Is it more or was 2015 suffering from a musical drought? I feel like all my favourite artists were busy recording albums or touring and BAM, 2016 hits, and they all start dropping album after album. There is just so much good music my ears cannot comprehend it all.
BEYONCE. RIHANNA. KANYE WEST. DRAKE.
All I need is an album from Christina Aguilera (I’m gonna disregard the existence of Lotus) and my year would be made. Not only that, I’ll be seeing Beyoncé and Rihanna in the space of a week this summer – my concert life couldn’t get any better but my bank balance could! However, I do find that I rinse songs way too quickly these days but I also find that songs become really overplayed and easily saturated. My remedy for this is to make sure I mix it up a bit and listen to other genres.
When Beyoncé announced the title of her 2016 album, I was a little confused – I thought she had a deal with Pepsi. Although from watching the visual album in absolutely awe in the early hours of Sunday 24th April, the title suddenly made sense. Having to download Tidal again and find another e-mail address to get a one month free trial again didn’t. However, to make the most of having Tidal in my life again, I’ve made sure I’ve watched Lemonade every day… currently on viewing number 125,585,875…
Where do I begin beginning to discuss this album? As a huge Bey fan (bzz bzz), new music from her is better than any Christmas, birthday or pancake day combined. I probably sound like an absolute stan (I also don’t care), but I have admired Queen B from the days of Destiny’s Child to her very first solo album. I remember dancing around the playground to Independent Woman, longing for Bey’s golden blonde weave.
All Night 🌕
‘Trade your broken wings for mine’.
Even typing the above lyric is making me well up inside – she loves someone so much she is willing to become broken herself in order to heal her partner. If that isn’t selfless, I don’t know what is. This is probably my favourite song on Lemonade, and it just reminds me of a situation of where you’re chilling with your partner on a Sunday morning. They may have done you wrong in the past but actions can be forgiven and all it takes is time to heal (Well, depending on the severity of the actions). This song reminds me of Rocket on the Beyoncé album it is both aptly fitting that the visuals fit in with Lemonade too.
6 Inch 👠
As soon as I heard this song, I started browsing high-heeled shoes on ASOS (maybe 3 inches as who can actually walk in 6?) and some new clothes because this song was exactly what I needed to dig me out of my quarter life crisis. It has given me the kick to write better quality blog posts, push extra hard in the gym and do better in my professional life. Beyoncé’s work ethic is out of this world (even though we know she has a great team behind her); and for someone to give her all into every performance is truly admirable.
She mentions working Monday to Friday and Friday through Sunday which probably sounds like some people’s idea of hell (not even gonna lie, working seven days straight would make me wanna book a 365 day holiday). Not to again compare it to the 2013 Beyoncé album, but similar themes were explored in Ghost with the lyrics:
‘Working 9 to 5 just to stay alive
How come?’
Perhaps this is a subliminal alarm to question those of us in the Western world stuck in jobs we don’t like – just content floating by in a sea of monotony. I don’t know about you, but even typing that sentence has echoed my last blog post on why I don’t want to settle. ‘How come?’ indeed.
Sorry 🤔
‘I ain’t sorry’.
To me, saying sorry means acknowledging your actions are wrong and feeling regret/sadness towards the situation. And you know what – sometimes you don’t have to apologise. I love Bey’s attitude in this video, so chill and laid-back – she has no reason to be sorry if she is the one who has been wronged?
One thing I did begin to notice is the use of hallways throughout her videos (7/11, Haunted, Formation, Sorry); what it’s meaning is, I cannot begin to gauge. Maybe she is always in the middle of getting ready and bursts into a dance routine? But I can only guess that a hallway represents opportunity – walking away from something or walking towards it… I’m just gonna leave you with these…
Don’t Hurt Yourself
This song makes me wanna drive past a certain someone’s house (in my case an UberLUX because I don’t have a car) and just play it at MAX volume with the biggest speakers I can get my hands on. But the less said on that the better… *sips lemonade*. In all honesty, I LOVE this side of Beyoncé, the arrogance, hurt and aggression really come through in the grit of her voice and the Jack White vocals compliments it perfectly. If Jay Z allegedly did what he did or not – I wouldn’t wanna be around Bey after this video shoot. Not only that, who can rock a ripped fur coat and Yeezy Season 3 whilst looking this good? One can only aspire to look this good one day – this song is definitely going on my Gymspiration playlist.
I cannot begin to scratch the surface of Lemonade, from the visuals, the outfits, to the duplicity of every lyric – there is so much that can be said. My experience from Lemonade is that it is the journey of a woman scorned. Did Jay really cheat on Bey? We’ll never really know – and who cares if it’s all a marketing ploy? This album has had so much positive response – all that matters is that it makes you FEEL something.
Beyoncé wasn’t afraid to show that black lives matter.
Her daughter Blue Ivy, tennis superstar Serena Williams, actresses Zendaya and Amandla Steinberg and others all make an appearance in the Lemonade visuals and they all share a common link… They have all been ripped apart by the media… WHY? It’s 2016 – why are we as black women still facing these struggles. Some brands are still ignorant when it comes to black beauty. It is not okay BUT by blogging, social media and black business owners, we can create our own products, visions and media.
All in all, this is just my take on Lemonade, of course there are some in-depth reviews out there. But Lemonade to me was sweet and sour all at the same time. I can relate to a lot of themes explored throughout this album and I guess as I get older I will go through a lot more. Thankfully, this album will be there for me in my time of need.
Char xo
Please note – These images do note belong to me – they have been sourced from Google for reference purposes only.
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