BEYONCÉ'S LEMONADE: SHARP AND SWEET

Hey, ladies, did you hear that? Beyoncé hosted one hell of a girl-power moment Saturday night with Lemonade, an hour-long HBO special and series of videos. The project—directed by Khalil Joseph, Bey, Melina Matsoukas, Todd Tourso, Dikayl Rimmasch, Jonas Akerlund and Mark Romanek—was presented in segments (or scenes), which typically began with what seemed like lines of poetry before segueing into snippets of the songs on the album; note that the segments and tracks have different titles.


Lemonade is visually stunning and, as our own Michelle S. points out, seems to describe the stages of the dissolution of a relationship (“Intuition,” “Denial,” “Anger…”), reflecting the sentiment, “when life gives you lemons, make…”

The eerie, cinematic and tantalizing visuals were shot almost entirely in a colorful, yet haunting Louisiana and regularly used crashing waves, trickling rain, thunder, flickering flames, pulsing (sometimes erratic lights) and night vision to illustrate the star’s tumultuous and mercurial feelings.

And all that makes sense when one considers the all-star team. Tourso is Bey’s Creative Director, while Melina Matsoukas is a longtime collaborator, having worked with her since 2007. Matsoukas won a Grammy for Rihanna f/Calvin Harris’ “We Found Love.” Jonas Akerlund is a renowned music video director, who won a Grammy for Madonna’s “Ray of Light” and has worked with countless stars. Romanek is for responsible Johnny Cash’s “Hurt,” Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” and Fiona Apple’s “Criminal,” and won a VMA for Jay Z’s “99 Problems.”

Whether it’s the visual of Bey traipsing around town in “Denial”/”Hold Up,” causing havoc with a baseball bat in a yellow gown before crushing a row of cars in a monster truck or the archived sounds of Malcom X (during “Anger”/”Don’t Hurt Yourself”) saying, “the most disrespected person in America is the black woman,” the Queen is certainly making a statement. The home videos of Bey, her father, her grandmother, her pregnant belly and kisses from her hubby soften it, as does the ballad “Forgiveness”/”Sandcastles”, which is pure and unfiltered, powered solely by the songstress’ touching vocals and a piano.

That being said, the feminism theme is strong throughout the entire project.

In “Apathy”/”Don’t Hurt Yourself,” she spits, “so what are you gonna say at my funeral, now that you’ve killed me,” and “ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks.” Oh, and she’s characteristically unapologetic, as the words “I ain’t sorry” are repeated throughout.

“Emptiness”/”6 Inch”—sultry and vibey—shows Bey as Queen of the Night, as the words “six-inch heels” and “she works for the money” infiltrate listeners’ brains.

The video for the folky, guitar driven “Accountability”/”Daddy Lessons” includes those aforementioned home videos and features tender moments between a young Bey and her daddy. The soulful earworm showcases the upbringing of an impressionable girl, growing thick skin like a coat of armor. “You look nothing like your mother; you look everything like your mother…” “You must wear [lipstick], like she wears disappointment on her face. Your mother is a woman, and women like her cannot be contained.” She chants about men bringing women to their knees, making them beg, before asking, “Am I talking about your husband or your father?”

“Forgiveness”/”Sandcastles” is a pure, unfiltered ballad that leans solely on the songstress’ touching vocals and a piano. Mr. Carter even makes an appearance in the clip.

“Hope”/”Freedom” is fittingly energetic and dynamic and focuses on a heroine’s search for liberty and independence, with the goal of rising like phoenix.

“My grandma said, ‘Nothing real can be threatened,’” can be heard during “Redemption”/”Formation,” and proves to be a strong closing note. She certainly let it all out, didn’t she?

SEGMENTS/TRACKS:
1. "Intuition"/"Pray You Catch Me"
2. "Denial"/"Hold Up"
3. "Anger"/"Don't Hurt Yourself"
4. "Apathy"/"Sorry"
5. "Emptiness"/"6 Inch"
6. "Accountability"/"Daddy Lessons"
7. "Reformation"/"Love Drought"
8. "Forgiveness"/"Sandcastles"
9. "Resurrection"/"Forward"
10. "Hope"/"All Night"
11. "Redemption"/"Formation"