“Wake up and see the queens around you and see these beautiful women and the work that they do and stop hindering them.”
Emanuel has returned with his divine new single “Black Woman,” off of his forthcoming debut EP Session 2: Transformation.
We’ve had the brand new track on repeat for release day, because we simply can’t get enough. In order to celebrate yet another amazing release, we’ve done an in-depth review. Hopefully by the end, “Black Woman” will join the songs on your heavy rotation like it has on ours.
Emanuel’s music has always sparked an emotional reaction. His songs never fail to carry his listeners through a raw and cathartic experience. Honesty and realness remain at the forefront of his storytelling resulting in lyrics that unapologetically speak his truth and inspire healing and self-growth.
“Black Woman” celebrates the empowerment, resilience, and love of Black women. It encourages Black women to carry on living impactful lives, unapologetically. For them to recognize that they belong, that they’re important and that they’re enough, especially in times when the world says they are not. “Black Woman” also encourages others to learn, reflect, and act in order to protect and respect Black women.
It’s easy for a message like this one to get lost in the civil climate right now, but it’s important that this is heard across all platforms: Black women are extraordinarily powerful, but shockingly underrated. As Emanuel explains:
“The song is about reconciliation and also celebration – celebrating how strong our women are and how they hold us up. People might think this song was written as a response to the moment right now but it’s saying the exact same thing it was saying when it was written a year ago – ‘I see you, I recognize you, I appreciate you and I love you’.”
“Black Woman” is that single for many reasons. Aside from Emanuel’s sweet, melodic vocals and poetic lyrics, it is both a symbol and expression of healing. It speaks as if to say: “Black woman, I see you and it’s okay. It’s okay to heal. You’ve been through enough. Rest.”
Not only is “Black Woman” beautiful, but its impactful message speaks to a level far beyond words. As we listened and read through the lyrics, we realized the message solidifies a sense of acknowledgment, understanding, and appreciation.
For this review, it only seemed fitting to dive deep into the words that artistically recite a harsh reality for Black women.
“Black Woman”: Line by Line
The first verse offers the desire to feel and understand the Black woman.
The song opens with “cocoa butter kisses, wipe my tears away.” Cocoa butter is best known for its sweet smell and symbol of love, but it’s also made to heal. From a listener’s perspective, this introduces the idea of Black women’s repeated journey to healing but with a heavy heart.
“I wanna feel you like cold water dripping down my face,” offers the idea that the Black woman is as refreshing as cold water. It also offers the idea that the Black woman satisfies a certain thirst or need – undisclosed, but still apparent.
“I wanna fly high like the stars that I see, like the birds in the sky,” presents the desire to look at and understand the Black woman from a different, higher perspective. This could also be a comparison of the Black woman to the beauty of the stars and appreciation for nature.
The pre-chorus offers an acknowledgement and understanding for the Black woman.
“How do you reconcile, rectify, free your mind,” introduces the struggle the Black woman faces and how she stays in her right mind; the inability to escape and free herself from the weight.
“Bondage, they have me in shackles,” explores the fact that these struggles are so damning that it’s inescapable, almost suffocating.
“How do you smile when you got nothing to smile about,” suggests that the Black woman smiles through her pain, her stress, and her struggles without wavering.
“How do you love when you got no one coming back to the house,” suggests that the Black woman loves so immensely, even when her love isn’t reciprocated.
The chorus offers an appreciation for the Black woman.
“Black woman, sometimes sad woman, but all of the time she’s a queen from another place, why are you so displaced,” introduces the idea that the Black woman is of royal blood. She is meant and made for royalty but oftentimes unvalued.
“She’s a goddess walking on earth baby,” suggests that the Black woman is an ethereal being.
The second verse offers the resiliency, strength, and power of the Black woman.
“Superwoman, power comes from the sun,” solidifies the idea of the Black woman as an ethereal being. The Black woman is powerful and has an unmatchable amount of strength.
“Lovely woman, my only one,” describes a love for the Black woman that is incomparable and irreplaceable. The line also offers the impossibility of finding another so alluring and exquisite.
“Mother of creation, all the nations sing your praise without knowing,” describes the Black woman as a divine being, a symbol of beauty, and a foundation.
The bridge leading into the end of the song recognizes that man does not appreciate or treasure the Black woman as she should be.
“How do you love, how do you love the way you do,” suggests that the Black woman’s love can’t be replicated.
“What did I do to deserve you,” details that man does not deserve the Black woman and has done nothing to prove himself worthy of her.
“Why do I always desert you,” describes the idea that man does not protect, respect, or love the Black woman.
“How do you feel when they don’t feel for you,” suggests that the Black woman feels so powerfully for others, when they don’t feel for her.
“How do you love when they don’t love you back,” solidifies the idea that the Black woman loves even when she is not loved.
In listening to “Black Woman,” we could feel Emanuel’s pain, desperation, and vulnerability. His desire to inspire and create change for Black women remains apparent from start to finish. The message in this incredibly deep single is clear: it’s time to wake up and evaluate our relationship with Black women. To recognize these powerful women for the work they’ve done, for the pain they’ve endured, and fight to protect them.
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