An analysis of SZA’s song ‘Kill Bill’, from the perspective of a Criminology and Criminal Justice student.
Women in crime is a reality that is not given the deserved attention in the field of Criminology as well as in our contemporary societies as it should. According to Eileen MacDonald, men are traditionally expected to be minimally familiar with violence. Women, on the contrary, are associated with maternal instincts and society venerates them, even today, in the image of Our Lady, seeing as they are the ones who give and protect life instead of destroying it. Nevertheless, countries such as China, Qatar and the United States of America, have a high rate of female imprisonment. A common crime committed by women, especially in countries such as the USA, is indeed what is referred to as ‘mariticide’ or ‘spousal homicide’ - the murder of a husband by his wife. Results of a study by the U.S. Department of Justice revealed that for every 100 men who killed their wives in the USA during 1976-85, about 75 women killed their husbands. You may think that this data isn’t up to date, but a few days ago I had the opportunity to visit the female prison establishment - Santa Cruz do Bispo, here in Portugal, and I was informed that a large percentage of the women that are serving their sentences, have either killed their partners or have initiated domestic violence.
‘Kill Bill’ is the second song on SZA’s sophomore album SOS, which became the first R&B album by a female artist to spend its first five weeks on the Billboard 200 at #1 this century. SZA’s album is full of sincere lyrics, that explore the storyline of a heartbroken woman, that is finding herself on quite emotional journey of self-discovery.
Being more self-assured than she’s ever been before, SZA sings about committing a crime in her song ‘Kill Bill’, ultimately being a reference to Quentin Tarantino’s film.
KILL BILL
Hate to see you happy if I’m not the one drivin’
This lyric in the first verse of the song refers primarily to the feeling of resentment and anger towards the fact that her boyfriend has moved on with someone else. By saying that she’s not the one driving anymore, we can see that she has lost control of the relationship and that she’s unable to overcome the situation.
By repeating several times that she’s mature, we can clearly understand that she’s emotionally and psychologically hurt, which is a sign that she is not overcoming the idea that her ex left her. Because of this, she is seeking help from a therapist, but, instead of using the therapy as a way to get over him, she is using it as a way to find revenge - by committing a passionate crime, due to her strong impulse of anger. According to Freda Adler's book 'Sister in Crime', women are increasingly adopting typical masculine behaviours, due to their emancipation during the Feminist Wave in the 70s, thus they are beginning not only to behave like the other gender, but are also developing more aggressive and violent thoughts.
I don't want none, I just want you
In the books 'L'uomo delinquente' and 'La donna delinquente, la prostitute and la donna normale' written in 1893, by Cesare Lombroso, who is considered the father of criminology until these days, crime is viewed as a result of individual characteristics (biological and psychological). The born female criminal surpasses her male counterpart in the refined diabolical cruelty with which she commits crimes. Simply killing her enemy does not satisfy her; she needs to see him suffer and experience the full flavor of death. In essence, these line does not only show her obsession with her ex-lover, but also conveys the idea that she is emotionally and psychologically unstable .
I might kill my ex, not the best idea
His new girlfriend's next, how'd I get here?
On the surface, SZA is singing about her desire to kill her ex and his new girlfriend, as she can’t stand the idea of him being with someone else. However, in these two lines of the song, she is questioning how she reached this point of jealousy, anger and desire to kill, admitting that it may not be the best idea. These lines are a reflection of the thoughts that cross the mind of a person that is about to commit a crime, showing us that the person often has conscience of his/her/their acts and are indeed aware that by putting into practice the plan of revenge, there will be consequences.
Freda Adler, states that as a woman's position approaches that of a man, so does the frequency and type of her criminal activity. It would, then, seem justified to predict that if the present social trend continues, women will not only share with men ulcers, coronary heart disease, hypertension and lung cancer (until recently considered almost exclusively male diseases) but will also increasingly compete in traditionally criminal activities, such as crimes against persons - notably homicide.
I might kill my ex, I still love him, though
By emphasising that she still loves him, she is affirming that their relationship has not come to an end yet, as in her mind, for a relationship to end, both people can’t have feelings for each other anymore. Thus, she is making clear that they still have ‘unfinished business’.
Rather be in jail than alone
The fact that she would rather be in jail than alone, is a reference to her insecurities, indicating that she always sought others to be by her side, as some sort of validation - as every time someone left her, she always felt more insecure. Instead of letting her ex go and be happy with another woman, she is elaborating a maniac plan to end the life of her ex-lover, stating that she prefers to be locked up for life. The reflection she makes reflects the idea of many people that commit homicides and passionate crimes.
I get the sense that you might really love her
This line particularly, demonstrates that her ex-lover is happy with his new girlfriend and that he has been distancing himself from her, which makes SZA feel more insecure about herself, and alone, giving her a bigger urge to end that happiness.
I did it all for love
I did it all on no drugs
I did all of this sober
I did it all for us
Women are considered doubly deviant: for committing crimes and for moving away from roles considered appropriate to the female gender (doubly punished). In order to show that that killing her ex, was the only solution that she could find to save their relationship, SZA acknowledges that her homicidal intentions were purely driven by her strong love. By admitting to first-degree murder, she insists that she ‘did it all on no drugs’ and that she ‘did it all sober’, which is a sign that she doesn't feel any regret at all and that she’s proud of this achievement, thus illustrating her courage and bravery but also her psychological disturbances.
In addition, it is important to note that she uses these phrases to make a connection with the criminal procedures needed to verify that a person was conscientious of it's act and to prove that she had a good reason to commit the crime, hence the reason she gives, allows to assess the responsibility and degree of negligence. Although certain circumstances condition women to choose to commit a crime, in the end criminal involvement is their decision.
Oh, I just killed my ex, not the best idea
Killed his girlfriend next, how’d I get here?
In these lines, she continues to admit that she killed her ex, going back to her initial reflection that it wouldn’t be the best idea, as she would continue to be alone. Nevertheless, she also confirms that she fulfilled her plan and even killed his new girlfriend.
Rather be in hell than alone
Towards the first chorus of the song, SZA says that she would ‘rather be in jail than alone’, however, by changing the last line from jail to hell, it implies that after committing the double homicide, she has killed herself, which is something that happens frequently in real crimes too. Often, after committing a passionate crime, the person realizes that their life doesn’t have a purpose anymore, as they have met their ultimate objective and desire. Therefore, SZA states that she has ended up in hell next to her ex, where she would rather be instead of being alive and alone.
Nonetheless, we can interpret this line from a different perspective. In consonance with what many sociological studies have shown, the variation of sentences according to gender, show that the more the crime deviates from what is socially expected, the greater the severity of the sentence. Thus, if she would have be taken to court and be judged for her act, she will certainly, face a very 'harsh' sentence that would seem like 'hell' to her, especially as we have seen throughout the song, that she is very insecure and always seeks the company of other people in order to not be alone.
Filipa Moreira
17.01.2023