11 Songs All About her Majesty, The Queen features music courtesy of Coheed and Cambria, Jessi J, Shawn Mendes, and Thunderpussy among others.

Previously, in February 2018, we, The Musical Hype, presented a most royal playlist, 11 Truly Royal Songs.  That majestic list was comprised of songs with various royal titles such as king, queen, prince, princess, as well as the word royal itself.  This new list here, 11 Songs All About her Majesty, The Queen, focuses only on the queen, and no specific queen for that matter.  Musicians celebrating ‘her majesty’ include Coheed and Cambria (“Queen of the Dark”), Jessi J (“Queen”), Shawn Mendes (“Queen”), and Thunderpussy (“Speed Queen”) among others.

✓ Also Check Out:

11 Truly Royal Songs | Playlist

---

 

1. Jessi J, “Queen”

R.O.S.E. (Sex) » Republic » 2018 

British pop/R&B artist Jessi J did something unique – she released four four-song EPs in the span of four days (May 22-25, 2018).  R.O.S.E., is ultimately her fourth studio album, arriving in four separate parts: “R” is for Realisations, “O” is for Obsessions, “S” is for Sex, and “E” is for Empowerment. “Queen,” our song at hand, appears on the third EP, R.O.S.E. (Sex).

---

“Let’s get naked / Start meditating, feel elevated and say.” Given its royal title, “Queen” starts R.O.S.E. (Sex) off fiercely. Jessie J celebrates the beauty of women on the empowering opener.  It’s not without sex, but the message is more about encouraging women to appreciate themselves and not worry about societal views or the opinion of men.  The chorus is the centerpiece.

“I love my body, I love my skin

I am a goddess, I am a queen.”

---

2. Shawn Mendes, “Queen”

Shawn Mendes » Island » 2018

“It’s hard to believe / You don’t remember me at all / Am I hard to recognize?” Sometimes, a more underrated record fits and fulfills the needs of a playlist.  That is the case on “Queen,” a song from Shawn Mendes’ excellent third studio album (Shawn Mendes) that “gets no love”, quoting R&B great Faith Evans.  Simply put “Queen” is a ‘deep cut,’ arriving as the 11^th track of the album.  While it benefits from a fun groove, relatively light production, and royal lyrics, it’s not quite formidable enough to supplant the likes “In My Blood”, “Lost in Japan”, or an even better underrated record, ballad “Why.”

Still, those aforementioned royal lyrics count for something, particularly on the refrain.

“Who crowned you queen of

You think you’re too col

Making beautiful look ugly

The way you put yourself above me

You treat me

Like I got nothin’ on you

Making beautiful look ugly

You ain’t the ruler of no country

Who made you the queen?”

✓ Also Check Out:

Shawn Mendes, Shawn Mendes | Album Review

---

3. Coheed and Cambria, “Queen of the Dark”

The Unheavenly Creatures » Roadrunner » 2018

“Queen of the Dark” features an eerie, enigmatic, extended instrumental introduction.  It’s clear that alternative/prog-rockers Coheed and Cambria seek to build tension – construct a vibe if you will on this ‘royal’ sixth track from The Unheavenly Creatures. Frontman Claudio Sanchez doesn’t enter the mix until after the one-minute mark.  His vocals begin nearly as restrained and mysterious as the instrumental intro preceding it – “Baby, I will be your falling star / The one that got away, the one you’ll be dreaming of…”

Eventually, he packs a punch on the robust, guitar-filled chorus.

“All hurt in time gets better

When the truth came out, you were born to run

When the lights went out, there was no one

A ghost to haunt for closure

When the lights went out, there was no one

When the lights went out, there was no Queen of the Dark…”

---

4. Sofi Tukker, “Baby I’m a Queen”

Treehouse » Ultra » 2018

“Maybe I’m a queen, and maybe I’m a baby / It’s been over a week / It’s been about a week, it’s too soon for nicknames.” Sofi Tukker (Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern) came out swinging with numerous singles in 2017, the boldest of which was “Fuck They”. After dropping five incredibly, enjoyable, and groovy singles, their first full-length album, Treehouse, arrived in 2018.  Among the standouts from Treehouse is “Baby I’m a Queen,” a song that the duo states is “about embracing tumultuousness and vulnerability.  Just because you are vulnerable doesn’t mean you have to let yourself be belittled or infantilized.”

https://t.co/6BXLX01G66 👶🏻 👸🏻 pic.twitter.com/yygV04InV9

— SOFI TUKKER (@sofitukker) March 9, 2018

That’s a meaningful, powerful message, particularly considering how fun the guitar-driven, minor-key, penultimate joint is.  Hawley-Weld sounds terrific on the chorus.  Interestingly, the band expands on “Queen” even more, regarding the awesome accompanying music video. 

“…We are inspired by the kids who haven’t been taught to color in the lines yet… In this video, we are flipping that narrative and letting the kids define their own beauty standards … By the end of the video, we stop being judges and instead, we let the kids take charge…What if instead of adults being infantilized (‘why do you call me baby?’) we exalt the wisdom of the kids?”

---

✓ Also Check Out: 

Sofi Tukker, Treehouse | Album Review

---

5. Mat Kearney, “Kings & Queens”

CRAZYTALK » Tomorrow Music » 2018

“We don’t need no bankroll to make us feel alive / We don’t need no Benzo, to feel like we can ride / Richer than Solomon with you by my side / We’ll be kings and queens in our own mind.” Singer/songwriter Mat Kearney ‘brings the heat’ on “Kings & Queens,” the third song from his under-appreciated 2018 album, CRAZYTALK.  On the thoughtful, well-written and well-produced song, Kearney delivers rich, nuanced, and passionate vocals.  Listening to him sing, the authenticity and investment to his love is easily perceptible.

