On her latest track, Kesha wants to know “What if rich, straight, white men didn’t rule the world anymore?” The singer’s new song, “Rich, White, Straight, Men,” released to YouTube as a surprise for fans, takes on modern political and social concerns.
The thumping, punk-laced pop song tackles inequality as Kesha imagines a new world, singing, “And if you are a boy who loves a boy/You’ll get a wedding cake and all/And if you are a lady and you do your lady work/Then you will make as many dollars as the boys/Not just two thirds.” She also invokes children’s tune “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” reimagining the lyrics as: “Twinkle, twinkle little star/How I wish the world was different/Where who you love and who you are/Was nobody’s fucking business.”
Kesha’s last full-length album, Rainbow, dropped in 2017. She released a documentary about the recording, Rainbow – The Film, last year, detailing how making the album felt like a life-saving experience. “Making Rainbow the album was such a therapeutic process and given the opportunity to turn it into a three dimensional piece of art has helped me find even deeper healing and catharsis,” the singer said in a statement. She added, “I hope this film inspires others to never give up even if you feel full of hurt or lost, because after the storm comes a rainbow.”