Some of the most powerful images in modern movements have taken place while women speak up about their concerns. Whether it be Greta Thurnburg challenging world leaders to do something about climate change, or Malala Yousafazi surviving an assassination attempt after speaking up about women's and educational rights, it's no denying how brave these women are for speaking up about their beliefs. Unfortunately, as time passes, people tend to stop listening to the great females who have spoken up in the past. This is what the latest track by the Scottish Hip Hop collective, Stanley Odd, touches upon. Entitled ‘The Invisible Woman’, the track talks about how women are accepted for speaking up while they are young, but typically as time passes, are not taken as seriously as they were when they were younger. While there are exceptions to this rule, female activists and feminists seemingly fade away as they become older, which is a shame, because they hold so much wisdom and knowledge with them, having lived to experience more than newer generations.
‘The Invisible Woman’ is the sixth track the Scottish collective has released in anticipation for their latest record, which has yet to have an official title or release date. The track is a part of the bands exercise in releasing a track once every 6 weeks, each one taking different ideas and developing upon them. Having listened to all of the tracks released previously to this one, ‘The Invisible Woman’ is a standout to me, not only for its more pointed, powerful statement, but for its overall comradery between the members of the group. Whereas on other tracks previously released feel a little like individual thoughts, this really feels the most collaborative of all the tracks, which makes the statement that much more powerful. It is also a track that is standalone enjoyable. For me, I like my rap music to be lyrically minded, and, if you are a longtime listener to Stanley Odd, then you won’t be surprised that this delivers that mindfulness while still being quirky and humorous. Lyrically, it never feels preachy for the sake of being preachy, you can tell that this is a thought that one of the members of the group has had for a long time, and has poured a lot of thought into. When talking about these sorts of topics, sometimes interesting and original thoughts aren’t explored, in fear that these ideas may be looked upon as insensitive, but Stanley Odd has thought out everything that is put into this track with the knowledge and care a topic such as this deserves.
Musically, the track feels just as pointed as the lines throughout ‘The Invisible Woman’ is. As soon as the track comes on, you know you are in for something that will excite and make you think. As far as the tracks released before this is concerned, I can tell that this album is going to have an equal balance of bombastic beats and laid back beats. This track is going to lean more bombastic, and with good reason as well. Stanley Odd chose this beat for a reason, as it almost feels like a call to action to stop silencing women just because they aren’t young or they don’t fit the image of the ‘ideal feminist’ in the minds of judgmental, close-minded people. The choice in the style of beat was very well thought out, and is even further evidence that Stanley Odd put so much thought and so much heart into their tracks.
‘The Invisible Woman’ is a track that will make you think and also will get stuck in your head at the same time, which sometimes is a hard feat to achieve. The Scottish Hip-hop collective deliver and do what they do best on this track, giving their audience an abstract version of a common thought that people have had and elaborating on that thought, while showing us a little bit of each member's personality in the process. The track is out now on all streaming sites and is one that you’ll surely not want to miss.
Listen to the track below:
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