Uh oh. Usually when Timbaland and/or Lil' Wayne are called in to lend a hand to a well-known artist, it's usually because they're trying to make a "statement" and switch genres, or attempting to plug a leak in the sinking boat known as their career. When 50 Cent was struggling to get momentum for his "Curtis" LP, he threw up the Bat signal and in swooped Timbaland and Justin Timberlake with "Ayo Technology." The song wasn't a smash, but it performed modestly enough so that 50 could attend an award show with some small degree of relevance. When Mya was struggling with her last major label album, "Liberation," Lil' Wayne was brought in with defibrillators for "Lock U Down," but alas, the patient (Mya's career) was unable to be revived.
And so Shakira finds herself in a similar predicament. "She Wolf," the lead single to the album of the same name, was a modest hit, peaking at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. But it's clear that the record label was looking for a smash like her collaboration with Wyclef on "Hips Don't Lie." So when "Did It Again," the album's second single failed to generate any heat, Sony called in Timbo and Lil' Wayne and the result is the gyrating, thumping "Give It Up To Me." Will the hail mary pass work?
Watch the video for Shakira's "Give It Up To Me" featuring Lil' Wayne.
The fact that Timbaland didn't even bother to show up for the video isn't a good sign. The fact that Shakira decided to dress up like J.Lo as Jenny from the block is an even worse sign. But the most troubling sign is the fact that the video looks like it was shot in a high school gym, mixed in with some green screens and that's it. The "She Wolf" video probably cost the label a pretty penny (which was worth every cent spent, thank you very much) so it's understandable that for the third video the label wanted to be a little more thrifty. But the choices made on where and how to cut corners here don't make sense.
The freaky Statue of Liberty meets Thai Princess green screen segment should've lasted about half the time that it did. The Samoan Warrior Princess look meets Stomp The Yard bit was cool and featured Shakira doing choreography like she's never done before, but the video as a whole never seems to go anywhere. What's the point? What's the story that it's telling? Why is Shakira dancing with a bunch of black girls doing step choreography? If budget for the video needs to be tight, fine. But a good plot doesn't have to be expensive. Don't mish mash a performance segment with glamour shots of Shakira on a green screen flirting with Lil' Wayne and expect it to generate any excitement around a flailing album.
The "Give It Up To Me" video proves that Shakira is losing sight of the artistic vision that she originally had for "She Wolf." In that video, everything had a very cirque du soleil feel, with the singer contorting her body in eye-popping positions and her sensuality on full-blast. Even though "She Wolf" wasn't a number one song, the look and musical style she set with that song should've been carried through the rest of the project instead of panicking and hitching her wagon to Hip Hop's last action heroes.
To be clear, attempting to cross over and working with Timbaland isn't the problem. Shakira's made it as a pop star in the US before and "Give It To Me" isn't a bad song. But as others have pointed out, there's a clear desire here to sell an image that doesn't seem to reflect Shakira's free spirit, and that image is lazy and poorly thought out. Shakira, take back the reins please.
