"This body is mine, you can't make me feel ugly," raps Lilly Singh. "Only thing gotta change is your mind if you judge me. Light or dark skin, issa win, it don't bug me. Don't need "Fair and Lovely" because I love me."
From humble beginnings growing up in Scarborough, Ont., a suburb east of Toronto, Singh may have started from the bottom but she's coming out on top in a massive way.
And the Indian-Canadian YouTube star known as Superwoman won't quit. This week, she dropped a rap video with banging beats and lyrics that would make MC Lyte proud. Titled, "If Bollywood Songs Were Rap," Singh, as the title reveals, mashes Bollywood and hip-hop in a self-empowerment anthem that pummels patriarchy, misogyny and body-shaming, one rhyme at a time.
In the video, "Choli Ke Peeche Kya Hai"from Indian thriller movie, "Khalnayak," gets a feminist makeover with lyrics about an array of topics such as beauty standards for women, body positivity, issues related to mental health, bisexuality and more.
"Call me smart before you call me a hottie, I'm a woman with a story," spits Singh. "My sister got double Ds, her ambition even bigger."
The social-media star posted that the song was essentially an ode to womanhood in all of its incarnations. And the world over was having it.