
Evidently, melanin is relevant
Injected in the skeletons I kept inside my closet
Everyone on steroids, I was chasing for a comet
Working from an office, music is my motive
Asteroid Hotel and in Amsterdam I’m floating
Channel Aristotle, from the nipple to the bottle
Not so simple, I’m a coral, ecosystem, inner symbol
Of diversity, the sinful, frequent as cymbal
Ace, it like it’s Wimbledon, everywhere the simpletons
Represent the decadence of culture
I embody Durga so I nurture them, sit under my diadem
Rowena – everybody talks about it, no one’s ever seen her
Exodus impending, I birth it like a Venus
Monitor my breathing, checking all my feelings
And I’m tryna let you know that I ain’t gonna be

I don’t intend to be another one of yours
Another one of your whores
This is a fallacy, I’m telling you because
I am the birth of Venus (The birth, the birth, the birth)
I don’t need to be (Perfect like Venus)
I don’t wanna be (Perfect because)
I will never be (Perfect like Venus)
I don’t wanna be (Perfect, because)

Y’all, this goes out to all my Venuses out there
All my sisters out there struggling on a daily basis
Around these dudes, and if you’re one of these dudes
This one’s for you – this one’s for you!
The other day, I was at 99p store, tryna buy some gardening tools
And this dude’s like “Uh uh uh uh, Miss, you dropped something”
So, I follow him inside and I look at the floor, trying to find was I missed
And he’s like “I just wanted to chat with you”, so I look at him like
“Dude, I got shit to do and you think of me that I get up in the morning
And leave my house to meet losers like you?” (I'm confused)

I don’t intend to be another one of yours
Another one of your whores
This is a fallacy, I’m telling you because
I am the birth of Venus (The birth, the birth, the birth)
I don’t need to be (Perfect like Venus)
I don’t wanna be (Perfect because)
I will never be (Perfect like Venus)
I don’t wanna be (Perfect, because)

Tying knots is intricate, multiply my syndicates
Indicative, innovative and insulate (While I’m)
Flying to peninsulas, waging on a minimum
Looking for an elegant description (I am)
Honest and I’m loyal but I hide it like Calypso
I got my key to Windsor, diaspora my symptom
Sharp enough to injure, I’m the anagram of ninja
Think before I theorise, growing like bacteria
I woke up n’ I face the fact, “Being Venus is a trap”
Throwback to bulimia, verging on hysteria
Don’t believe your theory, I was cut for hara-kiri
Sacrifice is to believe in, the philosophy lead in
Quantum physics the beginning
You say bye, I say good riddance
Borderline awaiting clearance
Pushing limits on my waking soul
That’s all I’ve ever know, it’s all I’m ever gonna know

I don’t intend to be another one of yours
Another one of your whores
This is a fallacy, I’m telling you because
I am the birth of Venus (The birth, the birth, the birth)
I don’t need to be (Perfect like Venus)
I don’t wanna be (Perfect because)
I will never be (Perfect like Venus)
I don’t wanna be (Perfect, because)

credits

released October 16, 2019
Written and produced by Shunaji

Mixed by James Yarde

Drums - Shakira Malkani

Keys - Munashe Caleb

Sax - Beth HopkinsVocals - Shunaji

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Shunaji London, UK

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info@shunaji.com

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