FKA Twigs Releases Single ‘Don’t Judge Me’
FKA Twigs has released her first new single since 2019 called “Don’t Judge Me” with UK rapper Headie One and English producer Fred again.
The singer also co-directed the stunning visual with Emmanuel Adjei. The video highlights Black models and dancers in utter anguish while they circle Kara Walker’s Fons Americanus sculpture.
Encapsulating History Through Art
The fountain in the video is inspired by the Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. It captures Black people’s historic plight during the transatlantic slave trade and the interconnected suffering endured as they made the arduous and sometimes fatal journey from Africa, America and Europe. FKA Twigs herself, in her own twisted choreography, is flung across rooms and knocked down to the ground.
Twigs said in an Instagram post that she is “so proud to release don’t judge me into the world. this project is very personal and special to me”. And that “it was an honour to shoot with kara walkers fountain exploring the interconnection of black history between africa, america and europe”. She added “thank you to everyone for making don’t judge me come to life.”.
‘Don’t Judge Me’ follows the ‘Judge Me’ interlude from Headie and Fred’s “Gang” Mixtape.
Controversies
FKA Twigs filed a lawsuit against her ex-boyfriend Shia LaBeouf in December over claims of sexual battery and “relentless abuse” during their relationship. She spoke about the issue with several reputed magazines and suggested her allegedly abusive relationship didn’t serve as the inspiration for the upcoming third studio album she created during the pandemic.
“I spent so much time in darkness with him that in lockdown I’ve been missing my friends and going out, getting ready, and dancing,” she told a news source.
She recently also opened up about facing “horrific” racist abuse during her three-year-long relationship with Robert Pattinson in a new interview. “It was really, really deeply horrific,” said Twigs of the public backlash she received from Pattinson’s fans. “It was at a time where I felt like I couldn’t really talk about it. If I was going through that now, I feel like I’d be able to talk about it, and do some good with it.
The singer added, “People talk about Black excellence, but that is because we have to be excellent to be considered average. I’d worked so, so, so, so, so hard, just to get a little seat at the table. And then I got there and people just called me the most hurtful and ignorant and horrible names under the planet.”
By: Anjana Sathyanarayan
