New Music Tuesday: When Life Throws You Lemons…
By Teighlor Bodrie
Have you heard about the latest from The Beygency?
Honestly, I can’t believe it’s taken us almost 3.5 weeks to talk about the visual album that’s captivated mmm, everyone? Okay, I confess, I talk about it almost daily – I’m sure the office is probably sick of it by now but, this is HUGE.
Queen B (or as my friends and I like to call her Queen Bae or just Bae – because she rules and basically Run’s the World) released a new visual album April 23rd – ‘Lemonade.’ It’s been a few weeks so the dust from this record breaking dust storm has settled a little but, let’s be honest, this album is the best thing to hit 2016 so don’t expect this storm to die down anytime soon.
Some of you may be familiar with the latest ruckus in the news around her single, Formation. The Queen kicked off her Formation World Tour in Houston on May 7, where there were staged protests against what is believed to be anti-cop imagery.
In addition, The Beyhive (aka – Queen B fans), has many theories about this album and the gossip surrounding it. For those of you not up to speed – supposedly Bae’s boy Jay-Z had extra marital affairs and this was her way of “healing.” Which, by the way, it’s rumored that Jay-Z is set to release a response to Bae’s album, you know, to tell “his side of the story”– if this is true, let’s add some thunder and lightning on top of this dust storm, shall we?
Bae’s mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, recently broke down ‘Lemonade’ for those who were missing the point.
What this all means is this album is going to be at, the very least, the heart of every breakup for decades to come. The feelings of intuition, denial, apathy, reformation, forgiveness, hope, resurrection and redemption ALL hit you like a bus through the speakers and screen – it’s an emotional gauntlet. Not to mention the combination of genres that this album encompasses appeals to almost every music lover’s taste – R&B, pop, hip hop, blues, rock, soul, funk, country, gospel. Songs featuring – James Blake, Kendrick Lamar, The Weekend and, Michigan’s own, Jack White. This album was also released with a one-hour film that aired on HBO – featuring Serena Williams, Amandla Stenberg, Zendaya, Sybrina Fulton, and, surprise, Jay-Z!
Seriously?! What doesn’t this album do!?
You can’t help but have it on repeat for 21 days (or more) straight – it’s a masterpiece created by the baddest in the game (what else would we expect).
I wish I could give you YouTube links to my faves (hint: every song on the album) but, this album is too good to put on YouTube just yet.
It’s available for purchase on iTunes and streaming through Tidal.
But, what I can give you is the released trailer:
P.S. All 12 tracks hit the Billboard Top 100 beating out T-Swift’s 11 (like it was even a competition)
