Part of her last album released on January 19, 2024, Commando reflects Shay slogan and spirit of “Jolie Garce” (Nice looking Bitch). In this song, Shay reaffirms women’s power and offers the picture of a powerful and combative woman.

Born in Bruxelles, Belgium in 1996, Shay is of Congolese origin (from her mother). Pourvu qu’il pleuve is her third album, an album in which she seems to want to affirm her style and her vision of women’s power. In Commando, Shay appears as a real fighter. 

In her black and white video clip she portrays herself as a beautiful and dangerous woman carrying a gun, almost appearing as a secret agent. The clip opens up with a riding Rolls Royce. You can then see Shay arriving in front of a club and shooting down a couple of people. A representation of a woman who exhibits masculine attributes, a representation of women that we are not used to. But if shay is adopting men’s attributes she is still celebrating her femininity. Wearing her high heels boots, vinyl suits and her fishnet stockings she seems to adopt what society considers as most feminine attributes. 

Mixing masculine  and feminine characteristics, she offers a new version of femininity : the “Jolie Garce” style, a very seductive and feminine yet combative and powerful woman. 

Commando’s lyrics reflect this mindset. She takes her revenge on records companies and stresses out how she can handle the music scene and world by herself.

“Nouvel album, nouveau flow pétasse

J’suis revenue prendre tout c’qu’elles m’ont pris

Jolie Garce Records, j’donne pas mon cul 

Ni aux boloss ni aux maisons d’disques“

“New album, new flow bitch

I came back to take everything they took from me

Jolie Garce Records, I’m not giving my ass 

Neither to the losers nor to the record companies”

She affirms her superiority on women’s hip hop scene too :

“La moitié des rappeuses sont d’occasion

Chacun d’leurs flows sont des locations

Chaque nouveau son, j’fais des donations”

“Half the rappers are second-hand

Every one of their flows are rentals

Every new sound I donate” 

This makes her appear as a fierce rival on the hip hop scene, values that are more masculine and oppose feminine traditional attributes of solidarity, sorority or gentleness. 

Still, she’s twerking in the clip and some could say that her lyrics are influenced by the male gaze.

“17, 17, appelle la police, cul rebondit comme un trampoline

À chaque couplet, mes fesses applaudissent (Oui)”

“17, 17, call the police, ass bounces like a trampoline

Every verse, my ass cheers (Yes)”

Overall, “Commando” just as all “Pourvu qu’il pleuve” songs by challenging traditional conceptions of femininity can help women empowerment and free them from masculine hegemony.