For those who are unfamiliar, shade throwing is an art — not a game — and black women excel at it, especially when someone is trying to steal our shine. Lighter than an altercation but more pointed and direct than a shrug, shade is both delicate and abrasive.
The evidence lies below, on a scale from the most complex to the most subtle:
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Serena Williams: “I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles, maybe you should be number one…” *side eye*
The beginning of this video focuses on a pretty lame joke about Serena’s shirt, which reads, “Are you looking at my titles?,” obviously alluding to the fact that men stare at women’s breasts and overlook their accomplishments. The interviewers find the shirt downright hilarious because men are still boys and will always giggle at any mildly sexual joke or reference to breasts. Though Serena throws some digs at them for this childishness, the real shade doesn’t emerge until around the one-minute mark.
At this point, the conversation has transitioned to a more relevant discussion on why Serena is not ranked number one, despite holding more titles than the highest ranked player. They ask her how motivated she is to regain the top position, to which Serena replies, “You know, I’m not super motivated. I think if you hold three Grand Slam titles, maybe you should be number one.” Within these two sentences, Serena throws in mocking, pursed lips, a squinty glance to the left and a casual shoulder shrug. She’s easing us in to the shade that is yet to come.
She continues, “Maybe my motivation is to win another Grand Slam and stay number two… I guess.” With this, the interviewers and behind-the-scenes spectators are cracking up with laughter, eating up the pointed insults. Serena is taking it all in, too. She gives them a bobble-head, this-don’t-mean-nothing-to-me, I’m-still-better-than-your-fav chuckle, looking down and rolling her eyes — all with a smile.
Now that she has the interviewers and crew where she wants them, on her side and comfortable mocking the competition, she comes in with the dagger. Sensing that Serena is loose and coming free with the low-key insults, the interviewer asks, “Do you see yourself as number one?”
This question is the lay-up for the slam-dunk shade Serena comes back with.
“I see myself as number two, that’s where I am. I think Dinara did a great job to get to number one… She won Rome and Madrid,” Serena says, lips quivering, before she and the rest of the room burst into hysterical, uncontrollable cackles.
And boy do I mean cackles.
Everyone is choking and overflowing with laughter; Serena even has to pull her hat down, as to not fully expose the look on her face.
This, my friends, is a special kind of shade — the kind that makes third-party viewers want to join in on the fun and get their jollies, too. And Serena aced it.
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Presenting a similarly strong yet cunning display of shade is baby Royalty — Chris Brown’s daughter and the star of his Instagram.
https://instagram.com/p/6K8BoHvpdV/?taken-by=chrisbrownofficial
This next clip was brought to my attention by Crissle and Kid Fury of the wonderful podcast, The Read. In this Instagram video, posted by none other than Breezy himself, Royalty is dancing and bobbing her head to Jidenna’s “Classic Man” as she rides along in her car seat. All is fun and games until halfway through the video when a miscellaneous member of Chris’s entourage inserts himself into the video and tries to join her. This is the point at which Royalty goes from carefree black girl to “but, who are you, though?”
She starts by making it clear that she is no longer dancing, and the casual head bop ceases. Royalty follows up with the classic side-eye and stares, irritated, at the random man sitting next to her, who thought it was okay to usurp her spotlight. Though no older than 3, her glare evidently said enough, and it took only a few seconds for him to get the point.
“This is a Royalty exclusive video, fam,” her look said with no uncertainty.
This Insta post demonstrates that there is no age limit on black girl shade. We don’t even have to speak to make it clear how we feel. A simple glance says enough.
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The last, yet equally important, demonstration of “Don’t Come for Me Unless I Send for You” shade is provided by The Queen — no, The Legend —Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
This brand of shade is magnificent in form because the thrower, in this case Beyoncé, does not even address the target. In the video, Beyoncé is simply doing one of the things she does best — singing. However, this particular performance of the “The Star Spangled Banner” is notable because it came on the heels of criticism that she lip-synced the same song at President Obama’s second inauguration. Criticisms flew left and right at King Bey for not singing live and some even went so far as to challenge her talent. The performance in the above video was an unspoken, shady method of reminding those treasonous naysayers of the pure talent that is Mrs. Knowles-Carter.
“Would you guys mind standing?” she asks before she launches into a ***flawless rendition of the national anthem, rendering any remaining haters mute without even mentioning them.
This form of shading is silent but deadly. And as Beyoncé demonstrates, sometimes the most delicate clapback is the most effective.
I hope that the above examples have successfully highlighted the potency of black women’s shade and have served as both a lesson and a warning. From Serena’s straight up mockery of her “competition” to Royalty’s quiet side-eye and Beyoncé’s simple demonstration of her talent, black girls know how to dish it. Responding to these forms of insults will likely be difficult, and thus, is perhaps better left unattempted. The lesson is simple; those who challenge black girls and their magic should bring a blanket, because the shade can get chilly.
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