Brown Skin Girl facts for kids
Quick facts for kids "Brown Skin Girl" |
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| Single by Beyoncé, Saint Jhn and Wizkid featuring Blue Ivy Carter | ||||
| from the album The Lion King: The Gift | ||||
| Released | July 23, 2019 | |||
| Recorded | 2019 | |||
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| Length | 4:08 | |||
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| Beyoncé singles chronology | ||||
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| Saint Jhn singles chronology | ||||
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| Wizkid singles chronology | ||||
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| Blue Ivy Carter singles chronology | ||||
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"Brown Skin Girl" (stylized in uppercase) is a song by American singer Beyoncé, Guyanese singer Saint Jhn, and Nigerian singer Wizkid, featuring Blue Ivy Carter from the 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift. The song was sent to Top 40/Rhythmic radio on July 23, 2019 as the second single from the album.
The song was released to widespread critical acclaim and received numerous awards, including the Soul Train Music Award for The Ashford & Simpsons Songwriter's Award and the BET HER Award.
The music video for "Brown Skin Girl" was featured in Beyoncé's 2020 film Black Is King and was released separately on August 24, 2020. Directed by Beyoncé and Jenn Nkiru, the video acts a celebration and affirmation of the beauty of dark skinned women. The video is nominated for Best Music Video at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
Contents
Background
The song marks the second collaboration between Beyoncé and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, following "Blue", a song from Beyoncé's 2013 album Beyoncé. Carter is also credited as a songwriter and contributed vocals. The song caused the #BrownSkinGirlChallenge to go viral upon release.
Composition and lyrics
The song contains "spare, syncopated African rhythms", while its lyrics deal with colorism faced by darker-complexioned women: "Brown skin girl / ya skin just like pearls / Your back against the world". Billboard magazine called the lyrics "compelling", noting how the song shout-outs pioneering brown girls such as Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong'o, and Beyoncé's former Destiny's Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
Cover versions
In September 2019, Stormzy covered "Brown Skin Girl" for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge. The song was also covered by Kanye West and Sunday Service Choir in December 2019. In April 2020, Leslie Odom Jr. and Nicolette Robinson performed a cover of "Brown Skin Girl" for Global Citizen One World: Together At Home. The performance was nominated for a LiveXLive Lockdown Award for Digital Chemistry: Favorite Duet. The song was also covered by Emino.
Music video
Release and synopsis
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A music video for the song, directed by Beyoncé and Jenn Nkiru, was included in Black Is King, a visual album and film based on the music of The Lion King: The Gift which premiered on Disney+ on July 31, 2020. On August 24, 2020, a standalone version of the music video was premiered on Good Morning America and subsequently released through Beyoncé's YouTube channel. It became the second music video from the film available to officially watch outside of Disney+, following "Already" which premiered on YouTube and was uploaded to Instagram a few hours prior to Black Is King's release.
The video acts a celebration and affirmation of the beauty of dark skin. It depicts a black debutante ball (a tradition in African-American communities in the Southern United States) and showcases a variety of black and brown girls and women, including Mexican-Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o, British model Naomi Campbell, American singer Kelly Rowland, South Sudanese-Australian model Adut Akech, Sudanese model Aweng Ade-Chuol, Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles-Lawson, and Beyoncé's daughters Blue Ivy and Rumi Carter.
Impact
The release of Black Is King kicked off hair and makeup trends, with stylists and artists around the world creating looks particularly inspired by those seen in the "Brown Skin Girl" video. For an exhibition in the African American Museum titled "Hair Story", artist Youveline Joseph produced artworks inspired by "Brown Skin Girl" that recreated some of the braided hairstyles from the video.
Awards and nominations
At the BET Awards 2020, "Brown Skin Girl" won the BET HER Award, making Blue Ivy the youngest BET Award winner of all time. The "Brown Skin Girl" music video was nominated for Best Music Video at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. This made Blue Ivy one of the youngest Grammy nominees of all time at eight years old, behind Leah Peasall of The Peasall Sisters and Deleon Richards, who were both also eight.
| Year | Ceremony | Award | Result | Ref(s). |
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| 2019 | The Daily Californian Arts Awards | Best Song | Won | |
| Soul Train Music Awards | The Ashford & Simpsons Songwriter's Award | Won | ||
| Best Collaboration | Nominated | |||
| All Africa Music Awards | Best Collaboration | Nominated | ||
| 2020 | BET Awards | BET HER Award | Won | |
| NAACP Image Awards | Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration | Won | ||
| Soul Train Music Awards | Video of the Year | Won | ||
| 2021 | Grammy Awards | Best Music Video | Pending |
Charts
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
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| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) | 60 |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 50 |
| Lithuania (AGATA) | 67 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100) | 82 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) | 6 |
| Sweden Heatseeker (Sverigetopplistan) | 6 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 42 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 76 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard) | 27 |
| US Rolling Stone Top 100 | 32 |
| World Digital Song Sales (Billboard) | 1 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales |
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| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 5,000^ |
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xunspecified figures based on certification alone |
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Images for kids
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The Mangbetu people's skull elongation inspired a hairstyle in the video
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