Jamila Woods - SULA (Hardcover)

The song is affectionately named after Toni Morrison’s iconic novel Sula. Like Sula, the song is a Black Feminist project centering on the voice of a queer being, Jamila’s voice. The song is filled with the mellow continuous sound of a guitar that takes us to a new soft landscape. She begins the song by solidifying her rejection and embrace of the bottom. She is elevated at the bottom with “space to fill.” Woods states, “I don’t wanna make no babies. I don’t need a man to save me.” This feminist cry symbolizes her rejection of the norms and expectations that come with being a Black woman. This is the first step to radicalness, rejecting the normative systems that have been placed over you. The Afro-centric singer acknowledges how freedom and triumph are not meant for Black women but ultimately make space for both. Woods address how historically Black girls have had to find something else other than freedom. She makes us question, What is the freedom she wants? What comes with this freedom, and is this something that benefits her at the bottom? She is rejecting the call to motherhood and to love a man, two identities that make-up life in the above world. This deviant nature allows Jamilla to reject normative and accept her own definition of love and gender. The chorus is characterized by the statement I’m better. Woods is better because she is able to experience love and family through a fluid model. Emotionally she is able to use tranquility-infused sonics to convey a sense of healing and relief. She is signaling that she has grown and is comfortable in the better space that she occupies. At the end of the song, Jamila speaks to the necessity of letting go, and repeatedly shows that she is not sorry.

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