While the ’90s saw the emergence of popular boy bands, like the Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC, it was the decade’s girl groups who came to heat – or spice, rather – things up. The Spice Girls were not just the biggest British singing group to conquer the world since The Beatles, they soon ranked among the best-selling girl groups of all time. With their salsa-inspired hit, “Spice Up Your Life,” these five ladies gave us the absolute perfect anthem for a summertime fiesta. Feeling “sad and low” these days? Well, the Spice Girls have just the cure for that.

Watch the “Spice Up Your Life” video, stream it here, or buy the “Spiceworld 25” deluxe edition.

In celebration of summer, the staff at THE 97 has compiled a playlist containing some of our favorite summer songs, from then and now. Each day we will reveal one song, rotating daily between past and present with pairings from 1998 and 2023, for a total of 97 days/songs. Since we love nostalgia, we’re celebrating summer songs from 1998 as they turn 25, alongside new songs that we feel deserve some shine. Pairings could be thematic, sonic, or based connections between the artists.

Check out our full “THE SUMMER 97 (1998 x 2023)” playlist here.

The post 97 Words: “Spice Up Your Life” by The Spice Girls appeared first on THE 97.

“I ain’t giving you nothing!  I’m sick of you coming in here asking for my keys! You trifilin’, you need ya own car!  No!  Here.  Take ’em.  I’m sick of you,” she asserted, with unparalleled sass.  As she stormed away, he frustratingly asked, “Beyoncé, why you buggin’?”

It was the first time I heard her name; it was the first time I had heard of Destiny’s Child.  I had no idea that Destiny’s Child would go on to become the top girl group of the TRL era.  I had no idea that, at this pivotal moment of my own life, I would latch onto these ladies as a sort of support system and remain a fan and supporter to this very day.

“Bills, Bills, Bills” was the lead single from Destiny’s Child’s sophomore album, The Writing’s on the Wall.  Released 15 years ago last week, on July 27th, 1999, the set was a defining moment in Destiny’s Child’s career.  It made them unforgettable; it made them superstars; it birthed an icon.  It changed me, too.

The album was my reward after being succumbed to the torture of having braces put on my teeth that August.  We stopped by the now-defunct store Coconuts, and my mother bought the album for me.  It was the first album that I had ever listened to and loved all the way through, and finally, at age 9, I had found “my favorites” – and they have remained ever since.

Beyoncé, Kelly, LeToya and LaTavia were only 17 and 18 years old at the time of release, but it was hard to tell from the maturity in their music.  Perhaps, it was just four girls having fun with a team of writers, producers, and record company executives… perhaps, they weren’t cognizant of the depth of the album they crafted.  Most likely, they were merely after the “girl world” throne and tried to have their music embody the concept of “girl power,” like the Spice Girls.  In reality, “girl power” is nothing more than a simpler way to say “female empowerment” and that was a constant within the album.  However, in retrospect, there is more depth to the female empowerment message of The Writing’s on the Wall than appears on the surface.

The album opens with a strange but intriguing introduction.  Its premise is based on The Godfather movies, and Beyoncé is The Godfather.  However, it completely went over my head at the time.  Obviously I knew that that wasn’t their normal speaking voices, but, for whatever reason, I actually thought Beyoncé’s name was Beyoncé Corleone (until I read the album booklet more thoroughly).

In the intro, the ladies summarize their problems with men.  At the end, Beyoncé offers a solution: Destiny’s Child’s fourteen “Commandments of Relationships” – interludes that precede, and set the theme for, each track on the album.  For example, “thou shall pay bills” is spoken before the lead single “Bills, Bills, Bills.”

However, this introduction is significant for more than just setting up the album’s concept.  An important aspect of the introduction is the fact that the ladies of Destiny’s Child seemingly flip expected gender roles.  Beyoncé becomes the Godfather, and the other ladies put on husky voices as they emulate the male characters from the film.  This theme is continued throughout the album, as Destiny’s Child reverses expected gender roles and the stereotypes of women and men in relationships.

“Feminist – a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.”

Over fourteen years after the release of The Writing’s on the Wall, Beyoncé included this quote from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her feminist manifesto, “***Flawless.”  However, if we look back at her music, beginning with Writing’s, we see that this theme has been ever present.  While Beyoncé may have only found the perfect wording in 2013, thanks to Adichie, this feminist ideal (or as the 90s called it, “girl power”) has been a constant in Destiny’s Child’s and Beyoncé’s music since 1999 – when they assumed reign of Girl World.

