Fact: If any other artist besides Beyoncé dropped this album, the overwhelming support, praise and positive reviews would be significantly less.
But Bey used her social status to her advantage, and rightfully so, having the full capability to experiment with nearly four genres in one album and create an overall tone unfamiliar to those familiar with her standard club singles.
It’s also important to note my dissonance with the majority because I merely like Beyoncé, I don’t love her. She’s certainly talented and her success is well deserved, but she’s always been overrated in the sense that she has a god complex about her. Not to mention, it’s difficult for me to view her as a serious role model and feminist with so many songs including dirty, often indiscernible lyrics.
That being said, on first listen I didn’t like “Lemonade.” The musicality was poor and the general consensus of the album being a masterpiece seemed like a bit of a stretch, especially when the overall message appeared one-dimensional to me: Screw men, especially my man, who I’m going to put on blast and then I’m gonna go mess up the b*tch who intervened. That’s juvenile, not empowering.
However, when I gave it a second listen alongside the lyrics, I found I had to analyze the songs’ meanings to appreciate the album. I’d argue that one should simply be able to feel the music to enjoy it, but sometimes art requires a little bit of extra work and introspection.
“Lemonade” in its truest form is poetry, demanding the audience to listen to the whole story from start to finish. When being produced, I don’t believe any of the songs were intended to be stand-alone tracks.
It’s so different from her other albums, where it sometimes appeared songs were made to become instant bangers and then were just thrown into one package as an afterthought. The most successful albums were all about the feel-good rhythms and easy sing-a-long tunes.
Conversely, “Lemonade” presents a passionate journey with deep lyrics and unique experimentation with musical styles. On one hand, the album could be viewed as the phases of a tumultuous romantic relationship, but “Lemonade” is not reminiscent of the type of upbeat, powerful break-up songs often associated with Beyoncé.
“Best Thing I Never Had” from her fourth studio album was sung in a manner that inspired women to stay strong and move forward, but tracks on “Lemonade,” such as opener “Pray You Catch Me” and “Sandcastles” are just straight-up sad.
There’s nothing wrong with sad, especially with Beyoncé’s amazing vocals and raw emotion felt throughout, but my favorite tracks include the beachy “Hold Up,” the preachy “Freedom” and the peachy “All Night.”
“Hold Up” is so distinct, with the help of Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig and EDM favorite Diplo. “All Night” provides a similar vibe, a serious anthem worth jamming to.
And then we have “Freedom.” God bless K-Dot and Queen Bey. It channels the innermost struggles of those fighting for the “Black Lives Matter” movement, having a tone reminiscent of the late and great Martin Luther King Jr.’s speeches and sermons. The bass and overall production of the song is glorious.
Similar to “Formation,” it relies heavily on the black, female experience and has excellent analogies and metaphors that even the biggest bigot in the world can respect. “Get in formation” can also be interpreted as “get information,” and in “Freedom,” Lamar’s verse featuring a countdown that never reaches the end suggests the fight for equality is far from finished.
All in all, “Lemonade” is more than an album; I’ve realized it’s a story of racism, sexism, adultery and forgiveness. It mixes serious messages with playfulness, and the featured artists add a distinct touch to Beyoncé’s sixth studio album.
Beyoncé continues to be an influential artist in the game, and, as seen by the production of “Lemonade,” she’s nowhere near finished.
