Jesy Nelson's new track, ‘Boyz,’ was released recently and features a verse from Nicki Minaj. The song samples Diddy's 'Bad Boy 4 Life' and it's the first new music Nelson has released since leaving Little Mix. In the video for the song, after arriving on a tour bus, Nelson moves into a new neighborhood and annoys her neighbors with loud music. Minaj makes an appearance later in the video and performs a guest verse from Nelson's new house's garage.
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The song has hit the charts in the US and UK, however, the reception of the song has had very mixed reactions. Fans have asserted that Jesy is finally back to herself, and is being the person she always wanted to be, after a turbulent year following her exit from Little Mix after over a decade. Simultaneously, she has been accused of blackfishing in the song.
Black Fishing
Following the premiere of her music video on Friday, fans accused the 30-year-old musician of Blackfishing, a phrase that refers to someone who pretends to be black or mixed-race. Jesy responded to fans who accused her of cultural appropriation and said,
I'm very aware that I'm a white British woman; I've never said that I wasn't. But I mean, like, I love Black culture. I love Black music. That's all I know; it's what I grew up on.
Before she left Little Mix, the Essex-born singer claimed that the term blackfishing had never been applied to her. She further commented,
I would never intentionally do anything to make myself look racially ambiguous, so that's why I was initially shocked that the term was directed at me.
Being her Authentic Self
While people were accusing her of Blackfishing in the video, a majority of her fans took to Twitter and praised her for finally being her true self. An impressed fan gushed,
Jesy, we are so, so proud of you. This video is everything and we can clearly see it’s YOU!! You’re voice, the way you want to sing, and your dance moves, the way you want to dance. It’s even better than I had ever thought it would be.
Jesy earlier stated that her new single Boyz is a love-it-or-hate-it type of song. The fact that it has topped the charts in the US and UK makes it clear that, regardless of whether the fans like or hate the song, they are happily listening to this new hit.
