Full disclosure: I would not consider myself a Beyonce fan. Definitely not a member of the Bey-hive, as her fans are called. I enjoy some of her songs but I don't own any full albums and I'm not sure I would personally buy a ticket to see her live (but definitely wouldn't say no if someone invited me). That being said, in my personal opinion, "Lemonade" was absolutely brilliant. Raw, powerful, and obviously extremely personal for Beyonce. I feel like it was her masterpiece, that she tapped into something she's been striving for throughout her career. I'll admit, I shed a few tears, the experience was so emotional.
Just a note - I'm a little late to the game because I don't have HBO and had to track down the full video on the Internet (which was unusually hard). Honestly, I probably wouldn't have bothered if Twitter wasn't all "you have to see this!" But I'm really glad I did.
This post is going to be more of a curated one, of articles that really grasp what I saw when watching "Lemonade." This was a concept album, telling the story of one woman's experience with infidelity. But it was also more than that - it spoke to the cultural and societal experience of being a black woman. And I don't feel that I'm qualified to speak on that. I'm not a black woman - I hardly feel like I can even call myself a Latina most days, even though that's my heritage. But I understand the pain and frustration felt from being disenfranchised. To have society praising the creativity and beauty of aspects of your culture, while simultaneously having to hear hateful words about the people. I've become more conscious of being Hispanic in recent years - more importantly, how people react towards me specifically as a person of mixed parentage. How (some) people prefer to focus on my Italian ancestry and ignore my Hispanic side altogether. I'm getting into the weeds now and I'm trying not to. It's a very personal thing that probably doesn't belong on a music blog. Suffice it to say, I had a heavy dose of the feels reflecting on the imagery and underlying themes in Beyoncé's "Lemonade." Anyway, I encourage you to read the following analyses of the album/video.
Culture and Community: Lemonade, Spirituality, and #BlackGirlMagic - This article was written by a member of the pagan community for The Wild Hunt. The author discusses the symbolism in the video, specifically in regards to African Diasporic religions and other pagan/witchy themes, and her perspective as a black woman.
Beyonce's Lemonade and What Black Girls Really Mean by Good Hair - Explaining the meaning behind the "Becky with the Good Hair" comment in "Sorry" and the cultural baggage it represents.
The History of Becky with the Good Hair - The significance of the name "Becky" in "Sorry." While a lot of articles dealt with who "Becky" is (Hint: It's none of your fucking business), this article goes into why Beyonce may have chose the name to signify the other woman.
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