#LEMONADE: Beyonce Gives Us Contemporary, Reggae, R&B Soul And Country Music On Her New Album

When LIFE Throws You LEMONS, Make LEMONADE!

After several teasers, Beyonce’s ‘LEMONADE’ special that we’ve all been waiting for aired last night on HBO, and it was worth the wait!  Beyonce celebrates black women and black hair and, she unveils herself like never before; diving deep into her creative space without apology. Beyonce is truly a game changer;  fusing culture, music, and art at it highest level on her new album.

LEMONADE is the right antidote for music and women right now. Beyonce talks Intuition, Denial, Anger, Resentment,  Apathy, Accountability, Reformation, Forgiveness, Resurrection Reformation, and Redemption. If you thought Bey’s ‘Ring The Alarm’ was an indication of a woman’s fury’, you may need a few aspirin’s to digest her new album.

So let’s get into.  Bey intro’s with some untold truths in ‘Pray You Catch Me’ record. Bey’s ‘intuition’ is more than she can bear, so she bears all of her hurt, concerns, and regret, while. She awakens from her ‘denial’ state seconds as she contemplates suicide. Are You Cheating On Me?  – she asks.

“I See Lovers As Trees, Growing To And From One Another, Searching For The Same Light”

‘Hold Up’ is a reggae influenced track, where she reminds the love of her life  ‘They Don’t Love You Like I Love You’.  Beyonce embraces her ‘crazy side’. She bashes windows and swings a bat at fire hydrant.

On ‘Don’t Hurt Yourself’  video images of black women appeared as excerpts of Malcolm X speeches echoes in the background. His infamous statement of the black women surfaces midway:

” The Most Disrespected Person In America Is The Black Woman, The Most Unprotected Person In America Is The Black Woman, The Most Neglected Person In America Is The Black Woman ”

Bey ends the song with a warning message: ‘You Try That Shit Again, You Gon Lose Your Wife’.  It was clear that Bey had some ‘ish’ to clear off her chest about her marriage and rather than ‘dress up’ a false narrative, Bey confronts the challenges of LOVE. I Don’t Know When Love Became Lucid? -she asks!

Which leads us to ‘Sorry’, not Sorry! Bey lacks ‘apathy’ for the love of her life. Hurt has it limits, and suggests that ‘too many slip ups’ can lead to serious consequences if one is not careful.  On the ‘6 Inch’  track, Bey ‘rebels and hit the town for a night of revenge while desperately wanting to make an amends in her relationship.

On ‘Daddy Lessons’ Beyonce reflects on her childhood and revisits her relationship with her father. All of the lessons he taught her about self-care, looking out for her sister, and the warning of men that will try to ‘play’ you. Bey shows the importance of a bond between a father and daughter, unveiling fondest daddy girl moments with Mathew Knowles, and the same with his grandchild, Blue Ivy.

In ‘Love Drought’, Beyonce  discusses ‘reformation’ and ‘forgiveness’ as she affirms her love for her husband, marriage, and family.  How Do We Beat It? , asks one woman. The answer is LOVE!

Beyonce shows off her piano skills as she sings ‘Sandcastles’. Makes you wonder if she took Prince advice after all. Prince said if ‘Bey’ ever played piano, she could conquer the world with her music. Glimpses of Bey and Jay-Z wedding ceremony and intimate moments of the two appear on screen. Bey shows off her belly bump,  ‘If We’re Going To Heal, Let It Be Glorious’-says Bey.

The track ‘Forward’ is a tribute song to young black men who lost their lives at the hands of police brutality. Mothers of the slained victims, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown and more appear on the screen as a reminder that the ‘woman’ ought to be acknowledged.

“Freedom Freedom I Can’t Move,

Freedom Cut Me Lose,

Freedom, Freedom Where Are You,

Cause I Need Freedom Too”

Bey concludes with ‘Alright’, a track discusses the ‘healing’ that needs to be done as she speaks about ‘Redemption’ . Bey recalls the words of her grandmother and affirms that “Nothing Real Can Be Threaten” . Bey proudly shows off her grandmother Hattie speaking at her 90th birthday celebration, as Blue Ivy looks on her legacy.

Beyonce has teamed up with ‘The Weekend’, ‘Kendrick Lamar’, ‘Jack White’ ‘James Blake’ on the new album.  Actress, Amandla Stenberg,  Zendaya Coleman, Quvenzhane’ Wallis, model, Winnie Harlow, and tennis superstar, Serena Wiliams make featured appearances in the special.

LEMONADE is available now on TIDAL. The track list below is as follows:

1) Pray You Catch Me
2) Hold Up
3) Don’t Hurt Yourself
4) Sorry
5) 6 Inch
6) Daddy Lessons
7) Love Drought
8) Sandcastles
9) Forward
10) Freedom
11) All Night
12) Formation

The art in Lemonade video is speechless and the outfits are all so beautiful. #LEMONADE #Beyonce

— Eme Bassey-Duke (@EmeDuke) April 24, 2016

Not since MJ has an artist stopped the WORLD for an expression of their work. #LEMONADE#BEYONCE

— djunknowndj ™ (@djunknowndj) April 24, 2016

“[Black women] are the women left behind. We are the women who have cared for other women’s children while ours were taken away. We are the women who work two jobs when companies won’t hire our men. We are the women caring for grandchildren as our sons are taken by the prison industrial complex. We are the women who march in the streets and are never marched for. We are the women expected to never air our grievances in public. We are the women expected to stay loyal to our men by staying silent through abuse and infidelity. We are the women who clean the blood of our men and boys from the streets. We are the women who gather their belongings from the police station. When our love and commitment and struggle is met with disregard and disloyalty, we are not expected to be angry. A black woman who shows her anger is quickly scorned. “Black men have so much to deal with already,” people say, “it is your job to support him and help him become a better man.” The meekness expected of us stands in ironic contrast with the strength required to navigate this world as a black woman. “Who the fuck do you think I am?” Beyoncé angrily asks a world that could so foolishly underestimate a black woman. When our hearts are broken and we are crying in pain, we are told that it’s our fault. We were too needy, too jealous, too critical. To be told that it is our duty to love with all we have and that if that love isn’t returned it is because we loved both too much and not enough, it can make you crazy. In Hold Up, Beyoncé asks: “What’s worse, looking jealous and crazy? Or being walked all over lately? I’d rather be crazy.” This expectation of black women to suffer in silence is passed from generation to generation. Beyoncé explores this inheritance unflinchingly” #ijeomaoluo

A video posted by Donna (@donedo) on Apr 26, 2016 at 9:47am PDT

One Love PLUMS!