Mixtapes for Hookers

[My second-favorite song of 2003.]

2. Beyonce feat. Jay-Z, Crazy In Love

Beyonce is problematic.

With Destiny’s Child, she had a #1 hit singing about independent women.   But from the very beginning, the career of Matthew Knowles’ elder daughter has been almost Victorian in its emphasis on female dependency:  Knowles was led into the music industry at the age of nine by her show business parents; her dad managed her career and her mom made her skimpy yet ersatz outfits.  Then, when she outgrew her group and opted for a solo career, Beyonce immediately fled into the thuggish arms of Jay-Z, with whom she would duet on two of 2003′s biggest singles.

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