Destiny’s Child- one of the most popular R&B groups of the early 21st century- was one of, if not the most impactful girl band of all time…….. at least according to my millennial mind. Emerging in the “prime-time hip hop heyday” of the 90s, they released their first single- “No, No, No” in 1998, and from there went on to drop numerous hits that revolved around themes of female empowerment- a feat that had both young and old constantly chanting for more.
Even though it’s a shame that they eventually broke up, a number of songs such as: “Say My Name”, “Bootylicious”, “Survivor” and more have carried over into today’s generation (hopefully) and plus, if they hadn’t disbanded, Beyoncé wouldn’t be Beyoncé……..
Is that a world you’re mentally prepared to live in?
Me neither.
Even though there are a ton of amazing songs that I could have chosen to dissect, one of their most poignant hits that I listened to for the first time a couple days ago actually was “Bills, Bills, Bills”.
Released in 1999, the song was arguably wildly ahead of its time because as entertaining as it is, (and trust me yelling out the lyrics while you’re blasting it at full volume for the sixth time in a row is, I seriously urge you to try it) it also zeroes in on what a lot of girl groups at the time were beginning to question.
In a similar fashion to one of TLC’s popular hits being: “No Scrubs”, “Bills, Bills, Bills” starts out by saying, “at first we started out real cool, coooool, taking me places I ain’t never been/ But now you’re getting comfortable ain’t doing those things you did no more” going on to sing “now you’ve been maxing out my card, carrrrrrd/ Gave me bad credit buying me gifts with my own ends/ Haven’t paid the first bill, but you’re steady heading to the mall/ Goin’ on shopping sprees ‘n perpetrating to your friends like you be ballin” and continues in that same fashion.
Agreeable? Yes. Engaging? 100 percent, at least for women (which is mostly why I enjoy listening to it over and over and over) but more than that, the song was meant to rile us up in saying that we shouldn’t settle for any type of freeloader that starts out fine but eventually begins doing the bare minimum.
As Tionna, Lisa and Rosonda masterfully croon in “No Scrubs” as well, “if you don’t have a car then you’re walking oh yes son, I’m talking to you. If you live at home with your mama oh yes son I’m talking to you. If you have a shorty that you don’t show love oh yes son I’m talking to you. Want to get with me with no money, oh no I don’t want no.. no scrub” and proceed to continue on in that same fashion.
Regardless of the fact that both songs are referring specifically to freeloading men, I would argue that they could be applied to anyone- men or otherwise- and as it says, women should not simply agree to anything but instead expect the best type of treatment possible. If that is not happening, as the song masterfully continues, the encounter with whomever, whenever should be brought to an immediate close, a claim which again draws a number of parallels to the lyrics sung by TLC in “No Scrubs”.
It might seem harsh yes, but the message of both songs really drives home the idea that women deserve someone that shows them the best- with an amount of physical and emotional affection that would of course be determined by both parties at the onset. With the unabashedly termed “scrub” or in the case of “Bills, Bills, Bills”, ‘trifling, good-for-nothing type of brother’, even though it is admittedly a ‘bit’ of a jab, it again gets the point across that if the person they are with is not doing that, they are more than entitled to show them the door, be on their own and be completely fine with being on their own.
So, revolving around different forms of agency, these groups effectively managed to highlight the fact that if men continue refusing to reach the standard that was expected of them, they can move right along- a message which began paving the way for much of the “mainstream” pop music that continues to prevail today.
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