First, there is “Bills, Bills, Bills” – one of music’s most misunderstood songs, lyrically.  The prominent criticism of the song was to call Destiny’s Child male-bashers, or to say that they were money hungry (which in 2014, is laughable, considering Beyoncé’s net worth).  However, if those critics had actually listened to the lyrics beyond the chorus, the song tells quite a different tale.

Essentially, the male antagonist in “Bills, Bills, Bills” spent all of her money and is too broke to give it back.  So, in all actuality, the man is the money hungry one in the song – not Destiny’s Child.  With this simple song, they completely flipped the typical expectations of a male-female relationship and the societal expectation that the man is the bread winner who takes care the woman.  The stereotype that woman chase men for money is an unfortunate one that has been wrongfully perpetuated across all sorts of media.  However, with “Bills, Bills, Bills” Destiny’s Child dared to challenge that notion.  Remember, “feminist – a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes.”  Here, Destiny’s Child addressed the social and economic expectations of women in relationships.  And this continues.

“Bug a Boo” is another track where a stereotype commonly attributed to women in relationships is flipped back on the man.  As its title suggests, the song is about an annoying man who is overly clingy and simply won’t give the woman any room to breathe.  She berates him for his aggravating persistence in a triumphant shade-fest.  Again, it was uncommon for a woman to come at a man in this manner, and by saying “men do it too,” Destiny’s Child strived to create a more level playing field in relationships.  “Jumpin’, Jumpin'” does this as well by placing woman in an equally dominant position “in the club.”

Similar to “Bug a Boo,” the ballad “Now That She’s Gone” also puts Destiny’s Child in control.  In this song, DC sings to a man who has cheated and wants to come back, but only because the other woman left.  The song is more or less calling him out and saying, “oh well, your loss.”  The song places the man in the vulnerable position, which is another stereotype that woman are often labeled with.

However, just as they showed that men too can do the very things that women are often accused of doing wrong, Destiny’s Child turns the tables twice more with “Confessions” and “Temptation.”  On these two sexy mid tempo tracks, they confess to being tempted by other men and… not exactly being on their best behavior.  This sort of unfaithfulness is a topic frequently sung about by women, but in the role of the accuser.  However, with these tracks, Destiny’s Child owns up to being the unfaithful party.  Perhaps this is done in an effort to show that women can do it too, serving as a warning to men who become too comfortably complacent in their relationships.   “If You Leave,” a duet with R&B group Next, is similar in theme as well, as Beyoncé and R.L. (the frontman of Next) duet about leaving their significant others for each other.

The album takes a more vulnerable turn on its most desperate track, “Where’d You Go,” which seems a bit out of place.  On it, they plead with the man, begging him to come back.  And, while there is a certain strength in embracing vulnerability, “Hey Ladies” quickly follows up with a “snap out of it!” message of female empowerment.  On this track, they ask, “hey ladies, why is it that men can go do us wrong? … Why is it that we never seem to just have the strength to leave?  But, he’s got to go.”  The ladies serve a bit of cockiness (with a hint of jealousy) on “She Can’t Love You,” as they throw shade at the “new girlfriend.”  This track follows the career defining hit “Say My Name,” which illustrates a phone conversation laden in suspicion and jealousy due to a man who’s “acting kinda shady.”  While vulnerable in places, both songs have an underlying message of empowerment: “She Can’t Love You” and “Say My Name” are both commanding tracks that once again find DC reacting to each situation with strength and sass, rather than sadness or desperation.

The mix of vulnerability and empowerment continue on “Stay,” a song that encourages women to be in control of their sexuality.  The lyrics deal with the internal struggle of giving in to sex (before you’re ready) to coerce a man to stay.  The message of the song is summed up by the lyric, “promise me one thing, no matter what, you’re gonna stay.”  This idea of the female having control of her sexuality is essential to feminism.   The song, and Beyoncé and Kelly’s subsequent sexual freedom in their recent music, echo Janet Jackson’s “Let’s Wait Awhile” when compared to her later singles like “If” and “Any Time, Any Place.”  So, yes, while Beyoncé and Kelly might seem hyper-sexual on songs their 2013 releases, “Partition” and “Kisses Down Low,” it is only because they both choose to be.  As the commandment says, “if thou can wait, then thou shall stay.”  As married women and mothers in their thirties, Beyoncé and Kelly clearly have found men who were willing to wait until they were ready.

