According to society, women and men have different roles and expectations they are to live their lives by. Many women, for example, are expected to marry a man and have kids while the man is the provider for the family. Seems normal, right?
Liberian rap artist Diamond Chanel challenges the societal norms of marriage in her 2017 single, “Bachelor Life”. The female artist discusses how women force marriage upon themselves and their significant other although they both are not ready. The video depicts the artist and a man getting married, only for him to cheat on her and remain unfaithful.
The lyrics and the video show a consistent contrast between societal norms and the unconventional perspective of women. The societal norms, in which a woman’s goal is to marry a man, is depicted in the video as well as the societal norm of men being the alpha male that receive a lot of female attention. In the hook of the song, Diamond Chanel expresses how the male is, in fact not ready to settle down and be committed to one person:
He ain’t even trying to show his ring/
He ain’t even trying to show his ring/
Why you thinking you’re his queen bee?/
Why you thinking you’re his queen bee?/
Although Diamond Chanel is showing no true interest in marriage through her lyrics, she mentions her devotion to her craft and her money. In one of the verses of the songs, she says:
I’m married to the game/
Gave it my wedding ring/
Nah, you can keep your wedding ring/
While many women for vie for marriage, she’s enjoying her independence and her successes as a rapper. Diamond Chanel is a true representation of feminism because she goes against the norms and chooses to settle down after maintaining her own success.
As a black woman and of Liberian heritage, you got yourself a new fan!