6 times Keri Hilson highlighted female empowerment

Keri Hilson adopted a mantra of fearlessness years ago, and it has served her and her legion of female fans well. The We Need to Talk hitmaker primarily explores the gamut of femininity through music, but also has a proven record of being equally as outspoken without the backing of a perfectly produced track.

The talented vocalist sat down with “The Breakfast Club” to discuss a series of topics, including taking control of her career as an independent artist, the pressures of being in the spotlight, and the personal and professional turmoil caused by the leaked remix to her 2009 hit “Turnin Me On” featuring Lil Wayne.

Hilson controversially sang, “Your vision cloudy if you think that you’re the best/ You can dance, she can sing/ But she need to move it to the left, left/ She need to go have some babies/ She needs to sit down, she fake.” The lyrics were speculated to be about Beyoncé, and the rumors of an alleged feud between the women have followed the songwriter ever since. However, she revealed to the radio hosts that she was not responsible for penning the drama-inducing words and fought against their inclusion on the track. She professed that she has always loved and respected the global pop star. Ester Dean ultimately outed herself as the wordsmith behind the perceived diss.

In light of the conversation and her reminder that she is about girl power, below are just a few ways in which Hilson has uplifted women.

1. Keri Hilson sets the record straight on “The Breakfast Club”

When Dean’s viral admission surfaced, The Shade Room was quick to repost it. Hilson took notice and set the record straight about what she contributed to the verse. In a comment, she disclosed, “I rewrote three lines in your verse. Which was the only battle I won in the whole matter… The softest section. Lines about a boy. Because not only did I strongly disagree with the unnecessary hateful sentiments towards other women, I’ve never been a fan of the publicity stunt method,” further highlighting her issue with attacking peers.

2. Her debut project, In A Perfect World

The freshman body of work In a Perfect World featured “Change Me,” a song rooted in reassuring the ladies that they did not have to shape shift to please a partner. A portion of the lyrics read, “Why would you wanna change me, arrange me?/ Is that what you call love?/ Maybe you need somebody different, somebody who fits you like a glove/ But don’t change everything that you love about me when you know that I love you.” It served as a much-needed reminder.

3. The concept for her sophomore LP, No Boys Allowed

In a conversation with The Los Angeles Times, she described the idea for No Boys Allowed as being about “empowering women and making us feel strong and take ownership and control of our lives, our relationships, our bodies. It’s my way of saying girl power.” No Boys Allowed went on to become, arguably, the singer’s most recognized and beloved body of work.

4. The movement Keri created with “Pretty Girl Rock”

Speaking of No Boys Allowed, Hilson made her message abundantly clear as she continued to encourage all the ladies to do the “Pretty Girl Rock.” She sang, “All eyes on me when I walk in/ No question that this girl’s a 10/ Don’t hate ‘cause I’m beautiful, don’t hate me ‘cause I’m beautiful/ My walk, my talk, the way I dip/ It’s not my fault, so please don’t trip/ Don’t hate be ‘cause I’m beautiful, don’t hate me ‘cause I’m beautiful.”

In 2011, she told the San Francisco Examiner, “This is how I believe every woman should feel about themselves — you should not seek validation with expensive heels and handbags… I’m just a student of wanting to empower women in my own little way, through song — giving them the courage to not be run over in relationships and to not seek approval from others’ opinions, be [that] other women, online sources, or men. We need to exude the confidence that’s been taken from us.”

5. Owning her sexuality and encouraging others to do the same

Critics tried to shame the Georgia Peach for owning her sexually charged lyrics in “The Way You Love Me” when its official video surfaced in December 2010. The raunchy visual’s declaration of her taking charge in the bedroom proved to be too much for the industry’s double standards that prefer women be content with being objectified. But Hilson does not limit her creativity to the archaic expectations rooted in misconstruing a woman’s power.

In a Hot 97 interview, she boldly stated, “I’m just saying what women really think and feel, and if I’m gonna be honest about myself… Look, sometimes, this is what we want. If I’m in a room and I’m writing from a girl’s perspective, I may be a small percentage of a freak, but I am a freak! There’s a time to be that.”

6. Writing for Toni Braxton, Mary J. Blige and Danity Kane

Toni Braxton’s “Sposed to Be” from the legend’s 2005 album, Libra, serves as more proof. The R&B diva sings about how an “I ride for him and he’s down for me” relationship is supposed to be reciprocal. The lyrical testament continues, “And I know sometimes we fight/ You go your way, I go mine/ Still, it’s you I adore, and I put this on my life/ As long as I’m alive, boy, it’s you I love for.”

On Mary J. Blige’s “Take Me As I Am” from her project The Breakthrough, she told women to keep their heads raised high because not even life’s storms can diminish their worth. Its pre-chorus goes, “You know I’ve been holding on/ Try to make me weak, but I still stay strong/ Put my life all up in these songs/ Just so you can feel me/ So you can get the real me.”

Girl group Danity Kane also secured a gem with “Right Now” on their freshman effort, and that is just scratching the surface of what Hilson has done in the past. The quintet sung, “I wanna go all the way/ But we gotta play it safe/ We ain’t doin’ nothing if you don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t know my love.”

The best is still yet to come, we’re sure -- and when it arrives, Hilson is sure to deliver something to remind the world that women are the crown jewels.