About money. About love. About what it means to be valued. This is not a new conversation. Long before internet debates and think pieces, Black wome
About money. About love. About what it means to be valued.
This is not a new conversation.
Long before internet debates and think pieces, Black women artists were laying down vocals that demanded respect, equity, and reciprocity. These weren’t just love songs. They were freedom songs. Strategy songs. Boundary songs.
From vinyl to streaming, Black women have long sung the truth: about money, self-respect, relationships, and what it means to stand in your worth. Before social media “hot takes” and digital debates, these women were already laying down the blueprint—through melody, rhythm, and unapologetic fire.
These weren’t just songs. These were survival strategies, love letters to self, and declarations of independence. And they still speak.
1. Gwen Guthrie – “Ain’t Nuthin’ Goin’ On but the Rent” (1986)
“You’ve got to have a J-O-B if you wanna be with me.”
Bold. Clear. Dismissed by some, embraced by many, Gwen Guthrie made it known: love cannot survive on vibes alone. This wasn’t about greed. It was about equity. Emotional labor without mutual effort? That’s not partnership.
It was controversial at the time—some men hated it.
But Gwen Guthrie was simply stating a boundary: partnership requires contribution. She wasn’t asking for wealth—she was demanding reciprocity.
It became a catchphrase for women who were tired of being expected to provide emotional labor, love, sex, or support without getting basic respect and stability in return.
đź’¬ Why It Matters:
She wasn’t asking for luxury—she was demanding reciprocity. It was a rallying cry for women tired of being everything for everyone… except themselves.
2. Destiny’s Child – “Bills, Bills, Bills” (1999)
“Can you pay my bills?”
A glittery, biting critique of one-sided relationships. Destiny’s Child wasn’t just harmonizing—they were holding a mirror up to economic imbalance in love. She’s doing everything, and he’s living off her—entitled, draining, and disrespectful.
This was more than a breakup song. It was a call-out. A financial boundary. A declaration that your presence should not cost me my peace—or my paycheck.
đź’¬ What They Taught Us:
Respect starts with shared effort. If you’re here to drain, take up space, or expect submission without support, you’re not a partner. You’re a liability.
3. Diana Ross – “It’s My House” (1979)
“I bought it with my own money / And I’m independent, yes I am.”
Soft but immovable. This was sovereignty in silk. Diana wasn’t negotiating—she was declaring her domain.
It aligned with a wave of late ’70s and early ’80s songs by women affirming autonomy.
Especially resonant for Black women claiming space—emotional, physical, and spiritual—in a world that often denied them that.
Produced by the legendary team of Ashford & Simpson
đź’¬ What She Taught Us:
Power doesn’t have to shout. It just lives in truth. And ownership—of space, body, time, and destiny—is the ultimate love song to self.
4. Aretha Franklin – “Respect” (1967)
“All I’m askin’ is for a little respect when you get home.”
Yes, Otis wrote it. But Aretha rebirthed it.
She didn’t just want respect from a man—she demanded it from the world. Woman, worker, artist, Black and brilliant—Aretha gave voice to every woman who was done being talked over.
đź’¬ What She Taught Us:
Power isn’t taken. It’s reclaimed.
5. Destiny’s Child – “Independent Women Part I” (2000)
“I depend on me.”
While Bills, Bills, Bills revealed what we won’t accept, Independent Women showed what we do: strength, self-reliance, and success without shame.
đź’¬ What They Taught Us:
Having your own is not rejection—it’s preparation. Self-sufficiency is not loneliness. It’s legacy.
6. Tina Turner – “You Better Be Good to Me” (1984)
“That’s how it’s gotta be now.”
Tina emerged from pain not with a whisper—but with a standard. This song was about dignity, not drama. Tina came back after surviving unimaginable pain. She didn’t ask for adoration—just decency. This song wasn’t about punishment. It was about promise.
đź’¬ What She Taught Us:
After survival, your bar doesn’t lower. It rises.
7. TLC – “No Scrubs” (1999)
“Hangin’ out the passenger side of his best friend’s ride…”
TLC wasn’t shading poverty—they were calling out entitlement. There’s a difference. No ambition? No accountability? No thanks. TLC didn’t diss broke men—they called out entitlement. There’s a difference.
đź’¬ What They Taught Us:
Struggle isn’t the problem. Disrespect is.
8. Janet Jackson – “Nasty” (1986) + “Let’s Wait Awhile” (1987)
Two anthems, one queen. Janet gave us permission to say no with heat, and not yet with softness.
Two sides of one brilliant coin. Janet gave us standards and softness. One song was a refusal of objectification. The other, a gentle boundary around intimacy.
“Let’s wait awhile / Before it’s too late.”
Janet Jackson’s “Let’s Wait Awhile” (1987) wasn’t just a slow jam—it was a revolution in restraint. At the height of her youth, fame, and desirability, she made a quiet, soulful anthem about self-respect, boundaries, and emotional readiness—and did it with tenderness, not shame.
In an era where women were often objectified, Janet whispered something powerful into the cultural conversation: you don’t owe your body to anyone—not even someone you love.
The accompanying video showed intimacy, vulnerability, and deep care—but also the strength to pause. And in doing so, she gave young girls permission to listen to their own timelines.
What she taught us: Your pace is sacred. Your name deserves reverence.
đź’¬ What She Taught Us:
You own your timeline. Your name. Your “no.”
And it deserves reverence.
9. Salt-N-Pepa – “Respect Yourself” (1988) + “None of Your Business” (1993)
They told women: own your body, own your choices, and hush the shame. They told women to protect their peace, own their bodies, and stop apologizing for how they live, love, or hustle. These songs were loud, proud, and revolutionary.
đź’¬ What They Taught Us:
Autonomy isn’t scandalous. It’s sacred.
10. Queen Latifah – “U.N.I.T.Y.” (1993)
“Who you callin’ a b**?”**
A bulletproof boundary set to beat. Queen Latifah demanded a new standard—especially for how the world talks to and about Black women. A punch wrapped in poetry. Queen Latifah demanded better—from men, from culture, from all of us. Financial freedom was one piece. Self-worth was the whole puzzle.
đź’¬ What She Taught Us:
You define your worth. No negotiation.
Honorable Sisterhood
đź–¤ Lesley Gore – “You Don’t Own Me” (1963) A teenager passionately singing a women’s empowerment declaration.
🖤 Dolly Parton – “9 to 5” (1980) A working woman’s anthem that called out workplace exploitation with a beat you can two-step to.
Because truth transcends genre. And when women sing it, it echoes.
🎤 And Here’s the Deeper Truth:
There are whispers today suggesting that women’s financial independence is somehow a flaw. That being “too much” or “too independent” makes you unlovable.
But these women, through decades of rhythm and resistance, made one thing crystal clear:
💥 Women have never needed to earn the right to money, power, or respect—because that right was always ours. 💥
We don’t have to explain why.
We don’t have to prove we deserve it.
We simply claim what’s ours.
Because from the mic to the marketplace,
Black women have always sung the truth.
Because She Sang, We Speak: Honoring Billie Holiday’s Legacy of Truth
