Jameela Jamil has reacted angrily to those who’ve questioned the legitimacy of the production credits she’s received on boyfriend James Blake’s new album, Friends That Break Your Heart
Jamil is listed as a producer on nine of the album’s 12 tracks, but after some on social media expressed doubt that the credits were deserved, she felt compelled to defend her involvement in the record.
“A lot of mostly women insisting I couldn’t possibly have actually worked on my boyfriend’s music, and that he must have just credited me to be nice,'' she said on Twitter. “I was a DJ for 8 years, and studied music for 6 years before that. You are part of the problem of why women don’t pursue producing”
The debate continued on Instagram, where Jamil explained: “James had to fight me to take credit on this album because I was so preemptively sick of the internet. Especially after this same thing happened on his last record that I worked for countless hours on.
“An additional hilarious side to this misogyny is that they only don’t believe in my musical input when they love the songs. If they don’t like a song then suddenly I CAN produce and it’s all my fault, and I produced the whole thing alone! LOL.
“In the end I took the credit I deserved because of how important it is for women who work on music to visibly exist in the space of music production, and because I would want any of you who follow me to take ownership of what is rightfully your achievements.”
Research has indicated that women occupy less than less than 3% of the industry’s production and technical roles. This disparity was highlighted in Stacey Lee’s documentary Underplayed, with the director telling MusicRadar that "It is going to take over 100 years to close the gender gap.”
James Blake has offered his support to Jamil with his own Instagram post. “Thank you for the time you put into this record Jameela,” he says. “It wouldn’t be half what it is without the insane skill set you brought to it. Love you and I hope all this serves as an example to Women who are routinely discouraged by eye-rolling wankers that your work is necessary and important.”
Addressing women directly, Jamil concluded by saying: “I hope you’re taking credit for your work wherever you are in the world right now. I hope you know that if you’re not being believed over your achievements… that it’s not a reflection of you… it’s a reflection of people who are so underachieving, cowardly and insecure that they can’t fathom that you could be impressive. And it happens at every level in every industry. Even to me. Even when I don’t credit myself, my boyfriend just quietly credited me.
“We are in this shit together. Representation matters. It is not our responsibility to be believed, liked, understood or approved of.
“You just carry on as you are. I’m right there with you. Giving everyone the finger!”
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