Top 10 Girl Power Music Videos

As I continue to expand feminism as a way of life, on days I feel down and frustrated, I watch these music videos to reinvigorate me and remind me how badass us women are. Here’s my full playlist on YouTube.

For an added bonus, maybe while having a glass of wine (or beer, or smoke — basically whatever expands your mind) listen to these songs while reading the lyrics. BOOM! Head exploded.

1. Beyonce — “Run the Word (Girls)”

This is the ultimate girl power music video… because we really do run the world. My favorite lyric that resonated with me personally and my other working mommas out there:

Boy I know you love it
How we’re smart enough to make these millions
Strong enough to bear the children
Then get back to business

2. India Arie — “Video”

I grew up listening to this song by India Arie, but never really paid attention to the lyrics much. This is the feel good song to listen to when you’re just feeling down on your looks. It happens to the best of us, and the media and images we are shown every day don’t help much… My fave, and most known lyric about loving yourself unconditionally:

I’m not the average girl from your video
And I ain’t built like a supermodel
But I learned to love myself unconditionally,
Because I am a queen

3. Lauryn Hill — “Doo-Wop (That Thing)”

Lauryn Hill… her music is always full of some pretty deep messaging. This song tells the story about how both men and women do some crazy shit in relationships and they should protect themselves, as well as look inside and be right within themselves. A sample lyric:

Money taking, heart breaking now you wonder why women hate men
The sneaky silent men the punk domestic violence men
The quick to shoot the s***n stop acting like boys and be men
How you gon’ win when you ain’t right within

4. India Arie — “I Am Not My Hair” ft. Akon

I LOVE this song. It tells the story of hair, in particular black hair, and how being defined by something physical is messed up. A favorite lyric:

Hey, I am not my hair, I am not this skin
I am not your expectation, no
I am not my hair, I am not this skin
I am a soul that lives within

5. No Doubt — “Just a Girl”

Another song I grew up listening to, yet didn’t really appreciate the lyrics until recently… Gwen Stafani expresses her angst with the pressure of being a “girl.”

I say fuck rules.. we wanna just be our badass selves, wear what ever the hell we want, and be successful in our own right. A featured lyric:

I’m just a girl, living in captivity
Your rule of thumb makes me worry some
I’m just a girl, what’s my destiny?
What I’ve succumbed to is making me numb

6. Janelle Monáe — “Q.U.E.E.N.” ft. Erykah Badu

This song tho…… I have watched this one so many times and it hits me every.single.time. Not only is this video a visual feast, it packs so many amazing messages.

Janelle Monae gets progressively more direct with each verse and ends with proverbial mic drop calling all women to stand up for our rights as human beings. The whole song is amazing, but here’s a sample lyric:

Are we a lost generation of our people?
Add us to equations but they’ll never make us equal.
She who writes the movie owns the script and the sequel.
So why ain’t the stealing of my rights made illegal?
They keep us underground working hard for the greedy,
But when it’s time pay they turn around and call us needy.

7. Beyoncé — “Flawless” ft. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is the song that gets my anger burning… in a fuck this shit sort of way. Beyonce begins by shutting down the haters, in particular other [hating] women, while later acknowledging that women are often pitted against each other due to systematic issues in the overall suppression of equal rights. A sliver of the lyrical awesomeness:

We raise girls to see each other as competitors
Not for jobs or for accomplishments
Which I think can be a good thing
But for the attention of men
We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings
In the way that boys are
Feminist: the person who believes in the social
Political, and economic equality of the sexes

8. Lizzo ft. Sophia Eris — “Batches & Cookies”

This isn’t necessarily a “Girl Power” video and song, but man is it badass. Lizzo, out of Minneapolis is one of my favorite artists as of late. And listening to two amazing and super fun female rappers (Sophia Eris) blow it up, well, it gives me the warm fuzzies seeing them work together to make something great.

Check out the lyrics here. (Shout out to 88.9 Radio Milwaukee for exposing me to Lizzo as an artist!)

9. Lizzo and Caroline Smith — “Let ’Em Say”

This is my go to song when the shit-talkers get me down. The video features Lizzo and Caroline walking the streets of their hometown Minneapolis.

The song is all about rising above the people in your life that bring you down. Gotta shake that shit off and keep on being amazing. A favorite lyric:

I’m just as thick as my skin is
I feel the water rolling down my back
Precipitation’s so repetitive
I read this all before
Interrogation to my hometown
Your comments leave me such a nasty taste
Can’t feel the sound
Swish all around
A palette-cleanser for your salty mouth

10. Caroline Smith —“Magazine”

This is a fun and super body-positive music video. The reverse filming is super creative and features a bunch of girlfriends having a good time… they just happen to all be in their underwear. :-)

This song is definitely one I play on repeat and makes me smile. A great way to end a Girl Power playlist…

I’d love to keep adding to my Girl Power Music Video Playlist! Let me know your favorites!