Keri Hilson’s Justification: “Sometimes, I Wanna Be F**ked!”

By now, I’m sure we’ve all seen Keri Hilson’s most recent video for “The Way You Love Me” featuring Rick Ross. I’m also sure you’ve already read the lovely Danielle Harling’s hilarious video breakdown for it. But over the weekend, Keri felt the need to address the situation and let the people know why she felt the need to swear excessively and slang her kitty box toward the camera lens repeatedly. “Sometimes, I don’t want to be held and caressed, sometimes I want to be fucked!”

Well said sister.

Let me explain, and also warn my mom to stop reading. While she spoke with Perez Hilton about the response the video has been receiving, she broke down how much of her album was conceived while having conversations with her girlfriends about men, relationships, sex and the like. I suppose those convos served as lyrical inspiration for her, yet in an effort to be as real as possible, she ended up writing a crude record. That being said, while there is clearly no finesse to the songwriting (it sucks) the sentiment behind the lyrics do speak for a certain mind state that we as humans experience from time to time. Yes, some women do think that there pussy is good enough to keep a man hooked. The difference is, Ashanti can make that same point by saying she has that “Good Good.” The fact that it is so bluntly stated is the problem people are having, not the meaning itself. Also, as far as lyrics are concerned, I think we’ve mastered the concept of “clean” and “dirty” records. Obviously, if it bothers you that much, don’t watch the video on Worldstar. I’m sure an edited (both audio and visually) version will hit airwaves soon enough and you could buy the clean copy if you happen to like the record sans fuckery.

Our other objection is the fact that this is “Pretty Girl Rock” Keri Hilson. We just don’t see this from her. Christina Aguilera a few years ago, sure. “Don’t hate me ‘cause I’m beautiful” girl, no. As an audience, we expect certain delivery from certain artists, and this ain’t the Hilson we were learning to love over the past few years. Then again, who are we to dictate her career? She must have known she was taking a gamble with this song/video, yet she did it anyway. Whether or not I personally like the video, I’ll give it up to the girl for that.

The argument that I’m hearing most is that this vid is a desperate attempt to for Keri to step into the limelight, which I will admit I 90% agree with. I mean, even I can say that the multiple up close and personal crotch shots were completely unnecessary and tacky. And why are we licking metal doors? The video is awkward and unimaginative, but so are 80% of other videos out there, so why hold her to a different standard?

My point is that, while it’s clearly not the best of Ms. Hilson as a songwriter or as an artist, it is not as bad as the negative hype surrounding it would lead one to believe. No, it is not as bad as a BET Uncut video (Look up Ludacris’ “Pussy Poppin’, and get back to me). And yes, there were some WTF double takes throughout the video, but whether you call it desperate or good publicity, we’re all talking about it, and I think that’s the point.