Beckah Amani’s ‘Standards’ Calls To Dismantle The Structures Of White Privilege

Beckah Amani. Photo by Jwisa.

Gold Coast singer/songwriter Beckah Amani takes a slight detour with her new single Standards. The result? Immense. Standards sees her stripping back her soul-pop sound in favour of a more folky style to great effect. From the very moment Beckah’s vocals kicked in, they were captivating. Her voice has a timeless quality to it, and it contains wisdom that is truly inspiring.

Beckah wrote Standards at the height of the recent Black lives Matter movement. It's a poignant discussion of how POC are often pressured by society to lower their standards. Beckah calls on the community to fight back against those who want to silence POC voices. Instead, she calls on them to be unapologetic for expressing their true selves. Standards is one of the most important songs written this year, and all Australians should listen and reflect.

Australians continue to grapple with the idea that racism exists in this country. Many people are happy to look at America and point their fingers about how we’re not as bad as them, but that’s not true. Songs like Standards are a reminder to stop looking abroad for issues, but fix what’s going on in our own backyard. It’s an important conversation to have with each other, because we can all do better.

The folk elements in Standards help to heighten Beckah’s vocals. The finger-picked guitar sitting under the soaring vocals gives each lyric extra weight. It’s important to sit with Standards, and listen deeply to each lyric. Beckah unpacks the true impact of white privilege, and how it can often go unseen. The systems in place in society were designed for those with white skin. It's time to get rid of them and re-build.

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Standards showcases Beckah’s songwriting ability, and highlights her as a voice that needs to be heard. Standards isn’t her most ambitious track to date, but it is almost certainly her most important piece of music yet. Beckah wrote Standards while working on her upcoming LP, Settling Scores. After hearing Standards, I can’t wait for the LP.