Tami Neilson Takes on Sexism with “Stay Outta My Business” (premiere)

Canadian born, New Zealand-based Tami Neilson has strong and powerful pipes, one of those great soul shouter voices that preach the gospel of great music at every turn. “Stay Outta My Business” is her latest single and it speaks to the freedom of not caring what other people say about you. Be yourself, be happy, be strong, Neilson is convincing as she warns to stay out her business. She’s a tough woman in charge of her life, and the video speaks to female empowerment and strength in unity.

Neilson tells PopMatters that “this song is all sass and strut and I wanted the visuals to represent a celebration of not giving a damn about people’s judgments and how freeing that is. I love that this was created by a team of badass females — from Annie and Morgan directing and producing, to the girl-squad of my dreams the O’Neill Twins dancing the hell out of it, to artist Maree Robinson who painted the 1950s-musical-meets-Stepford-wives grocery aisle backdrop, I was surrounded by incredibly talented, strong, confident, creative women and that’s a sure-fire recipe for shutting down your local gossip chain.”

“Stay Outta My Business” appears on Neilson’s upcoming album, SASSAFRASS!, releasing 1 June via Outside Music. The title eludes to her well-developed BS detector, developed over years of dealing with sexism. Confronting injustice with sass is punk and badass in the best sense of the words and Neilson does it with aplomb. She explains that the album is a “mouthy lovechild of the current social climate and my own experiences as a woman, mother, and daughter”.