Music Review: Ne-Yo "Miss Independent"
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Ne-Yo
Miss Independent
Album: Year of the Gentleman
Year: 2008
A self-sufficient woman is Ne-Yo’s type in the modern “Miss Independent.”
Giddy synths open the single, setting nonthreatend tone. She walks on the pavement and stumbles on an uneven part. She brushes herself off and does an exaggerated shrug to her friend, waiting for her at the door. She has the confidence not to care. He gets to the door and she says hello with a wide smile. She holds her gaze and asks him how he is. He answers he’s all right. She says she’ll see him later and heads for the elevator to go up to her office on the third floor. (“Ooh, there's something about/Just something about the way she move/And I can't figure it out/
There's something about her/Said, ooh, there's something about/The kind of woman that want you but don't need you/And I can't figure it out/There's something about her.”)
In the pre-chorus, she is in total control of who she is. She takes care of herself. She has a little makeup on her face. Her hair is shiny and healthy. Her nails (both finger and toes) are clean and cut. He thinks he would like to be in a relationship with her. (“Cause she walk like a boss/Talk like a boss/Manicured nails to set the pedicure off/She's fly effortlessly/And she move like a boss/Do what a boss/Do, she got me thinking about getting involved/That's the kinda girl I need.”)
In the chorus, she thinks for herself. She doesn’t care that he’s in a cubicle all day. She still talks to him and accepts his offer for dinner. They make a good couple. (“She got her own thing/That's why I love her/Miss Independent/Won't you come and spend a little time?/She got her own thing/That's why I love her/Miss Independent/Ooh, the way we shine/Miss Independent.”)
She lets people know what she wants. She speaks up when she needs to. He admires her strength. (“Ooh there's something about/The kind of woman that can do for herself/I look at her and it makes me proud/There's something about her/There's something oh so sexy about/The kind of woman that don't even need my help/She said she got it, she got it, no doubt/There's something about her.”)
In the pre-chorus, she’s financially stable. She has a car and a house she bought on her own. Each payment has been made on time. She’s financially stable. Sugar daddy is a dirty word for her. She won’t anyone screw her over. (“Cause she work like a boss, play like a boss/Car and a crib, she 'bout to pay them both off/And her bills are paid on time/She's made for a boss, only a boss/Anything less she's telling them to get lost/That's the girl that's on my mind.”)
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she pays for dinner sometimes. She doesn’t like to rely on a man for everything. (“Her favorite thing to say: "Don't worry, I got it"/And everything she got: best believe she bought it/She gonna steal my heart, ain't no doubt about it/Girl, you're everything I need/Said you're everything I need.”)
The chorus is sung again.
In the final section, he says “Miss Independent, that’s why I love her” to end the single.
Ne-Yo’s smitten vocals values her accomplishments and sees her self-confidence as a positive quality. Some of his friends would’ve her rejected her right away due to their own insecurities: she makes more than them, she’s opinionated and would encourage her not to say she’s a feminist. To him, though, she is simply doing what she needs to do. Gender stereoypes do not apply anymore. Marriage isn’t a certainty for women. While he doesn’t outright say it, he is a male feminist. Usually female pop stars go out of their way to avoid identifying with feminism or at worst, by dismissing it entirely (Lana Del Rey, being the latest, “feminism is not an interesting concept” according to Fader). For Ne-Yo to even address it at all is like witnessing a miracle at the eleventh hour.
The honorific “Miss Independent” was raised right and for pop stars, a tiny baby step forward to turning feminist into a less loaded word.