Born in Detroit in the late 80’s, Lizzo spent much of her formative years in the church, where she was raised on the gospel sounds of The Winans, The Clark Sisters, and Fred Hammond, along with mainstay secular artists such as Stevie Wonder and Elton John. At the age of 10 her family moved to Houston, TX, and Lizzo was exposed to a wide array of emerging Southern musical styles, from the trademark chopped and screwed rap tracks of the underground, to the progressive and polished R&B sounds of groups like Destiny’s Child that were raising the city’s national profile to new heights. In fact, it was after she stumbled across a Destiny’s Child performance at Wal-Mart that Lizzo—then a 5th grader-- was inspired to start writing music on her own. Over the next decade that decision would take her through the trenches of some of the most varied musical genres: R&B girl groups (I.N.I.T.I.A.L.S., Cornrow Clique), progressive rock bands (Elypseas), solo rap ventures, and electro-pop duos (Lizzo & The Larva Ink).
In 2011 she made the move to Minneapolis with Larva Ink in order to be a part of that city’s blossoming and collaborative musical community. Lizzo & The Larva Ink was well received there, and the group earned a few encouraging nods from the press. Lizzo was soon introduced to Sophia Eris and Claire de Lune, with whom she would form The Chalice, the three-piece all-female rap/R&B group that would elevate Lizzo’s profile and reputation. In 2012 The Chalice released We Are The Chalice, an album that would gain them instant local success amongst fans and critics alike, garnering City Pages’ prestigious Best New Band and Picked To Click accolades in the same year.
The success brought setbacks, though, and a falling out soon led to the demise of Lizzo & The Larva Ink. Feeling discontent with the loss of one group and the hurried blur of success of another, Lizzo was creatively drained from writing We Are The Chalice in two short months. She found herself in the throes of her first full-blown case of writer’s block. Unable to create music for herself, she began listening to several different local albums in hopes of finding inspiration. It was LAVA BANGERS, a 20-track instrumental mixtape from Doomtree producer and Minneapolis music vet Lazerbeak, that ultimately caught her ear. Beaks’ beats proved the fix for Lizzo’s problem. “I sat at home and listened to LAVA BANGERS, and when “Lift Every Voice” came on, my writer’s block was cured,” says Lizzo. “I think it revived my gospel roots. I wrote pages and pages of songs, and finally reached out to Lazerbeak, not thinking anything would come of it.”
Her timing could not have been better. Beak, impressed with Lizzo’s output with The Chalice, as well as her guest appearances on several other local releases, was looking for a change of pace from his daily Doomtree production and business responsibilities. He immediately signed on to work on some demos. Beat tapes were exchanged, songs were written, and mutual friend and musical collaborator Ryan Olson (Totally Gross National Product founder, Gayngs/Marijuana Deathsquads mastermind) was brought on board to creatively oversee the project. Olson recorded and edited all 15 tracks in his bedroom studio, bringing in laid back hype-man Cliff Rhymes along the way to add even more layers to Lizzo’s dynamic vocals.
LIZZOBANGERS is the culmination of that four-way collaboration, an album that manages to capture all of the varied musical influences of Lizzo’s upbringing and combine them with the forward-thinking experimental production style of Beak and Olson. The end result is a brave new project that encapsulates the best parts of both the familiar and the future.
B.G.S.W
Lizzo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We can take over the earth
Too bad you couldn't be on the roster
Ya man, ya dig, ya can't speak rasta
Betty SpaghettiOs, no pasta
Just hog the coin like Whore-hey Washington
Poster child for big black ambition
Tim chance be the only thing on my wishlist
Fried chicken and a bottle of Seagram's
Right?
Stereotypical archetypes
(?) get radio play, like
Im'ma fit right in today, let me get a seat at the front of the Grammys
Let me get a little bit of bitter grapes
I can't want what I want anyway
So I just kick back like kitten play
Staying on the come-up like, 'that's my play'
In Lizzo's song B.G.S.W, she expresses a message of empowerment and unity, calling for a takeover of the earth. The repeating line "We can take over the earth" emphasizes this idea and creates a feeling of strength and determination. Lizzo then takes an opportunity to address some of the negativity she's faced as a black woman in the music industry, using clever wordplay and references to express her frustrations.
She mentions being left off a "roster," potentially referring to a list of invited artists for a festival or show. She then calls out someone who can't "speak rasta," implying they're not part of the same culture or on the same level. She mentions "Betty SpaghettiOs, no pasta," which could be a comment on cultural appropriation or an allusion to her own experiences with being othered. She then references a piggy bank, saying someone is hogging the coins like Whore-hey Washington, a play on words referencing the US's first president.
Lizzo then describes herself as a "poster child for big black ambition," but notes that she's been held back by others' coattails and the industry's biases. She mentions Tim Chance, potentially another artist or a personal connection, as the only thing on her wishlist. She then shifts the tone to address the stereotypes and archetypes present in the industry, calling out those who get radio play even though they reinforce harmful norms. She desires a spot at the front of the Grammys, even if it means getting a "little bit of bitter grapes." She ends the song by stating her commitment to staying on the "come-up," refusing to let others hold her back or stop her from achieving her goals.
Line by Line Meaning
We can take over the earth
The power of collaboration can truly make a difference and turn things around.
We can take over the earth
Again, with enough power in unity, we can conquer achievable goals and succeed.
Too bad you couldn't be on the roster
It's a shame that others have missed the opportunity to be part of something great.
Ya man, ya dig, ya can't speak rasta
Some people have no idea what they're talking about, but they pretend to.
Betty SpaghettiOs, no pasta
Some people may make things up as they go along
Just hog the coin like Whore-hey Washington
Sometimes, people may hold onto things for longer than they should, whereas others could benefit from those things.
Poster child for big black ambition
Someone who personifies success, particularly for Black people.
Coattail-flunking and Timmy's wishlist
Some people may try to ride someone else's success wave, and may not have much of their own; others have a list of things they would like to achieve.
Tim chance be the only thing on my wishlist
The only wish on this person's list is to have a chance for something great to happen.
Fried chicken and a bottle of Seagram's
Some people may indulge in some comfort food so that they can relax, unwind and keep their spirits high.
Right?
It's almost like saying, 'You know what I mean, right?'
Stereotypical archetypes
Many people fit into archetypes that are often more limiting than freeing.
(?) get radio play, like
Often, only certain types of artists or songs get airplay on the radio.
Im'ma fit right in today, let me get a seat at the front of the Grammys
Certain people or groups may be marginalized or ignored at events like award shows.
Let me get a little bit of bitter grapes
Sometimes, people will be criticized or ignored, no matter what they do.
I can't want what I want anyway
It can sometimes feel like you can't have the things you want because life's circumstances made it so.
So I just kick back like kitten play
Because we can't always have what we want, we might as well just take it easy and relax.
Staying on the come-up like, 'that's my play'
I will do what I can to keep rising and achieving great things.
Contributed by Joseph D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
The Mother of Tacos
THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING THIS! My favorite Lizzo song!!
Akira Pocahontas
I been looking for this song