When Life Gives You Beyonce, Make Lemonade

‘’When life gives you lemons, make lemonade’’ is the guiding message of Beyonce’s new album. This is not an ordinary lemonade. This is a lemonade with pepper spray in it. After you drink it, you are going to puke fire.

Beyonce records her albums with a bunch of producers, authors, composers and singers (so we sometimes don’t know who is drinking and who is paying for it), and she did not step back from that principle this time either. The difference between previous albums and this one is that Lemonade sounds just like it should.

Lemonade might be the first album by Beyonce that I really enjoy. She succeeded to sound like she has an artistic credibility and integrity. She sounds universal but also authentic, which is rare for someone with her cachet. Freedom, a track that features Kendrick Lamar is the evidence that Beyonce is eager to experiment with different genres and she managed to do something that mainstream stars nowadays don’t: she built her sound wall with progressive rock and upgraded her vocal interpretation to the level of Aretha Franklin.

I formed the similar opinion after listening to Don’t Hurt Yourself where she collaborates with Jack White from The White Stripes. Don’t Hurt Yourself suggests that there is no force that is going to stop angry women, especially when she is united with Jack White.  Beyonce excessively swears on Lemonade, and it never crosses the line of tastefulness. She is just extricating her anger into the stratosphere.

Daddy Lessons brings out mellifluous country in Beyonce and it makes the whole album more interesting. The album is built on narrative about female self-confidence that develops through relationships with significant others (parents, grandmas, partners). Self-confidence flourishes in situations that help you accept yourself, which is exactly what Beyonce did with Formation.

Diva has earned her coins but she never forgets where she came from. Her daddy is from Alabama and her mama is from Louisiana. She is who she is and she loves herself. Lemonade opens up a new chapter in the artistic portfolio of Beyonce Knowles Carter.  I just became her fan.