“Put down the brownie batter hummus and slowly step away from the culture.”
As an avid cultural appropriator herself, the Ariana Grande aesthetic proved an effective way into the issues of misrepresentation and erasure that MENA artists battle with about every project they sign on to. Ishak notes, “Ariana Grande is one of the white women most famous for appropriating Black and Latinx culture for profit and it just felt right to steal something back while making a critique about brownface. I mean, I hate the original message but you gotta admit that song is a bop.”
The music video opens mirroring the confessional style found in Mean Girls, wherein characters are sharing hot goss and rumors around Regina George. In “Shukran Bas,” these opening moments shout out MENA politicians, celebrities, and activists who’ve rejected brownface or stepped up as activists.
When the bop kicks, Salem embodies Regina, lounging lavishly and donning pearls in a bedroom of deep pinks and reds. He’s accompanied by his pup Moudi, showing much solidarity as Salem flips through the iconic Burn Book. He lip-syncs:
Similarly, this music video created opportunities for young artists to experiment with new roles in production. Zebari was brought on as a cowriter but found more joy in assistant directing, while Lowell Thomas II served as cinematographer and editor. Zebari says, “I had no experience as an assistant director before, let alone one for a music video. Step by step, we figured out a rhythm, did what we felt was right and invited exactly the right people who helped make this dream a reality.”
