Witches, witchcraft, and covens, oh my. It is officially Spooky Season, and Rachel Philipp’s “Spell on U” is the perfect soundtrack for it. This song is the next anthem for women everywhere. As women, we have a few secret superpowers. We captivate men; we cause controversy; we can tell when you’re lying; we have intuition that leaves men caught before they even make a mistake. Some would insist those powers make us magic. Some would even say we are witches… but we are women, and that makes us the most powerful beings on this green earth. People are always talking, and a lot of time it’s nonsense. Philipp parallels the treacherous cycle women go through for just being women, and in the reflection we are taken right back to Salem, 1962. The tenebrous, yet fascinating, time in history when a woman was burned at the stake, or hung for her sins. Men thought pure juvenile delinquency meant undefinable power stemmed from the devil himself. If a woman acted strange they came for her throat. As a woman, life can feel like a witch-hunt. We are supposed to be strong, independent, but God forbid we get too powerful. We are supposed to be beautiful, flirty, but God forbid we express our sexuality for the world to see, or even multiple men at a time. It is a trying time to be everything society wants and yet be shamed for the same things we were forced to become. In the trials, women confessed to wicked behaviors just to shut the men up, and give them the answers they tortured out of them which resulted in mass murder. Does that say anything about how men handle a woman with power? Rachel Philipp perfectly mirrored modern day society to our worn out history books that condemn women and celebrate men for the same actions. This is the song you want blasting in the car, windows down, as you drive anywhere on a crisp, eerie Autumn day. This is the song you and your girls will play on repeat as you get ready together, dancing in front of the mirror and drinking a spiked apple cider. Our power is our power, and no man, no matter how hard they try, can take that away from us, and that is our greatest magic of all.
The tempo of “Spell on U” is pure captivation. It is reminiscent of an early 2000’s Halloween movie about a teenager who turns 16 and wakes up with brand new powers, and she hops on the broom found in the laundry room, puts on her favorite black dress, and is ready to takeover the world. Her lyrics are dynamic and compelling. This is the type of song you want playing every second of fall. This is the type of song that hypes you up on the way to an interview, or a breakup to make you feel the power from within. “Spell on U” is the essential message that women need to hear everyday to be reminded that the superpowers we crave, have been inside of us all along, and it is up to us to not dim our light for a man. If they can’t handle us, in all our glory, they don’t deserve our magic in the first place.
Rachel Phillip is a creative, influential singer and songwriter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has an ample music background, which is conveyed through all of her commanding work. She is not only the vocalist, but the composer and producer of all her work. She is a truly powerful woman more so than just the magic captivated in “Spell on U”. She embarked on her musical journey at 14 years old, when she picked up a guitar and taught herself how to play and write songs that she began to perform at open mic nights in high school. She earned her degree in the arts with a Music and Voice Performance degree. Now, she writes hits for not only herself, but hundreds of other artists. Her mesmerizing voice and innovative writing skills are a true gift that is lucky to be shared with the masses. Regardless if it is a broom, a guitar, or just herself, Rachel Philipp is pure magic, ready to compel the world, and her voyage is only beginning.
Written By Grace Chapman
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