Yoncé all on [your] mouth like liquor, and if it’s not, I can’t figure out why. On December 13, Beyoncé Knowles, also known as Queen Bey, dropped her fifth studio and first self-titled album called Beyoncé. When I say dropped, I mean stopped the music world in its tracks and took it over within a matter of hours. She did all of this with absolutely no promotion and without any warning. Publicity for this album all came from word spread by awe-struck fans that just happened to be perusing through their iTunes store at the right time. If that doesn’t reinforce her standing as the queen, I don’t know what does.
Not only did Beyoncé gift the world with a surprise album, she also released a visual album with 17 music videos and 14 songs. Yup, she gave us a video for every song and added some extra as well. The sultry beats and provocative lyrics give her fans a new glimpse into her mind and the message she’s releasing. This message revolves around feminism and sexuality.
When you hit play on either “Drunk in Love,” “Blow,” “Partition,” or “Rocket,” you start to realize how sexual these songs are. The first time I listened to/watched the whole album I had to rub my eyes, blink several times, and ask “Beyoncé? Is that you?” Despite my initial shock, I understood she was expressing her sexuality in a very bold way, and as I listened even deeper past the “cold” beats, I heard undertones of feminism flowing through her verses. When “Partition” begins, you hear the line, Driver, roll up the partition, please. This sentence alone tells me it’s about to go down in the back of that car, but it’s one verse completely done in French that shows her stance on what she thinks about the sexuality of women.
Est-ce que tu aimes le sexe?
Le sexe, je veux dire l’activité physique, le coït, tu aimes ça?
Tu ne t’intéresses pas au sexe ?
Les hommes pensent que les féministes détestent le sexe mais c’est une activité très stimulante et naturelle que les femmes adorent
I’m going to give you a rough translation of what she’s saying here. Since my last name is French, that means I understand French (okay, maybe it’s because I took three semesters in French), meaning that you should trust every word I’m writing. Beyoncé is letting men know that women, feminists to be exact, love sex just as much as men do because it’s a stimulating, natural activity. The word feminism has such a negative connotation and she wants it to be known that feminists are just women who strive to define, establish, and defend equal, political, economic, and social rights for women. They don’t pursue feminism because they hate men or because they can’t find one of their own. It also means they don’t hate sex either. Beyoncé states, “I don’t have any shame at all in being sexual. I do believe sexuality is a power we all have.”
If you’ve seen people hashtag the word “flawless” on their Instagram pictures or saying “I woke up like this” accompanied by fast movements with their hands and head shaking, they’re referring to her song “Flawless.” The song begins with “Bow Down,” transitions into a snippet of the speech, We Should All Be Feminists, made by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and ends with “Flawless.” If you just sit and listen to this part of her speech, it rings true to the double standards we have for women in our society. Chimamanda focuses on how girls are trained into believing they can’t be sexual beings, that they should aspire to marriage and make life choices based on getting married in the future, yet boys are taught the opposite. Doesn’t that ruffle anyone’s feathers just a little?
As a whole, this album goes hard. I mean she did say, “I sneezed on the beat and the beat got sicker.” It’s perfect for jamming out in your car, house, or anywhere at all. If you’re not drunk in love by the time you’re finished with it, I can’t help you. Beyoncé laid it all out in this album flawlessly through her vocals and videos. And yes, I believe she actually woke up like [that].