Beyoncé's Lemonade: "A winner don't quit"

Abstract

[Abstract] Beyoncé’s latest album has become an instant social phenomenon worldwide. Given its innovative poetic, visual, musical and socio-politic impact, the famous and controversial African American singer has taken an untraveled road—both personal and professional. The purpose of this essay is to provide a close reading of the poetry, music, lyrics and visuals in four sections from Beyoncé’s critically acclaimed Lemonade (2016). To this end, I have chosen what I believe are the most representative sections of Lemonade together with their respective songs. Thus, I focus on the song “Hold Up” from Denial; “Daddy Lessons” from Accountability, “Freedom” from Hope, and “Formation,” where Beyoncé addresses topics such as infidelity, racism, women’s representation, and racism and inequality. I analyse these topics through a close-reading and interpretation of Warsan Shire’s poetry (a source of inspiration), as well as Beyoncé’s own music, lyrics, and imagery. From this analysis, it is safe to say that Lemonade is a relevant work of art that will perdure in time, since it highlights positive representations of African-Americans, at the same time Beyoncé critically denounces the current racial unrest lived in the USA