Member-only story
And the “beat” goes on…
A commercial by Beats by Dre, a leading audio brand co-founded by hip-hop legend Dr. Dre, meant to promote their new Beats Flex product recently began circulating via social media. In it a Black woman is seen stepping out of a vehicle wearing the marketed product. She then walks to face a Confederate statue and dances in front of it as the song “May I” by Flo Milli plays. The woman ends this commercial by walking away, after popping her derrière at the statue, followed by a tagline reading “FLEX THAT CLAPBACK.”
Arguably, Beats’ aim was to sell their product while speaking out against White supremacy, hence the woman popping her derrière at the statue. Her dancing was meant to be a response to Confederate statues and what they represent to Black people. For this reason, the catchy slogan “FLEX THAT CLAPBACK” was featured, since a “clapback” is an acute comeback to being disrespected, whether by actions, words, or gestures.
Of note, this commercial was both aired and promoted by stylist Vinc Smith and rapper Flo Milli, also the woman featured, during November 19th last year.
Despite its intention, Beats was met with mixed opinions, mostly negative. Many did not understand the vision nor agreed with Milli dancing in front of the Confederate statue. For example, Bree on Twitter wrote…
