Khalid and the UK duo Disclosure have teamed up once more for Khalid’s second release of 2020, “Know Your Worth.”
A bass-filled dance track, Khalid encourages a woman to find a man who will love her for who she is, instead of settling for less than she deserves.
Khalid does something interesting with this song that is actually quite rare in popular music. He doesn’t suggest that he’s the man this mysterious woman needs. Instead, he puts her feelings and well-being before his own and encourages her to ditch the guy who is treating her poorly (“He keeps leaving you for dead”).
Khalid understands that she’s been emotionally abused and deceived into thinking that she doesn’t deserve any better (“I don’t know what you been waiting for/So you’ve got your love locked up instead/ … You get stuck on the thoughts left in your head”). But, he insists, she can look forward to something so much better (“But somethin’ better’s waitin’ at your door”).
And even if she can’t see her true worth, Khalid can (“Don’t forget the words I said/Picking you up when you’re feelin’ down”). So he encourages this woman to press forward and understand her true worth (“Gotta keep your head up”), to find someone who will love her unselfishly (“Find someone you know will put you first/Find someone who loves you at your worst”).
In an interview with Zane Lowe on Beats 1, Khalid told Lowe that he hopes this song will be an inspiration for others, as it has been for him:
“When I started writing this song, it was like I was singing to myself in the mirror … I feel like the message in this song is something that I needed to hear at the time I was writing it and I hope that it resonates with a lot of people who need to hear that kind of message.”
As for the song’s video, it features Khalid singing as a retinue of brightly clothed performers dance around him. Though a few outfits are tight and we see a bit of midriff, very little about the video feels sexualized—further emphasizing the song’s redemptive message.
In a music world filled with damaging messages about identity and self-worth, Khalid’s counsel to a struggling woman is a countercultural message of hope, strength and optimism.
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