“Stay” is followed by “Sweet Sixteen,” which is a story of a young girl who gave into her man, to make him stay… and ends up pregnant.  The preceding commandment is “thou shall cherish life,” and overall, the song has a positive message intended to uplift, inspire and empower young girls to make wiser decisions in their relationships.  Similarly, the album’s opening track “So Good” encourages positivity and unity, frowning upon the naysayers.  Meanwhile, its closer is an a cappella rendition of the inspirational Christian hymn, “Amazing Grace,” lovingly dedicated to Andretta Tillman, the woman who discovered and built Destiny’s Child (before Mathew Knowles took over).

The Writing’s on the Wall was not only career defining, but it also defined and identified one overarching theme in Destiny’s Child’s music: girl power, a.k.a., feminism.  Again, it may have been unintentional, but the fact that it happened organically just makes it all the more authentic.

Destiny’s Child: established in 1997, defined in 1999, and forever changed in 2000.

To be continued…

The post Who runs Girl World? – Part 2: The Writing’s on the Wall appeared first on THE 97.

Those girls, were the Spice Girls.  Of course, like the Supremes did before them, there were other (R&B) girl groups who reigned supreme in the 90s: TLC, En Vogue, SWV, and others.  However, none of those groups became a cultural phenomenon quite like the Spice Girls.

TLC had their moment, of course, they crossed over and were undoubtedly huge.  But, when one looks back on late 1990s and early 2000s pop – generally, who comes to mind are: the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC for the “boy bands,” and the Spice Girls and Destiny’s Child for the “girl groups.”  Then of course, there’s Britney – the lone princess.  (Christina, you say?  Lets be honest, she came close, and she’s worth a mention, but she was never quite on Britney’s level.  Now, please allow Kermit to steep, sip and savor that tea.)

Anyway, let me stop spicing up the tea.  If any year was laden in Spice, it was 1997.  Although their debut album, Spice, was released in the UK in late 1996, the sensation surrounding Posh, Ginger, Sporty, Scary and Baby was at its peak in 1997.  They conquered America in 1997 with the release of “Wannabe” in January, and the stateside release of the Spice album in May.

The Spice Girls were everywhere. Later in 1997, they released “Spice Up Your Life,” the lead single from their second album, Spiceworld.  Because, after all, it was indeed the Spice Girls’ world in 1997.  Not only was Spiceworld the title of their album, but it was also the title of a major, big-screen motion picture released in December 1997.  Additionally, just about every sort of Spice Girls merchandise imaginable existed for their legions of tween and teenage fans to consume with ferocity.

How do I know, you ask? Because I was one of them!  Only seven years old, I too succumbed to the Spice Girls mania.  I remember their albums, obsessing over the singles, singing along to their songs with other kids my age, and being beyond excited for that (horrible, in hindsight) Spice World movie.  Ah yes, it was an amazing year…

In all honestly, it only really lasted a year.  Amidst their 1998 Spiceworld Tour,  Geri “Ginger Spice” left the group and the Spiceworld came to a crashing halt.  While the Spice Girls went on to release another album without her, 2000’s Forever, it was pretty much dead on arrival and, ironically, despite the title – it was their last.  However, seven years later, the ladies reunited for 2007’s hugely successful The Return of the Spice Girls tour.

It’s interesting how the messiness of the Spice Girls’ lineup changes negatively impacted their success after Spiceworld.  The same goes for En Vogue.  In 1997, they lost their lead singer, Dawn, and the group’s relevancy quickly faded.  Comparatively, the press of Destiny’s Child’s lineup changes really helped the ladies become huge.  It’s almost as if the girl-group torch was passed silently.  As the Spice Girls’ relevancy waned by 1999, Destiny’s Child’s reign began with 1999’s #1 smash hit, “Bills, Bills, Bills” – their biggest hit yet that helped them truly crossover.

And, while the Spice Girls’ image focused heavily on spreading this idea of “girl power” (they even “wrote” a book about it!), lyrically, their music wasn’t exactly what you’d call female empowerment.  Destiny’s Child, on the other hand, seemingly took note and churned out a string of singles with a message of female empowerment (and, according to some, “male-bashing”).  So, while Destiny’s Child never did match the Spice Girls’ level of success as far as album sales or even cultural impact, they did indeed takeover.  And, if any 90s pop act stands in a position to have a successful comeback in 2014, it’s Destiny’s Child.

Maybe it was obvious; maybe it was… destiny?  After all, the writing’s on the wall, right?

To be continued…

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