Living & Arts

‘American Boy(s)’ and girls prepare for Estelle

American-boys-and-girls-prepare-for-estelle

Photo courtesy of manchesterad.com

In print | February 12, 2009

“Take me to New York, I’d like to see L.A.,” sings Estelle (along with everyone else last summer) on her chart-topping and, as of last Sunday, Grammy-winning “American Boy.” Estelle might just have to rewrite her lyrics to include Swarthmore, when she headlines the college’s Large-Scale Event on Feb. 21.

“We looked more in the field of hip-hop and R&B,” Committee member Reid Wilkening ’10 said. “In the fall, the LSE was more of an indie, folk-rock style artist. We decided to tread away from that genre … We only hold two of these, so we try to cater to as many [tastes] as possible.”

There’s a lot to anticipate about the LSE. Estelle ensures a solidly hip-hop and R&B set, brings a fresh international flavor, and will likely be one of the most zeitgeist-y performers to come to Swarthmore in the college’s recent memory. Ayanna Johnson ’09 said, “I’m pretty excited. I think it’s amazing that we’re having such a big performer come on campus. I think her music is really great.”

Still, much of the anticipation that the student body has for this coming act is less all-out fandom and more curiosity. “I think most of the [LSE Committee knows] that single that came out over break,” Andrew Hwang ’10, another member, said. “I guess she was pretty well-liked, so we came to decide on her. But I don’t know of any die-hard fans.”

To blame for her relative obscurity may be the very single that rocketed Estelle to worldwide fame. The public may be forgiven for mistaking Estelle to be the featured artist to Kanye West in last summer’s “American Boy,” rather than the other way around. Estelle’s hip but slight vocals are undercut by the tradition of personality-less vocals in rap/sung collaborations. While Estelle gives says little about herself in the song, West has to get all self-reflective on us with lines like, “Reluctantly, because most of this press don’t fuck with me.” (We know, Kanye, it always has to be about you).

One shouldn’t overlook the critical success of Estelle’s work. Her 2008 sophomore album “Shine” fared well, with reviewers celebrating the breadth of her vocals (eschewing diva belting for effortless “jazzy crooning,” according to the Boston Globe’s Sarah Rodman) and her rapping.

There’s an unabashed pop sensibility to Estelle’s work, as evidenced by her army of big-name producers, including John Legend, will.i.am, Cee-Lo and Swizz Beatz, and her many shout-outs to pop classics — her song “No Substitute Love” is a reggae-fied sampling of George Michael’s “Faith.” But Estelle also puts herself out there in her music, contrary to the impression given by “American Boy.” It’s too bad that her U.S. debut wasn’t “1980,” the first single off her first album “The 18th Day” and a hit in the UK in 2004. Bolder than the lovin’ and materialism territory that “Shine” covers, “1980” is a hell of an introduction for Estelle, who presents herself here as a rapper first and singer second who grew up in an immigrant family. Rolling Stone critic Jody Rosen asserts that Estelle is for “anyone who never warmed to Erykah Badu’s Egyptology or still mourns Lauryn Hill’s disappearance.” In comparison to mainstream R&B and hip-hop, Johnson said, “I think her songs are different … They’re a bit more down to earth, kind of realistic.”

Even “American Boy” is pretty refreshing in the realm of pop music. Unfortunate subordination under Heartbreak K’s ego aside, “American Boy” bucks trends by portraying the U.S. as the “Other” and probably making America more palatable to the rest of the world.

Though the rest of the world might need a few more albums to get to know Estelle better, we Swarthmoreans have the treat of seeing her live, which will give us a better sense of the artist as more than that English girl who was liking this American boy.