Seven Songs a Week: 04/14/21

Hello, Welcome to Seven Songs a Week

Today, I am dissecting "Girls Need Love" from Summer Walker's first mix-tape "Last Day of Summer." Walker blew up when she released the single and before she knew it, she was number two on the Billboard Hot 100 with her first studio album "Over It" and collaborating with the modern R&B greats. Walker has been subject to controversy ever since she blew up with her accused racism to Asians, her poor hygiene, her extreme shyness, her lack of stage presence, her ever-changing appearance and her strange baby diet she suggests for mothers to feed their babies. However, before these moments, Walker was just a girl who wanted some love.


Mix-tape Cover for "Last Day of Summer"

Single Cover for Girls Need Love (Remix)

I have decided to review the lyrics for the solo and remix version of "Girls Need Love" because there isn't much dissecting to do in the first place. Walker is very apparent with her lyrics and says exactly what she wants. She desperately "needs some love" and she "just needs a thug" and "more than just a hug." Walker describes intimacy as a drug and her lover can be her dealer or "plug." The chorus addresses the double standard of men being able to say that want to be intimate but women cannot because they can be labeled "easy" at the very least. The next verse describes how Walker wants her night of intimacy to go, full with "screaming" and "heavy breathing." She bargains with her lover about how she "can be real good" and how she "[needs] some [love]." In the solo version of the song, Walker reiterates her thesis, "Girls need love too."

Ten months and one cover later, Walker released the "Girls Need Love (Remix)" with Canadian rapper, Drake. The song remains mostly the same but Drake gets an added verse, playing the role of Walker's lover. Drake tells Walker that she is barking up the wrong tree and that she should go for him instead of his friend. Drake also describes his night of intimacy in his verse and how Walker needs someone "with no complications." Drake ends his verse by stating that her agrees with Walker but she just needs to be patient and the lover will come.

The video for "Girls Need Love" was released a month after the song was released as a single. The video shows hazy footage of Walker in her friends at the roller rink and occasionally in the restroom. After the chorus, Walker and her friends decide to take the fun out on the streets and some of them ride her car while others skate down the street. I wouldn't say that the video fits the lyrics at all, there are no men in the video at all and Walker is having a great time. One could possibly say that she is thinking about love the whole time but I only find it apparent twice, once in the restroom and once in the passenger seat of the car.

I really like this song, It gives a good point about women not being able to speak their sexual feelings. Walker's voice is beautiful and the song is produced in a way that someone needs to pay attention when they listen to the song. I do have a problem with the remix however, Drake should not have been the featuring artist. He seems to speak over Walker and her message by saying that love will come, I felt like another woman should have been the featured artist. This reminds me of other remixes that should've been women like "Kitty Talk" by City Girls and "Tap In" by Saweetie. If a woman was on the remix, I feel as if another example of the same message can be further executed, I would've personally liked Kehlani or SZA. Someone on YouTube even created their own mashup of the song feature these two and more.

I give “Girls Need Love” 4.5 awkward poses at the Soul Train Awards out of 5.

I hope you enjoyed my review. How do you feel about "Girls Need Love"? Leave a comment and a request for Saturday down below.

I listed my sources below in case you are interested in reading more.

Take Care,

Jonathan