Richardine Bartee
Tomboy: A body-positivy campaign ad starring Princess Nokia.
Being a visual representation of what it is to be a young girl who doesn’t dress like other young girls, Princess Nokia shares a visual interpretation of what it is to be a cereal-bowl-drinking girl that enjoys skateboarding and doing ‘hood shit with her friends. Located and shot in the Lower East Side area of the borough of Manhattan, Nokia walks onto a public basketball court with two friends dressed in loose-fitting clothing and mean mugs.
“Who that is, hoe? That girl is a tomboy,” are the opening lines of the track.
Shortly after that line, she talks about having little breasts and a jiggly stomach, a combination that most people do not glorify on or off the record.
Outside of the catchy hook, the self-proclaimed Afro-Indigenous rapper talks about hanging out with her friends, taking your man with a less than an attractive body, being a Calvin Klein model, and being booked for shows around the world with that very body. Scuffed sneakers and baggy jeans aside, I hope that this track will encourage some of the young women listening. Yes, in this image-obsessed country, it is everything, but that notion should never stop you from reaching your goals, being yourself or becoming who you were put here to be.
Check out the Milah Libin direction for “Tomboy.” It might take you back to your childhood or remind you of that girl who was rough around the edges then turned out to be the most beautiful thing ten years later. Don’t you love to see how God works? Preservation is a major key like DJ Khaled says these days, and perseverance is necessary.
If this is an introduction to Princess Nokia’s music, catch up and check out our archived articles of one of the most eclectic, fem sexual, body-positive creatives in the marketplace.
