Review Of "Lemonade" By Beyoncé

Article for my Writing 150 Class... Casual, right?

The Queen is here <3

Beyoncé

Album Released Saturday, April 23rd, 2016

The day is Saturday, April 23rd, 2016. It's a sunny day in Los Angeles but, then again, it always is. In fact, often times, it's scorching hot. People are thirsty. Not in the slang way that the kids use where they want to be sexually active, though I imagine some people are like that. I mean in the, "Bitch, if you don't get me a glass of water this very second, I'm gonna hit somebody." But you're not in the mood for water. After all, we're in a drought and should probably try to conserve as much water as possible. How about a bottle of water? Well, as I learned in my Writing 150 class, that's wasteful and it's the same as tap water, which I think is absolute bull crap because water tastes differently depending on what you drink from it. But, anyway, I digress. You decide that today is a good day for a glass of lemonade. You're parched. Why not? A woman hands you that glass of lemonade and you look her in her big brown eyes. You see her ebony skin and are in shock. She is not violent like a killer bee. She does not wear black and yellow. But she is Queen Bey. And my queen, Beyoncé, released her new album as a visual album, which means added monologues, words from the Queen herself, and much more. It is beautiful. It is art. These are my thoughts on it.

The album begins with Queen Bey singing a series of tones and going into her first song. She is in pain during the song but you don’t know why. Who hurt the Queen? And as the song goes on, it is a story of love being ended and the pain of it all. A few more songs pass and everything seems to go to hell. Jay Z, as rumored years before, cheated on his wife, Queen Bey, and this is an album about her struggle dealing with that and, ultimately, taking him back because it’s true love and meant to be. Is this why Bey’s sister beat Jay Z up in that elevator? Probably. It makes sense to me! But more importantly, the royal family is still together to raise their daughter, Blue Ivy.

But what about all the things in the visual album? Several of Bey’s outfit choices are actually inspired by deities in religions outside of Christianity. Facebook user Tasha Robinson explained it when she talked about the African Goddess Beyonce portrayed. She wrote, "Yall think Beyonce was just breaking windows twerking and playing in water. No she was portraying OSHUN a Yoruba orisha 💛💛💛 Sensual, sexual, beautiful Goddess, Deity who is a healer, gives life, growth, luxury, change and prosperity. That was the message of lemonade. Love, Change and Proseperity." WHO DOES THAT? So innovative. So amazing. So proud that I might cry.

And many of the quotes are forms of slam poetry. And the imagery is brought in by powerful black women like Serena Williams and Zendaya. But what was that part when there were women carrying pictures of black men? Those are the mothers of all the black men like Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown who died from police brutality. For once, we have an album by the queen that is so unapologetically pro-black and all the haters out there can hate.

In fact, there are rumors people are boycotting Bey. So, how does she respond? She makes shirts that say “Boycott Beyonce” on them. Because honestly, she doesn’t give a damn. She is the Queen. Get over it! Last time someone tried to openly protest an anti-Beyonce rally, no one actually showed up. Actually more people came to protest the protest. America is smart, sometimes. What can I say?

The visual album is a complete work of art and everything about it is perfect. Everything from the story to the music to the imagery to the sweet lemonade that we got. Download the album either on iTunes or Tidal. It’s definitely something to behold!