Music

feature: is grace jones talking about lady gaga in new autobiography? “if the fuck don’t feel right, don’t fuck it”

September 10, 2015

An extract from Grace Jones forthcoming autobiography has been released (via Time Out), and it’s a must-read to say the least. In the extract, from ‘I’ll Never Write My Memoirs‘ (out September 24 via by Simon and Schuster), the legendary singer, model, and actress shines a spotlight on those musicians who have “borrowed” from her body of work (oftentimes without crediting her as their inspiration). In regards to one of them, Jones states: “This one, who I will call Doris, said that she wanted to work with me. Everyone around me is going: ‘You have to do it’ (…) No! It will be good for her; she will draw from everything I have built & add it to her brand (…) No one could believe that I said no, but I am okay not worrying about a new audience. If the fuck don’t feel right, don’t fuck it”. Many are speculating that Doris is Lady Gaga. What are your thoughts? See more of the extract below and CLICK HERE to read it in full.

By Alexander Aplerku, AFROPUNK Contributor

“I don’t mind her dressing up, but when she started to dance like Madonna, almost immediately, copying someone else, it was like she had forgotten what it was about her that could be unique. Ultimately, it is all about prettiness and comfort, however much they pretend they are being provocative.”

I have been so copied by those people who have made fortunes that people assume I am that rich. But I did things for the excitement, the dare, the fact that it was new, not for the money, and too many times I was the first, not the beneficiary.

Rihanna… she does the body-painting thing I did with Keith Haring, but where he painted directly on my body, she wears a painted bodysuit. That’s the difference. Mine is on skin; she puts a barrier between the paint and her skin. I don’t even know if she knows that what she’s doing comes from me, but I bet you the people styling her know. They know the history.

The problem with the Dorises and the Nicki Minajes and Mileys is that they reach their goal very quickly. There is no long-term vision, and they forget that once you get into that whirlpool then you have to fight the system that solidifies around you in order to keep being the outsider you claim you represent. There will always be a replacement coming along very soon – a newer version, a crazier version, a louder version. So if you haven’t got a long-term plan, then you are merely a passing phase, the latest trend, yesterday’s event.

They dress up as though they are challenging the status quo, but by now, wearing those clothes, pulling those faces, revealing those tattoos and breasts, singing to those fractured, spastic, melting beats – that is the status quo. You are not off the beaten track, pushing through the thorny undergrowth, finding treasure no one has come across before. You are in the middle of the road. You are really in Vegas wearing the sparkly full-length gown singing to people who are paying to see you but are not really paying attention. If that is what you want, fine, but it’s a road to nowhere.

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