Normani's 'Motivation' is motivation
She sees herself into the future. And she speaks those visions into her already planned and foreseen destiny that she envisions for herself. I think one of the very first videos I watched of her was an audition tape she filmed --- and somewhere in between the seven minutes (don't quote me on how long the video was exactly) of the video, she made a big and promising declaration.... She said, "I know I have what it takes to be the next greatest and biggest breakout star".
And the opening scene of 'Motivation' confirmed just that. A beautiful dark skinned little Black girl (by the way, I need her name because she's gorgeous) portrays a young version of Normani.
She runs and scrambles in front of the tv the minute she hears the voices of the hosts of "106th & Park" --- a classic music video countdown show that platformed and showcased Black music artists during the 00s.
But what happens next is what in my opinion identifies her as a visionary. As the hosts announce the number one video in the world...She imagines herself as that acclaimed artists. She visualizes herself to be that person.
That alone ...that instinct ...and her imagination in my opinion marks just how much of a visionary she is. How attune of self she is. How much she saw herself into the future and imagined herself into one day being and becoming what she's doing today. She envisioned it. And now it's her reality.
As a YouTuber said in his review of this music video, she's a new supreme on the rise.
That's the best way to describe her and what she's doing and accomplishing thus far.
Then we segue right into present day her.
The minute the camera pans in front of young Normani dancing her little heart out, we see on the tv screen a bright smiling, white crop top, low jean, gold plated belt wearing NORMANI walking down an alleyway.
I immediately knew who this scene was tributing. The one and only Beyoncé.
I've been saying this in numerous chats about her...that I feel her first year out as a solo artists appears that in all she was, is and has done is to pay homage to those artists before her. To the very ones she's looked up to and does. And in her own way through her own interpretation of inserting the greats who paved the way for her, her performances reflect that. By way of her music videos and dance style and theatrics and costumes, hair, makeup and concepts. Which is very evident in this video.
Next, we see her come into frame and from jump starts dancing. Not wasting anytime to serve us hard, banging choreo that we've all been wanting from her. Because she's a dancer.
She's clad in a cute white tank top and skort that has '1996' and 'Motivation' airbrushed on it. And she's in pink paten leather J's.
The 90s/00s aesthetics are all so present.
It's like she stepped back in time...to a period that heavily Inspired her. To eras that helped shape her creativity and artistry. The nostalgia of decades ago that influenced her. She has such revere for those eras and she's saying I'm going to step into these eras with my own take on it while saying thank you to those artists that i admired.
At a time when she herself was just becoming a teen.
Her respect for the culture is what is visually so satisfying in this video. The Generation of today has an admiration for the stylistic culture of the 90s and early 00s. And she inserted so much of those periods in the video.
What was extremely refreshing to witness was the attention to dancing. Now we all know Normani is a dancer (i already said that but it's worth repeating). But the way she highlighted it and gave it a spotlight itself was pleasing. And how she executed the choreography...I think I've run out of words to describe just how much of a dancer she is. The precision. The way her body effortlessly moves. How she moves. The technical training shows. Her innate ability is exhibited. The different styles of dance genres she knows are all on display.
We got to see some hip hop, a little bit of majorette, a sprinkle of ballroom and even elements of gymnastics. There were backflips, backbends and splits. Sis was even hanging from a fence poppin'.
What's equally stunning to my eyes are all the dark skin women surrounding her. Who are all just as beautiful and super talented as she is. Seeing this felt so relatable. And representative of what Black girl magic is. Normani has made sure she's done this already all throughout her budding career ...to have representation. And more specifically Black dark skin girl representation.
The way she highlighted the dance sequences...but also the lineup of 10 to 15+ dancers put my mind to those iconic videos from legends like Missy, Usher, Destiny's Child and Janet. And the video concepts from artists like Omarion and Ciara were scattered across scenes. Where there were full out dance breaks. A Duo dance number. the love of dance was showcased and I hadn't realized how much I missed seeing that.
Then there's the scene of her in the rain. (Can we just appreciate the fact that she gave us a throwback of classic RnB videos of singers being in the rain).
The sound of a trumpet is heard and the sound of New Orleans (artists that are rooted and grounded in their ethnicity--- that's her) reverberates in your ears. As the trumpet players blow their horns, she's kinda dancing in a burlesque way but instead of feathers adorning her costume, she's in a chain linked dress of some sort and i got a sense of Toni Braxton. the rain is her backdrop. And yet again, the talented dancer performed some defying moves. A semi handstand followed by a split...in heels...in the rain. The skill. The talent.
And the final scene is her back to the beginning set. On the street with her team of dancers. She's in a black leather baggy pants outfit and some more J's. I got TLC from the look. and also Aaliyah from not only the tomboy look but also the dance break. I think this was my favorite dance sequence of the whole video (that's not true because i can't really decide because it's all my fave). The footwork and body movements were on poinT.
She brought back so many moments in music history in three minutes and fifty-eight seconds.
Her voice is getting and growing stronger. She's experimenting with sounds and her own vocal instrument. The song is a cute RnB/Pop bop. It's infectious. It's like a grown-woman-here-I-am in my confidence song. I am enjoying both the record & the video.
It isn't far-fetched that if Normani were maybe ten years older or started her career earliershe would be on that hit show. Debuting her new music videos and performing on stage in front of hundreds of adoring fans in the studio and across millions of homes on television screens. That she'd be able to look back and say she was a part of Black music culture but in essence, she is doing that. She may not have the specific platform of 106th & Park but she's claiming her mark now.
And her star is steady rising!
prguitarman
dededos
theartofmadeline
germansingergirl
turnnoffyourmind
pixelskylines
discoholicmusic
kianamaiart
2087
snowghoul
