Beyonce’s latest work, aptly titled “Lemonade”, delves into the social, political, economic and unequal nature of black culture. The album is accompanied by a visual album that chronicalized black culture, particularly Souther black culture, and the modern conflicts that accompany the black experience.
Certain aspects of the visual album are outward and some are subtle. For example, In her song “formation” Beyonce is pictured dancing in front of a group of white police officers as the words “stop shooting us” flash across the screen. On the flip side, however, Beyonce is unapologetically and stereotypically black when she sings phrases such as “got hot sauce in my bag” and “we like corn bread and collard greens”. Despite their difference in communication styles, both address black culture in different yet important ways.
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My favorite song of the album is “freedom”, which is a psychedelic pop jazz hymn that indirectly addresses police brutality and the impending revolution that would take place to change it. The visual album beautifully depicts Beyonce with a group of mothers having what appears to be a Sunday picnic. However, the women appearing in the video are mothers of black people who have died as result of police brutality in the U.S. In the video they can be seen eating fried chicken, cole slaw, collard greens and more which pays homage to black traditions during the civil rights movement in which the protesters would meet a head of time and share a meal to discuss their plans. edit.
My favorite song of the album is “freedom”, which is a psychedelic pop jazz hymn that indirectly addresses police brutality and the impending revolution that would take place to change it. The visual album beautifully depicts Beyonce with a group of mothers having what appears to be a Sunday picnic. However, the women appearing in the video are mothers of black people who have died as result of police brutality in the U.S. In the video they can be seen eating fried chicken, cole slaw, collard greens and more which pays homage to black traditions during the civil rights movement in which the protesters would meet a head of time and share a meal to discuss their plans. edit.
In one lyric Beyonce talks about being the best performer in the world and in the next line she talks about her pride having roots in the deep south and carrying a condiment in her purse. This interchange and culmination of varying types of communications being sung by, arguably, the most relevant singer of our time brings experiences and problems and light to consumers who would not see them otherwise. She showcases that it’s important to be unapologetically black and also vouch for equal rights and protections. It’s OK to want to move forward while also eating cornbread and collard greens and red lobster.