Can you smell what's cookingt? It's R&B beef and Ciara's stirring the pot. In a veiled response to Keri Hilson and her jabs at her on the "Turnin' Me On" remix, Ciara puts down all the make-up and high fashion she's been squeezing herself into in favor of flannel shirts, sneakers and Atlanta baseball hats in a viral video for her new track "Basic Instinct (U Got Me)." The weave, however, is still around. Ciara can't run around lookin' THAT to' up.
The heavy-hitting production courtesy of The-Dream and Tricky backs Ciara as she opens the track with a "rap," apologizing for slipping but announcing her return for her spot. Guess she wants that Princess of Crunk title back?
Watch Ciara's viral video "Basic Instinct (U Got Me)"
Ciara- Basic Instinct (U Got Me) from philthegod. on Vimeo.
Was that street enough for you? If thrashing around in an abandoned yard and kicking inanimate objects doesn't convince you of Cici's gangsta, you at least have to commend her for recognizing that her recent style and album(s) have failed. Fans originally fell in love with the tom boyish Ciara on "Goodies" who was street but still sexy. Basically, it was the old school Aaliyah style. But Ciara was so eager to "evolve" that she fast-forwarded the process and fans balked at the pop star transformation Ciara was chasing. Then Keri Hilson took her spot and Ciara got knocked out in the first round. So now Ciara finds herself forced to retreat back to a look and sound that falls more in line with her debut to win back her fan base. This song and video, are nothing more than red meat to fire up the base.
R&B beef is simultaneously intriguing and hilariously feeble. Rap is a far more aggressive artform that leads itself to "battles," but R&B? Well, how hood can a sing-off be?. Which is why even when R&B singers do engage in beef, many do so through a "rap." Will Keri Hilson respond in kind to Cici's clap back a year later? Unlikely. But have no doubt, Ciara's got her attention now.
