I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend - BANKS feat. Doechii

(excerpt from my substack below)

Not only is I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend an addictive bop, it’s also an unflinching exploration of jealousy, competition, and the emotional chaos that comes with navigating the ghosts of past relationships.

The track layers BANKS' signature dark, introspective sound with biting lyrics that capture the tension between moving forward and feeling trapped by comparison to a partner's ex. I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend balances the tension between dismissiveness and feeling threatened, while subtly critiquing the patriarchal structures behind those feelings. BANKS isn't just reflecting on insecurity—she’s using it as fire to expose the structures that create these competitive dynamics.

Doechii’s verse cuts through sharply, even calling back to Kelis’ seminal 1999 track Caught Out There. Where Kelis’ rage was raw and explosive, Doechii delivers with precision, dropping the line “I hate you bitches, I’m misogynistic” as a bold confrontation of internalised misogyny. She highlights how patriarchy pits women against each other, even as they strive to transcend it. This collaboration reflects the broader cultural shift we’ve seen in 2024, where artists like Charli XCX and Lorde are moving beyond simplistic frenemy-to-bestie narratives in tracks like Girl So Confusing, embracing the layered, messy realities of femme relationships.

At its core, I Hate Your Ex-Girlfriend rejects the stale tropes that pigeonhole women as either ‘girl’s girls’ or ‘pick me’s’. Instead, the track interrogates those binaries, making room for the complex, often contradictory feelings tied to love, envy, and rivalry. This isn’t just a petty diss (although I’m HERE FOR the pettiness); it’s a cutting-edge reflection of how pop is evolving, giving voice to the full spectrum of the girlhood experience.

I feel like this era of BANKS is going to be her most cunty yet.