Last month Jamila Woods released “SULA (Paperback)”, a song inspired by Toni Morrison and her 1973 novel Sula. Today she’s released a Slot-A produced version of the song titled “SULA (Hardcover)” and along with it an incredibly brave and vulnerable video that shows a side of Woods that nobody has ever seen before. Directed by her close friend and Brown Girls creator Fatimah Asghar the two share a love for the book. Asghar explains:
“Who do we give ourselves permission to be when we’re alone? When our gaze is only on ourselves? I’ve always loved SULA by Toni Morrison, and been particularly struck by the way that Sula isn’t understood by the people around her because of her sexuality. Being in quarantine, connecting to my own sexuality in a way that I hadn’t before, re-reading Sula and listening to the song inspired me to think through the concept of the video. The music video follows Jamila as she goes from the outside world to the inside, disrobing in the comfort of her own space, stripping down to her interior– the part of her no one else gets to see. Quarantine has had us all wondering what our lives, our sexuality, is like away from the gaze of the world. And Sula is all about empowered sexuality, carving your own path outside of what society thinks is okay. Embracing both the empowered erotic in her own way, this video will show a side to Jamila we’ve never seen before.”
