Beyonce's Lemonade

“You know you that b***h when you cause all this conversation.” She spoke it.

Are these issues with Beyoncé and Jay Z's relationship real? I mean let us look back shall we, Ring the Alarm, Irreplaceable, and let us not forget my ultimate favorite Resentment. Beyoncé has been speaking of infidelity in her relationship or simply giving women a song to relate to.With these songs Beyoncé shows that just like us regular folks she gets her heart broken, she is human, and she can be hurt by love.

Not too long ago my little sister and I had a conversation about Beyoncé. I’m not an overzealous fan or a member of the hive, but I enjoy Beyoncé’s music. I had the opportunity to attend her On the Run Tour in New Orleans, and I was pleased with the performance. I would love to see her on tour again. In all of her albums there are few songs that I can honestly say that I dislike. The 2013 Beyoncé album was one that played in my car for a few months and I would listen to the entire thing only skipping when I was in need to hear my favorites.

                                    

Music these days is a beat and deadbeat lyrics. Some of it has no meaning nor substance. Listen to the lyrics that Beyoncé brings above the beat. Personally, I love the narratives at the beginning of each song. I think that her music is relateable which is what matters to an audience. Music is supposed to make you feel, make you heal, and make you think that you are not alone. That’s what this album is meant to do. This music can speak to the mother who was cheated on by the father that you adore, while it also speaks to you while you are trapped in a relationship of infidelity. This album is more than just Jay Z “cheating scandals” its about love, family, faith, justice (politics), and the process that one goes through and so forth.

Talk of her adding the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown are going around. Pier Morgan spoke on this issue stating that, “. . . But I felt very uneasy watching these women being used in this way to sell an album. It smacks of shameless exploitation.” That’s an idea if I've ever heard one. My first thought is that Beyoncé does not need to “use” them to sell an album. She drops an album with no promotion. My second thought was that people talk about how much influence celebrities have, and how they sometimes do not take advantage of it. Why is her placing mothers who had to bury their sons not being proactive in trying to bring awareness? What is the difference in Beyoncé’s approach as opposed to J. Cole and Kendrick Lamar bringing awareness in their songs. Beyoncé has the status to make a story with in depth meaning. A story that you may have to watch more than once to get the full meaning. For him to insinuate that Beyoncé used these mothers to “sell an album” is ludicrous to me. Beyoncé drops an album when no one is expecting it and it she blows up social media. Another way to look at it (and the way I personally see it) is to see the publicity these mothers get to shine on what happened to their sons.

The album is not meant to for the closed minded. This album is not meant for everyone. What people have to understand is that even if this is not your favorite artist it does not mean that you cannot respect her art. We should be happy that Beyoncé has the platform and has taken the initiative to push the issue like she did. Beyoncé is not going to be liked by everyone. More importantly like you and me and everyone else, she won’t be understood by everyone.

On that note…. When life gives you lemons… make lemonade.