Can't Hold Us Down
"Can't Hold Us Down" | ||||
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Single by Christina Aguilera featuring Lil' Kim | ||||
from the album Stripped | ||||
Released | July 8, 2003 | |||
Recorded | 2002 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 4:14 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Scott Storch | |||
Christina Aguilera singles chronology | ||||
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Lil' Kim singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Can't Hold Us Down" on YouTube |
"Can't Hold Us Down" is a song recorded by American singer Christina Aguilera and rapper Lil' Kim for the former's fourth studio album, Stripped (2002). It was released by RCA Records on July 8, 2003, as the fourth single from the album. The track was written and produced by Scott Storch, with additional songwriting by Aguilera and Matt Morris. An R&B and hip hop song with a dancehall outro, "Can't Hold Us Down" criticizes gender-related double standards.
"Can't Hold Us Down" received mixed reviews from music critics. It was nominated for the
A music video for "Can't Hold Us Down" was directed by
Background and release
American singer Christina Aguilera rose to prominence with the successes of her first three studio albums Christina Aguilera (1999), Mi Reflejo (2000), and My Kind of Christmas (2000).[1] However, she was dissatisfied with being marketed as what her then-manager Steve Kurtz desired rather than Aguilera's own wish.[2] In late 2000, Aguilera hired Irving Azoff as her new manager and announced that her forthcoming album would have more musical and lyrical depth.[3] She named the album Stripped, explaining that the term represented "a new beginning, a re-introduction of [herself] as a new artist".[4] Hip hop producer Scott Storch wrote and produced several tracks for the album, including "Can't Hold Us Down".[5] Additional writing credits for the song were provided by Aguilera and Matt Morris.[6]
"Can't Hold Us Down" was serviced to
Music and lyrics
"Can't Hold Us Down" is written in the key of E♭ major.[15] Chuck Taylor from Billboard described it as a R&B track,[16] while The New York Times's Kelefa Sanneh characterized it as a hip hop song.[17] Todd Burns writing for Stylus Magazine also noted elements of dancehall towards the end of the track.[18] Aguilera and Kim's vocals on the track, which Taylor described as "faux-R&B",[16] span two octaves, from F3 to F5.[15]
"Can't Hold Us Down" lyrically discusses
Media outlets speculated that the lyrics of "Can't Hold Us Down" were directed towards rapper Eminem, who referred to Aguilera in his songs "Off the Wall" and "The Real Slim Shady".[24][25][26] Spin magazine's Josh Kun wrote that Aguilera suggested Eminem "Must talk so big / To make up for smaller things".[24] According to Kelefa Sanneh writing for The New York Times, Aguilera referred to Eminem in the lyrics "It's sad you only get your fame through controversy".[25]
Critical reception
Upon its release, "Can't Hold Us Down" received mixed reviews from music critics.
The song has been recognized as a feminist anthem. Nicholas Ransbottom from
Commercial performance
"Can't Hold Us Down" peaked at number 12 on the US
Music video
The music video for "Can't Hold Us Down" was directed by David LaChapelle, who previously directed the music video for Stripped's lead single "Dirrty" in 2002. It was filmed in a Los Angeles soundstage that depicted a 1980s Lower East Side neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City.[22] LaChapelle described the concept of the video as his "ode to the '80s".[22] In the video, Aguilera wears a pink midriff shirt matching a sleeveless sports jacket and pair of shorts, a purple baseball cap embroidered with the words "Lady C", and white long socks.[45] She is seen with dyed black hair and gold earrings.[20]
As the video starts with Aguilera is chatting with a group of women. When Aguilera leaves the conversation, a man suddenly grabs her butt, making Aguilera stop and causing an argument between them. As she continues to sing, the nearby women in the neighborhood join her, while the male dancers are joined and form their respective sides in the street. They performed their own hip hop dance skills against each other. At the bridge, Lil' Kim appears in a bikini and a mesh black coat, and dances in her high heels. The argument ends with Aguilera spraying the men with a water hose, which she holds between her legs and parodies the penis.[45]
Reception
