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Thursday, March 28, 2024
Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons. LEMONADE is an empowering musical masterpiece.

Photo Courtesy of Creative Commons. 

LEMONADE is an empowering musical masterpiece.

LEMONADE delivers visual narrative

On April 23, 2016 at approximately 10 p.m., Beyoncé Knowles-Carter released LEMONADE, an album full of emotions ranging from anger and regret to empowerment and recon- ciliation. The string of songs follow the artist through her mix of feelings from being betrayed by the love of her life. But, Beyoncé keeps the listener guessing who she sings about. Are her harsh words aimed toward her husband, Jay Z? From the song titled, “DADDY LESSONS,” could the album be about her father? Or could it possibly be about past men in her life?

To set one fact straight, this is not an album created as a divorce announcement. Beyoncé keeps the Carter as her last name. But, this album simply follows the artist through the ups and downs of her marriage. It is obvious that the popular rapper, Jay Z, participated at one point in an act of infidelity against his wife. But, listeners who wait until the end can realize that Beyoncé worked through every- thing to forgive.

Although many artists talk about being betrayed by loved ones in their music, Beyoncé takes a unique twist to her album. There are so many emotions intertwined in LEMONADE, but the true beauty is in the underlying racial themes she creates. Kendrick Lamar features

on the track “FREEDOM.” Kendrick is known for his message of black- empowerment and won a grammy for Best Rap Album of the year with To Pimp A Butterfly. Kendrick raps, “Yeah, open our mind as we cast away oppression / Yeah, open the streets and watch our beliefs / And when they carve my name inside the concrete / I pray it forever reads,” before Beyoncé belts “Freedom, free- dom.” This track may be one of the most powerful on the album, as a means to kill the feelings of oppres- sion many people experience daily.

Not only does Beyoncé speak on overall black-oppression, but also about the problems she faces with her own identity as a black woman. Before releasing the 12-track, emo- tion evoking album, Beyoncé pre- miered an hour-long video of the album on HBO. Within the video she has a quote from Malcolm X, “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unpro- tected person in America is the black woman.” Throughout each song Beyoncé offers the idea that because black women are disrespected and unprotected, black women have become one of the strongest identities to rise above and prove those state- ments wrong. Beyoncé is the per- fect example. She calls on all black women to feel powerful.

LEMONADE serves as Beyoncé’s second visual album, after her 2013 self-titled album.

In order to get the full experience of LEMONADE, every listener should view the video. It sets a new stage for every genre of music, as it is one of the most popular to tell a story through hard-hitting lyrics and influential imagery. The imagery takes the songs a step further, creating a deeper meaning to each word and builds upon the already compel- ling message, making connections that wouldn’t exist otherwise.

The video producers worked in easily noticeable figures like tennis player Serena Williams, actress Quvenzhané Wallis, singer Zendaya, model Winnie Harlow, actress Amandla Stenberg and Ibeyi’s Lisa- Kaindé and Naomi Diaz. The most notable cameos of all were the mothers of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner and Mike Brown holding pictures of their sons. All three were involved with police brutality, another important issue that Beyoncé addresses.

Before the curtain hiding LEMONADE was drawn back, the video for “Formation” released. “Formation” was a taste-test for the actual album, with apparent architectural hints of southern charm. The pop artist’s love for New Orleans peeks through the cracks of this album. In a part of the video she brings in famous Creole chef, Leah Chase and many of the scenes for the video were shot throughout the state of Louisiana.

It was very surprising to see Beyoncé create a country vibe with “DADDY ISSUES”. However, she appeals to listeners with background of horns and with lyrics dealing with a more private part of her life; her problems with her father. The com- bination of pop, hip-hop and R&B demonstrate how versatile Beyoncé truly is as an artist.

This emotion-evoking album intertwines Beyoncé’s personal life with her own identity. Both of these aspects of LEMONADE combined beautifully for those dealing with problems in a relationship or with self-empowerment. Black power activist Stokely Carmichael once said, “The power to define is the most important power we have.” Beyoncé captures this quote in its entirety through LEMONADE, changing the definition of black women worldwide. Not only does she make this clear, but as the album moves through her stages of grief and forgiveness, Beyoncé displays a love reborn. She sticks with her husband not because she is weak, but because she is strong.

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