The aforementioned chorus continues as follows:

“We don’t need no jet plane to feel like we can fly

We don’t need no gold chain just to watch it shine

24 karat lives, we don’t got the time

We’ll be kings and queens in our own mind.”

---

6. Thunderpussy, “Speed Queen”

Thunderpussy » Thunderpussy / Stardog / Republic » 2018

“I met her at a bar in Sedona, Arizona / I took one look and thought I’d like to know her / She came up to me and said, ‘What’s your story?’ / Fire in her eyes and a lust for glory.” First things first, Thunderpussy totally rock. Who is Thunderpussy, you ask? An all-female rock band from Seattle, Washington, the home of grunge – Nirvana, Pearl Jam, etc. The song at hand, “Speed Queen” appears on the band’s 2018, self-titled debut.  “Speed Queen” embodies the spirit of good old, traditional rock and roll, while also depicting the relationship between band members Whitney Petty and Molly Sides.

“I met a girl they call the speed queen

She like to keep her engine clean

You can’t deny her anything

Long live the speed queen.”

---

7. Declan McKenna, “Make Me Your Queen”

What Do You Think About the Car? » Columbia » 2017

In 2017, teen British singer/songwriter Declan McKenna released a brilliant, if underrated debut album, What Do You Think About the Car? There are plenty of teen artists who record albums, but few compose songs with the same depth that McKenna does, masterfully covering topics such as politics, religion, and sexuality. McKenna strikes gold once again on “Make Me Your Queen,” which finds the protagonist willing to take part in clear-cut unrequited love. Throughout the verses, there’s constant reiteration of the lyrics, “I mean nothing to you.” Even so, the victim of this unrequited love rationalizes it as opposed to finding a purposeful relationship.

“I know that I mean nothing to you babe

I’m in your grip from which I cannot escape

And I can’t help but think I might maybe not mean nothing to you babe

So make me your queen.”

---

✓ Also Check Out:

Declan McKenna, What Do You Think About the Car? | Album Review 💿

---

8. SiR, “Queen”

HER (EP) » Top Dawg Entertainment » 2016

“Oh, I think I might’ve find me a queen / That glow, aura so fresh, so clean, I’ll go / Tell me you’re ready so we can leave tonight / I’m down to ride if you’ll be the guide.” Can you totally feel the love? “Queen” features a soulful, lush, and sensual urban contemporary sound.  California R&B singer, songwriter, and producer SiR has ‘her,’ (his “queen”) on his mind, delivering a buttery smooth vocal performance. SiR never over-sings, delivering an easy-going, chill performance that has love and sex written all over it. “Queen” appears on the singer’s 2016 EP, HER.

“You never rush

You take it slow

You know where the sky could fall

You know where to go

You know who you are.”

---

9. Fetty Wap, “Trap Queen”

Fetty Wap » 300 Entertainment » 2015

“And I get high with my baby / I just left the mall, I’m gettin’ fly with my baby, yeah / And I can ride with my baby / I be in the kitchen cookin’ pies with my baby, yeah.” “Trap Queen” is undoubtedly the crowning achievement of rapper Fetty Wap.  Furthermore, it’s the signature moment of his self-titled debut, making the rapper a star in 2015. While there’s nothing royal or queenly about the drug and stripper references (“Man, I swear I love her how she work the damn pole”), the production is dope (no pun intended).  Furthermore, the performance is exuberant – ‘high as a kite.’

---

10. Perfume Genius, “Queen”

Too Bright » Matador » 2014

“No family is safe / When I sashay.” Perfume Genius delivers quite the LGBTQ gem with “Queen,” the second track off his 2014 album, Too Bright.  Thematically, the lyrics encompass fierceness as well as false, often homophobic perceptions of the gay community.  On the first verse, he references AIDS and its perceived connection to the LGBTQ community, singing, “Don’t you know your queen? / Cracked, peeling / Riddle with disease / Don’t you know me?” On the second verse, he seems to reference Silence of the Lambs, ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, and perceived negative gay influence.  Clearly, “Queen” is a must-hear.

---

✓ Also Check Out:

53 LGBTQ Songs That Beam With Pride | Playlist

---

11. Janelle Monáe, “Q.U.E.E.N.”

Ft. Erykah Badu

The Electric Lady » Bad Boy / Atlantic » 2013

“I can’t believe all the things they say about me / Walk in the room they throwing shade left to right / They be like, ‘Ooh, she serving face’ / And I just tell ‘em cut me up and get down.” Long before she came out as pansexual, many speculated if eclectic R&B singer Janelle Monáe was a proud member of the LGBTQ community. That’s right, before there was “PYNK” there was “Q.U.E.E.N.,” featuring another innovative R&B musician, Grammy-winner Erykah Badu. Throughout the fierce “Q.U.E.E.N.,” Monaé delivers catchy, ‘real talk.’ Soulful, contemporary, and chocked-full of swagger, “Q.U.E.E.N.” was among the best songs of 2013, as well as one of the best of her career overall.

Clearly, she’s unafraid to be who she is.

“Is it peculiar that she twerk in the mirror?

And am I weird to dance alone late at night?

And is it true we’re all insane?

And I just tell ‘em, ‘No we ain’t, and get down.”

✓ Also Check Out:

Janelle Monáe, Dirty Computer | Album Review 💿

---

Photo Credits: 300 Entertainment, Atlantic, Bad Boy, Columbia, Island, Matador, Pixabay, Republic, Roadrunner, Stardog, Thunderpussy, Tomorrow Music, Top Dawg Entertainment, Ultra

---