Jason Heller from The A.V. Club criticized LaChappelle for "[swallowing] the message" of the track by following an unrelated concept in the clip.[14] In the book Music Video and the Politics of Representation, Diane Railton and Paul Watson felt that the video exemplified cultural appropriation, specifically noting how Aguilera conducted herself as an African-American woman, and elaborated that it emphasized "a range of issues concerning the representation of gender and race".[20] Andy Cohn from The Fader provided a more favorable review, and opined that Aguilera's "sass" helped to highlight her mixed Irish-Ecuadorian background.[46]
The music video for "Can't Hold Us Down" has received scholarly attention as an example of cultural appropriation. Murali Balaji, author of the article "Vixen Resistin': Redefining black womanhood in hip-hop music videos" published in the Journal of Black Studies, noted that "blackness and sexuality" has become characteristics by which African-American women are able to self-define. Consequently, he opined that the inclusion of Lil' Kim in the clip represented an element of "'primitive' sexuality", which Aguilera intended to imitate through her own behavior in the video.[47] In their article "Naughty girls and red-blooded women: Representations of female heterosexuality in music video", published in Feminist Media Studies, Diane Railton and Paul Watson made specific note of the conflicting message raised by the lyrics "all my girls around the world", while "blackness and whiteness are clearly inscribed on and through the bodies of Aguilera and Kim." They suggested that this example detracted the message of the track by emphasizing the problem that "female heterosexuality" is confined to "the very limited range of ways" in mainstream culture, in this instance "gender and race [and] sexual behaviour".[48]
Live performances
Though Lil' Kim and Christina have not performed the song together, Aguilera performed "Can't Hold Us Down" on her
In July 2021, Aguilera performed the song for two nights at the Hollywood Bowl with Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.[54][55] She also sang excerpts from the song during the 47th People's Choice Awards,[56] and later made "Can't Hold Us Down" part of her setlist at the EuroPride concert in Malta in September 2023.[57][58]
Track listings
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Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from "Can't Hold Us Down" CD liner notes[59]
Studios
- the Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA
- Conway Studios, Hollywood
Personnel
- Writing – Christina Aguilera, Scott Storch, Matt Morris
- Producing – Scott Storch
- Vocals arranging – Christina Aguilera
- Vocals producing – Christina Aguilera, E. Dawk
- Mixing – Tony Maserati
- Assistant mixing – Anthony Kilhoffer
- Recording– Wassim Zreik, Oscar Ramirez
- Assistant Engineering– Aaron Leply, John Morichai, Kevin Szymanski, Scott Whitting
- Drums– Kameron Houff
- Background vocals – Crystal Drummer. Charlean Hines, Erica King, Robinson, Toya Smith
- Lil' Kim appear courtesy of Queen Bee/Atlantic Recording Corporation
Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[36] | Gold | 35,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[91] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
United States | July 8, 2003 |
|
RCA | [7][8] |
United Kingdom | September 8, 2003 |
|
[92] | |
United States | September 9, 2003 | 12-inch vinyl | [13] | |
Australia | September 15, 2003 | Maxi CD | BMG | [10] |
France | September 16, 2003 | [93] | ||
Sweden | September 17, 2003 | RCA | [94] | |
Germany | September 22, 2003 | BMG | [11] | |
Italy | September 30, 2003 | [12] | ||
France | October 7, 2003 | CD | [95] |
References
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- ^ a b "Christina Aguilera feat. Lil' Kim – Can't Hold Us Down" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
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Bibliography
- Hadley, Susan; Yancy, George (2012). Therapeutic Uses of Rap and Hip-Hop. ISBN 9781136652332.
- Balaji, Murali (2008). "Vixen Resistin': Redefining black womanhood in hip-hop music videos". Journal of Black Studies. 41 (1): 5–20. S2CID 26320847.
- Besigiroha, Linda (2010). "Independent women? Feminist discourse in music videos". In Gymnich, Marion; Ruhl, Kathrin; Scheunemann, Klaus (eds.). Gendered (Re)Visions: Constructions of Gender in Audiovisual Media. Göttingen, Germany: Bonn University Press (ISBN 9783899716627.
- Railton, Diane; Watson, Paul (2005). "Naughty girls and red-blooded women: Representations of female heterosexuality in music video". Feminist Media Studies. 5 (1): 51–63. S2CID 144307744.
- Railton, Diane; Watson, Paul (2011). Music Video and the Politics of Representation. ISBN 9780748633234.
External links
- "Can't Hold Us Down" music video on YouTube