The nominees for the 51st annual NAACP Image Awards were announced on January 9, and unsurprisingly, pop singer Beyonce leads the music nominees with eight nominations. However, the nomination with her 8-year-old daughter Blue Ivy (who she had with rapper Jay-Z) is the one that stands out the most. Beyonce and Blue Ivy were nominated for the “Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration” award for their song “Brown Skin Girl”, which also features Guyanese singer SAINt JHN and Nigerian singer Wizkid.
“Brown Skin Girl” is a hit single from Beyonce’s album, “The Lion King: The Gift”, the soundtrack album she produced for Disney’s 2019 “The Lion King” movie remake, which she also had a starring role in. The song is a tribute to brown and dark-skinned women and it was received favorably by critics. It was so popular it even spawned the #BrownSkinGirlChallenge on social media, where brown and dark-skinned women would post pictures of themselves taking pride in the beauty of their skin. For co-writing “Brown Skin Girl”, Blue Ivy received her very first songwriting award at age 7 in November 2019, winning the Ashford and Simpson Songwriter’s award at the 2019 Soul Train Music Awards.
‘Grown-ish” star Trevor Jackson, who announced the nominees, said of Blue Ivy’s nomination: “I think that just shows how important love is …. between a mother and a daughter. That’s what that song kind of represents for me. I feel like that’s why she put her on the song. And it shows other eight year old girls that they can, they can do it too.”
Grammy-winning singer Erica Campbell, who was also on hand to announce the nominees, celebrated Blue Ivy, saying: “She’s a sweet little girl and I can’t wait to see what she evolves into, probably just like her mama.” In response to Blue Ivy’s nomination, NAACP Vice Chairman Karen Boykin-Towns said: “You know what they say, ‘We walked, so others can run.’ And so good for her.”
The NAACP Image Awards airs live on BET on February 22, 2020.
