The group played its first gig at London's Splash club in March 1994, subsequently taking six weeks to record its debut album, Paranoid and Sunburnt, at a "haunted house" outside the city. The band's first single, "Selling Jesus," was featured on the soundtrack of the film Strange Days; Stoosh followed in 1996, and three years later Skunk Anansie returned with Post Orgasmic Chill. They broke up in 2001, with Skin moving on to a solo career (releasing Fleshwounds in 2003 and Fake Chemical State in 2006). The group re-formed in early 2009, playing sold-out shows and recording three new tracks for a greatest-hits album, Smashes & Trashes. The reunion went so well that they decided to stick together and record a new album, Wonderlustre, released in the autumn of 2010, with the track "You Saved Me" used in Zack Snyder's 2011 movie Sucker Punch, along with their remix of Björk's "Army of Me."
Sadly, former drummer Robbie France passed away after his aorta ruptured in January 2011. The band released its fifth album, Black Traffic, in September 2012 and backed it with an extensive European tour. The first single from the album was "Sad, Sad, Sad." The group followed this up with the live album An Acoustic Skunk Anansie: Live in London, a recording of their performance at Cadogan Hall, London in April 2013, before their sixth studio effort, Anarchytecture, arrived in 2016. The following year, the band put out 25live@25 -- a compilation album that traversed 25 years of live material.
Biography by Steve Huey
Intellectualise My Blackness
Skunk Anansie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Anglo-Saxon muck in his type of greed
What did he do to deserve such hate
He tried to intellectualise my blackness
He tried to summarise, to institutionalise
Still I could recognise, he was materialised
To make it easier for his whiteness
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
He's always tryin' to make up for his little slips
The joke about the nigga and the yellow nip
Then he tells me "I'm so different from those other shits"
When he tries to intellectualise my blackness
He tried to summarise, to institutionalise
Still I could recognise, he was materialised
He tried to intellectualise my blackness
To make it easier for his whiteness
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
Motherfucker don't you lecture-rise me
Don't you ever try to lecturise me
Motherfucker don't you lecturerise me
Oh No
He tried to intellectualise my blackness
To make it easier for his whiteness
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
He tried to intellectualise my blackness
To make it easier for his whiteness
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
He tried to intellectualise my blackness
To make it easier for his whiteness
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
The lyrics of Skunk Anansie's "Intellectualise My Blackness" are a commentary on the experience of being black in a predominantly white society, and the frustration and anger that can arise when white people try to "intellectualise" black culture. The singer of the song is confronted by a white person who is attempting to analyze and codify her blackness, reducing it to a set of characteristics that can be easily understood and categorized.
The lyrics are full of both anger and sarcasm, as the singer challenges the white person's assumptions and attempts to take ownership of her own identity. The reference to "Anglo-Saxon muck" suggests a sense of dirtiness or impurity, while the line "he tried to make up for his little slips" highlights the way in which white people often try to compensate for their own racism by overemphasizing their appreciation for black culture.
The chorus of the song is a repetitive plea for help - "ooh save me" - which underscores the sense of isolation and frustration experienced by the singer. Ultimately, the song is a powerful rejection of the idea that black culture can or should be "intellectualised" or reduced to a set of traits that can be understood by white people.
Line by Line Meaning
I hit him with a piece of his philosophy
I challenged him with his own beliefs
Anglo-Saxon muck in his type of greed
He expressed his greed using outdated and oppressive Anglo-Saxon ideals
What did he do to deserve such hate
He doesn't understand why I hate him for trying to intellectualize my identity
He tried to intellectualise my blackness
He attempted to analyze and categorize my identity based on his own understanding
To make it easier for his whiteness
In order to feel more comfortable and in control of my identity, he tried to simplify it
He's always tryin' to make up for his little slips
He frequently makes derogatory comments but tries to apologize afterwards
The joke about the nigga and the yellow nip
He made a racist joke involving derogatory terms for Black and Asian people
Then he tells me 'I'm so different from those other shits'
He tries to distance himself from other racists by claiming he is not like them
Motherfucker don't you lecture-rise me
I don't want to be lectured by someone who doesn't understand my experiences
He tried to summarise, to institutionalise
He attempted to simplify my identity and fit it into established institutions
Still I could recognise, he was materialised
I could tell he was viewing me as an object or a material thing, rather than a human being
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
I felt like he was trying to control or change my identity, and I needed help
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
I felt like he was trying to control or change my identity, and I needed help
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
I felt like he was trying to control or change my identity, and I needed help
He tried to intellectualise my blackness
He attempted to analyze and categorize my identity based on his own understanding
To make it easier for his whiteness
In order to feel more comfortable and in control of my identity, he tried to simplify it
He tried to intellectualise my blackness, ooh save me
I felt like he was trying to control or change my identity, and I needed help
Contributed by Michael S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Eclectic
I dont get it, why is this song so underated? This has one of the most awsome Guitar/Bass Riffs I've ever heard!! Great theme, great band, and badass lyrics...
Brittany Rocket
Because it's speaking a truth folks aren't happy with. You know how that goes. Shit, people were upset cause Beyonce said she liked her husband's nose, babies hair and people thought she was the next coming of the black panthers and she's about as in-your-face as a gnat when it comes to race. So you KNOW folks cannot handle the straight forwardness of this song.
Eclectic
So fucking true!
notthere83
Is it? Only 1.4% dislikes seems like people enjoy it? And I'm guessing it's not more popular because it never got a music video and single.
jdnajes
notthere83, I believe the "underrated" issue refers to relative obscurity of the song. So, people who know it tend to like it, but not that many people know it. I'm a huge Skunk Anansie fan and I love this song, but I doubt it would have made a good single-material when they were just starting out. Most of the singles that came out of their debut album were about various aspects of relationships (Weak, I Can Dream), and the edgiest one went after televangelists (Selling Jesus), but I was a l was too young to notice how much flak they got over it from religious groups. Given that race is just as sensitive of an issue now as it was back then, I'm really glad SA have brought this song back to their live sets.
Top Gurl
I think, maybe consider the fact that most of Skunk Anansie's fans are white. The lyrics MIGHT not connect to them as much. Whereas I, as a black female, can totally understand and can relate.
goldenshowercap
What a voice! Skin has range and power, but the band are absolutely formidable too, and it's the combination that makes Skunk Anansie greater than the sum of their parts. Hope to see them live some day.
Jai Holloway
such an underrated track, incredible song and band. what a powerful voice too.
Kelhi Rhu-isha Macmillan
This album takes me back to my teens! Such a special band, I thought Skin was so cool! ( Still do!)
Top Gurl
Possibly one of the rawest, most honest and awesome-est rock songs ever.