Wale sends his love to the Black Girl Magic wave with his latest single, "BGM."
For this track, Wale puts an emphasis on highlighting the beauty of black women and the struggles they face. He does this by having a funk-inspired baseline serve as the instrumental's backbone. This makes the track reminiscent of the classic blaxploitation films where anything was possible for minorities. He then adds a chorus in which he's begging a black woman to love him. This flips the misogyny that often shows its face when some rappers reference women.
"Black benzes/Black fancy/Black bag full of old white men," Wale raps during the pre-chorus before breaking out the melodies for the hook. "If someone like you would love me," Wale sings. He then uses the chorus to reveal that "BGM" is an acronym for the term "Black Girl Magic."
On the verses, Wale tries to express empathy by going in-depth about the societal barriers women of color encounter. "Sometimes it be really so hard for you/White boy paid more same job as you," Wale raps. "The least I can do/Is write a song then I'll 'mwahh' that part of you." The rapper also makes a point to continually tell his target audience that he's "proud" of them for defeating these obstacles.
Like the recent singles Wale has dropped, "BGM" is accompanied with a lyric video. But instead of having a video that just lyrics flashing across the screen in different fonts, Wale decided to send an ode to his hometown. The rapper mixes shots of young black women with scenes from Washington, D.C. At a point, it becomes clear that Wale views his city as a place that thrives off the energy generated by black women and should be preserved the same way people should protect women.
Watch Wale's "BGM" lyric video above.
