It's time to kick them nasty thoughts, folks. Sir Mix-A-Lot has officially given Blake Lively his "Oakland booty blessing."
The actress caught flak earlier in the week for posting a photo of her pregnant figure on Instagram, captioning it with a reference to the rapper's hit song, "Baby Got Back." Some critics saw the "L.A. face with an Oakland booty" lyric to be an appropriation of a song intended to celebrate curvy Black women.
In an interview with Pret-a-Reporter, Sir Mix-A-Lot said he was a "little surprised at the criticism."
"That song was written with African-American women in mind, but trust me, there are white women with those curves everywhere, and they were once considered fat," he explained. "And that's what the song was about. It wasn't about some race battle."
The Seattle-based musician explained how the song was a reaction to the "really waif-thin, borderline heroin addict" look of the early '90s and a celebration of curvier forms.
"For her [Lively] to look at her butt and that little waist and to say, ‘L.A. face with an Oakland booty' doesn't that mean that the norm has changed, that the beautiful people have accepted our idea of beautiful?" he asked. "That's the way I took it."
And if anyone disagrees, well, you know his number: 1-900-MIX-A-LOT.