“Birds of Prey” actress Ella Jay Basco and Filipino-American rapper Ruby Ibarra have collaborated on a new brown pride anthem about embracing the color of one’s skin and cultural identity.
Basco and Ibarra’s new release sings of self-love and acceptance while empowering listeners to be proud of their own skin color.
Filipino-Korean-American singer-songwriter-actor Ella Jay Basco shared about the new track featuring Ibarra in an Instagram post on January 27, 2021. According to Basco, they both wanted to make a song showcasing the beauty of their golden complexion and Asian roots.
“GOLD ft. @rubyibarra is out now!!! Mainly streaming on Spotify, Apple, and BandCamp so go check it out!!! We wanted to make a song that speaks out to brown pride and the color of our beautiful golden skin,” Ella Jay Basco wrote.
“(The song) is about me taking ownership and power of my GOLD/Brown skin. Not everyone fits in the typical boxes. I asked Ruby Ibarra to guest on it because she is a Dope Filipino rapper,” Basco explains.
Filipino-American rapper, music producer, and spoken word artist Ruby Ibarra was born in Tacloban, Philippines. She raps in Tagalog, Waray, and English and has advocated for Pinoy pride identity in songs like “Us”.
Ibarra’s song “A Thousand Cuts“, the title track for Ramona Diaz’s award-winning film about Maria Ressa’s fight for press freedom in the Philippines, is in Variety Magazine’s contenders’ list for the 2021 Academy Awards Best Original Song.
The 14-year-old Basco is best known for debuting on the big screen as Cassandra Cain in DC Comic’s “Birds of Prey”. She released a mini-album, “Middle School” last year and earlier performed a song she wrote about her Filipino family during the Search To Involve Pilipino Americans (SIPA) fundraiser with her older brother, Darryl Basco.
The singer-songwriter-actress Ella Jay Basco comes from a lineage of actors and is related to the Filipino-American Hollywood star, Dante Basco.
Check out the lyrics of “GOLD (feat. Ruby Ibarra)” out now on leading music platforms.
GOLD (feat. Ruby Ibarra)
Head to toe I’m dipped in Gold
And I know, and I know that I’ll break the mold
When you learn to love your true reflection, yeah
Then you’ll always be rich with a Gold complexion
I don’t need your silverware
or your unfair comparisons
Cause I know my hair
Is Darker than hers is
I’m looking at photographs
All the California girls are smiling back
But it don’t matter if I don’t look like them
Sometimes I never win
but I was blessed with the Golden skin
Don’t stress about where you’ve been
Just look inside, find what’s within
Girl you know you’re beautiful
Stand tall, unmovable
It’s undisputable
You a Boss Bitch as usual, You a Boss Bitch as usual!
Head to toe I’m dipped in Gold
And I know, and I know that I’ll break the mold
When you learn to love your true reflection, yeah
Then you’ll always be rich with a Gold complexion
I look around and I wonder if I’m good enough
But what’s good enough if I don’t love myself enough?
They tell me toughen up, or I could never make the cut
Just give it up, I’m feelin like I’m fallin and I’m on the cusp
Brown girl, Gold crown, watch me hold down
Watch me go around scream it loud, cuz i know now
Everything I am – from my name to my hometown
is everything that’s planned cuz today Imma glow now
they think i’m that girl, tell me how to act girl
Put me in the back, like I’m trapped and I lack words
Put I’m that girl, never falling flat, girl
Cast (Cass) me and the see (DC) that its a wrap where I’m at world!
Cuz I’m that girl, assassin on the track girl
No question if I will or I can’t (Cain) like I’m BATGIRL!
I’m a BOSS BITCH and I’m BEAUTIFUL
You’re a Boss Bitch that’s Beautiful!
You’re a Boss Bitch that’s Beautiful!
Head to toe I’m dipped in Gold
And I know, and I know that I’ll break the mold
When you learn to love your true reflection, yeah
Then you’ll always be rich with a Gold complexion
Head to toe I’m dipped in Gold
And I know, and I know that I’ll break the mold
When you learn to love your true reflection, yeah
Then you’ll always be rich with a Gold complexion
I’m Brown and I’m Proud
I’m Brown and I’m Proud
I’m Brown and I’m Proud
I’m Brown and I’m Proud
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