Once a lead vocalist of Destiny’s Child, Beyoncé released her first solo album, Dangerously in Love, in 2003 After the group disbanded in 2005, Producer Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins and Beyoncé worked together to form her second solo album, B’Day, which released in 2007. As of today, Beyoncé has total of six studio albums, four live, five EPs and 65 singles. When I first heard “Halo” back in 2008, I knew she had pipes, but recently, I have found myself straying away from listening. It made me uncomfortable to see people idolize her. Out of all of her music, I have probably listened to about 15 songs, so I didn’t really have high hopes for her newly released album, Lemonade. But boy was I wrong.
Lemonade displays a wonderfully described story of her relationship with her husband, Jay-Z. As I’ve stated before, I haven’t really listened to her all that much or known much about her, but Lemonade really pulled me in. I’ve listened to the album about five or so times because of how great it sounds. Even in class, I just hear, “I ain’t sorry, I ain’t sorry,” over and over in my head from her song “Sorry”. Out of the 13 songs, “Don’t Hurt Yourself” and “Freedom” continue to be on repeat all day; I really can’t get enough. In “Freedom”, I could really feel Beyoncé’s empowerment through the drums, choir and what sounded to be an organ. The song gave me a feeling of fierceness, like I could do anything and everything I wanted.
Overall, I enjoyed how some of the tracks didn’t sound like a Beyoncé song. She really branched out in this album. It wasn’t a pop sound. It was combination of sounds. For example, “Daddy Lessons” sounded borderline country with the heavy guitar use, but she managed to stay true to her pop roots by keeping the groove steady and upbeat.
I think the way Beyoncé presented the album with different beats and moods was an interesting way to tell a story. I know cheating scares some girls and Beyoncé addresses it in songs like “Pray You Catch Me.” It may not be the best approach to situations like cheating, but it was how she dealt with it. However, Beyoncé mentions in “Sandcastles” how she has forgiven her husband for the alleged cheating with Rachel Roy by using a softer approach than the rest of the pop sounding songs.
I definitely recommend everyone, both fans and non-supporters, to listen to Lemonade; it may be the album to change your opinion on Beyoncé, like it did for me. I give it a solid 10 out of a 10.
