Opinion: Ridiculously cultish as the Beyhive may seem - Beyoncé's savagely dedicated fanbase will come for you in a major way if you dare to critique ANYTHING ever about the artist - their absolute devotion is rooted in a deep appreciation that I can relate to.
In her unapologetic embrace of the feminine black identity, Beyoncé empowers many.
The 2016 album Lemonade marked a decided shift in Bey's artistic direction. With this release came the dawn of her socio-political activism through music.
Before this, I was a Beyoncé fan, but this album changed the way I saw her.
As an ode to the Afro Diaspora of America's deep South, this audio-visual body of work honored the diverse facets of black womanhood that remain intertwined with centuries-old Southern tradition. It saluted the black Southern woman’s history of resilience in spite of a legacy rooted in the racial trauma of the transatlantic slave trade and Jim Crow.
Lemonade was intended as a profound statement. It brazenly rejected the Western idea that proximity to whiteness is the epitome of female beauty, protesting the aesthetic value of blackness whilst condemning colorism. Previously, Beyoncé had been reprimanded for openly using her lighter complexion privilege to further her career, therefore playing into the hands of Eurocentric beauty standards. Now she now openly protested the very racial hierarchies that she benefitted from through her music.
It openly addressed the systematic police brutality that perpetually takes innocent black lives. It debunked the one-dimensional 'angry black woman’ stereotype – with which women of colour are constantly labelled at the very expression of anything but passive content.
Through exposing her own emotional vulnerability (and addressing the infidelity within her own marriage) Beyoncé humanises herself in a way that black women are often denied. In spite of all these injustices, these women still manage to make Lemonade from the sour lemons that they have been unjustly given.
The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.
(Quote from Malcom X, May 5, Los Angeles, 1962 - as sampled on Lemonade track 'Don’t Hurt' featuring Jack White)
This album was a cultural awakening for my sixteen-year-old self. Never before had I been presented with the reality of black womanhood quite like this. I could see and hear myself in this 49-minute body of work. However strange or seemingly overly dramatised my next statement may seem, it is true - Lemonade forced me to re-examine my identity as an Irish woman of colour.
Perpetually re-watching clips of Beyoncé’s Superbowl performance of Formation (a track that would later become one of the anthems of 2020 Black Lives Matter Movement) on YouTube, combined with re-runs of her Netflix documentary Homecoming (the film documenting her 2019 Coachella performance), firmly established my love for the new era of Beyoncé I was witnessing.
Today, Beyoncé’s long awaited new album Renaissance drops. By the time this article is published, I’ll most likely be engrossed in the 16-track album. It is set to feature collaborations and contributions from the likes of Grace Jones, Pharrell Williams, Drake and her husband Jay-Z, and includes samples of iconic tracks from James Brown and Donna Summer. The title of the album suggests a rebirth of such, but of what exactly I don’t know yet. I’m invested in Beyoncé’s musical output. My expectations for this album are high. I want more from her this time - even though I’m not quite sure what 'more’ means.
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Listen to Renaissance by Beyoncé above, via Spotify
This pop-star turned socio-political activist means so much to so many – especially young black women like me. And anyone who downplays the extent of her cultural value, quite frankly, has a lot to learn.
Renaissance is out now.
