funky diva faces, be it from store clerks--"I can't look without being watched!"—or those who don't understand that while they "might date another race or color, that doesn't mean I don't like my strong black brothers"." Pan-European magazine Music & Media noted that "the "Jackies" of all trades are breaking all the barriers in radio land", describing the song as "funk rock" and a "George Clinton cover as colourful as his dyed hair". Gerald Martinez from New Sunday Times called the song "storming", and said it "combines hard rock riffng with funk while En Vogue wail away with awesome power." Parry Gettelman from Orlando Sentinel wrote, "'Free Your Mind' owes a small lyrical debt to George Clinton and a large musical debt to LaBelle - not bad places from which to borrow. There's a brief, funny spoken intro that parodies an In Living Color sketch, and the quartet slams into a denunciation of prejudice of all sorts: "I might date another race or color/ Doesn't mean I don't like my strong black brothers"." A reviewer from People Magazine viewed it as a "the Pointer Sisters-meet-Van Halen rocker". Danyel Smith from Rolling Stone described it as "guitar-ravaged" Cheo H. Coker from Stanford Daily felt that En Vogue's "foray into rock 'n' roll [is] completely unsuited for the group, reminiscent of Janet Jackson's "Black Cat". While the song has great message, black rock is better left to the black rockers." Retrospective response In an 2017 retrospective review, Quentin Harrison from Albumism described "Free Your Mind" as "a searing rock number that challenged racism, sexism and other social phobias head on was all at once, smart, sexy and provocative." AllMusic's review critic, Jose F. Promis, voted the single very favorable and rated the Funky Divas album its highest rating at five. He also declared the track as a "hard rock smash". Another editor, Stephen Thomas Erlewine, described it as "swaggering". In his 2009 review, Daryl Easlea for BBC remarked that the song borrows from "heavy metal". In 2007, Laura Checkoway from Vibe called it a "rock-ish anthem with a George Clinton-lifted chorus". Music video and other notable performances The song is known for its innovative, award-winning music video, directed by Mark Romanek with production design by Nigel Phelps and art direction by Brad Hartmaier. On March 21, 1992, En Vogue performed "Free Your Mind" on Saturday Night Live for the first time to