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Teyana Taylor has been speaking a lot about the origins of what she calls “sexy boyish.” After a recent and short-lived Twitter beef with superstar Rihanna, the young singer decided to further explain what she meant by her original statement.

Originally, she commented in a Complex Magazine interview that she does feel like she influenced a lot of artists, after which she name-dropped Rihannaand Rita Ora. Subsequently, Rihanna tweeted a picture of herself dressed boyishly, which ticked Teyana off, and the rest is history…

What stuck out to me was the fact that Teyana would like more credit given to her for the trend. She acknowledged the ladies before her… Aaliyah, Queen Latifah, TLC, etc. but according to Teyana, for this generation SHE started the tomboy trend. That isn’t necessarily true.  

Granted, she may have been dressing that way before Rihanna and Rita Ora were… but that doesn’t mean she was the celebrity who made it hot to do so. Rihanna made it hot. A lot of people started dressing this way after RiRi did… so technically, Rih is the trendsetter.

Also, Rihanna is someone who is infamous for switching up her look every few seasons… she could have genuinely been inspired by any of the originators of this style. Aaliyah still greatly inspires artists of this time, cue Drizzy Drake, and so does TLC. Therefore, attacking her is a shot in the dark.

I compare this situation to Beyonce and Solange. How long has Solange been rocking box braids? No one copied her. Beyonce decided to get box braids one day, and all of a sudden, the hairstyle is a trend again. There is a difference between being the person who did it first, and being the person who got that style to spread like wildfire. Teyana also said that she was rapping and singing before it was hot too… Is she arguing that Drake and Nicki copied her as well?

In this case, Rihanna may have been blatantly stealing Teyana’s style, or she could just be feeling like the women of R&B’s past these days. Though Teyana made some valid points, I don’t think anyone can really be upset about a style – that was in style before you – coming back and becoming hot again.

It’s pointless to argue or attack an artist when you don’t know exactly who or what was the influence behind their decision. Bury the beef!

– Sukii 

Twitter: @SukiiPrettyy 

Battle Of The Trendsetters: Can Teyana Taylor Claim The Tomboy Trend?  was originally published on globalgrind.com