Video - India Arie

The first I ever heard “Video” by India. Arie in 2000, I remember telling my mother, “Finally, somebody said it.” In a genre that has over-sexualized and objectified women in music videos, one singer stands apart as something fresh, new and bold. India stepped on to the R&B scene with a guitar and dreads, sharing wisdom that women can break free of the illusion of popular beauty and be fully comfortable in their own skin. She declares in the chorus, “I’m not the average girl from your video / And I ain’t built like a supermodel / But I learned to love myself unconditionally / Because I am a queen.” More than ten years later, this song still inspires me to accept myself just the way I am.

-J. Jones