The Singles Jukebox

How about a [6.00] trophy? It’s ~kinda~ shiny…

[Video]
[6.00]

Jonathan Bogart: Writing about dancehall as a white man who isn’t part of the culture always carries the risk of sounding like a Genius annotation: nevertheless, this has been a deservedly immense hit in the Caribbean and among the West Indian diaspora in major urban centers. From the hook that’s impossible to dislodge from your head once heard, to the patient, staggered tempo (with the trumpet line from OMI’s “Cheerleader” wandering in and out) and Hoodcelebrityy’s alternately tender and tough girl-power lyrics, it’s indisputable. Let the middle-class tone-police officers worry about whether describing women as trophies or praising them in terms of physical beauty and buying power is feminist enough for Black and brown girls to be allowed to listen to; the streets have already spoken.
[8]

Iain Mew: Not my place to focus on how she words her support, so I’ll focus on how it sounds. The dinky synths and totally understated performance work really well to supply a feeling of unconditional support, soft but unyielding, rare in its warmth.
[7]

Will Rivitz: I’ve heard a fair number of dancehall songs this year, and I can say emphatically and definitively that this certainly is one of them. 
[4]

Will Adams: For a track as simple and clear-cut dancehall as this, it’s odd how much presence it’s given at the expense of Hoodcelebrityy. With the way her vocals slip in and out of the mix, any winsome or even memorable moments in “Walking Trophy” are difficult to pinpoint.
[5]

Frank Kogan: Well-crafted beat that’s not too pushy, which gives space to her better-than-serviceable voice; but the result still seems merely serviceable, nice groove, pretty sound and fashion advice that’s most useful to those who can already afford a personal trainer.
[4]

Thomas Inskeep: It’s rare for a straight-up dancehall record to break in the U.S.; it’s rarer still for it to be by a woman, which is why Hoodcelebrityy stands out so glaringly in the 2018 landscape. I love her cadences, I love the effects used on her voice (they actually enhance, rather than detract from, her performance), and the minimalism of the track is refreshing. Additionally, she’s big-upping women, telling them, look, girl, “you a walking trophy.” So there’s really nothing to knock here.
[8]