This Is What Rock N' Roll Looks Like

Album: Mannequin Factory (2011)
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Songfacts®:

  • Born and raised in Detroit, Alaina Marie Beaton is a Pop-Rock singer-songwriter. She started her music career at the age of 18 under the stage name Porcelain and the Tramps with Virgin Records. However, Black and Virgin could not agree on a musical direction, so she left the label and signed with producer RedOne's 2101 Records Universal Republic imprint late in 2009.

    Beaton changed her name to Porcelain Black because it caused confusion to people who thought Porcelain and the Tramps was a band. She explained her stage moniker to Noisecreep: "My favorite color is black and I have porcelain skin. My aunt used to buy me all these creepy porcelain dolls when I was little. And I had strawberry blond, curly hair and I was really pale, so she would always say, 'Porcelain, Porcelain!' And it just kind of stuck."
  • This song is Black's debut single and it features Lil Wayne. It was written in 2009 by the singer and RedOne after she signed her record deal with his label. The producer introduced her to Wayne's manager, Derrick "EI" Lawrence, who became her manager. After she met the rapper in New York he said that he wanted to be on "This Is What…," so she got him to spit some rhymes after the second chorus. This led to Black finding herself on the Hip-Hop star's I Am Music and I Am Music II: I Am Still Music tours.
  • The music video features Black taking revenge on some girls who ridiculed her appearance when she was a teenager. Lil Wayne also features in the clip whilst Birdman makes a cameo appearance as an audience member. Black told Noisecreep the concept behind the visual is getting her revenge. She explained: "People were always hating on me, because I was different. I was like, 'I'm going to sing, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that,' they were like 'OK, sure you are.' And I was like 'No, I'm serious. This is what I'm going to do.' And everybody was like, 'Yeah right.' Even when I told everyone I was moving to LA to do music and had a going away party, only one person showed up, because no one believed that I was really going away. They were like, 'You'll be back.' So it was kind of just like my revenge, and just a statement, like throwing it back in their face."

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