Since Beyoncé “changed the game with that digital drop”, everyone has been waiting at a standstill to see what she would come up with next. Formation is one of Beyoncé’s most powerful pieces to date. Unlike other pop music that has come out in recent years, the song’s loose approach in its structure allows Beyoncé to free form to Mike WiLL Made It’s produced beat.
Formation declares its identity without any bashfulness and is proud of its history. Each declaration is chosen carefully with layers of meaning with Beyoncé even calling herself “bama”, an insult that has been ingrained in Southern history as someone trying to blend in. Beyoncé herself is no longer trying to blend into pop music anymore, she’s creating work that is no longer in the mainstream instead setting the example for others.
For those who are into Destiny’s Child Beyoncé, this isn’t the song for them. While it’s a fun song, it’s also an important one that explores not only Beyoncé, but the history that has helped form her to who she is today. This is unexplored territory for Knowles, as the song focuses on a trap beat with an anthem. Beyoncé knows she’s an idol and how she influences her “Beyhive”, she’s not hiding behind the Illuminati or her husband Jay-Z, what she has become is solely by her own means. The song is empowering and calls for women to rely on each other when the time is necessary.
The video itself is a tribute to black femininity and what America has ignored throughout the years whether it’s New Orleans or black lives. Mess Mya, a New Orlean’s bounce hip-hop artist whose 2010 murder is still controversial and Big Freedia, another bounce icon, help Beyoncé find her Southern roots. Post-Katrina New Orleans is still struggling something Beyoncé is well aware of as her charity Survivor Foundation provided transitional housing for victims. With the help of her daughter Blue Ivy who is as ever proud of her mama shaking her natural afro, shots of antebellum history set the atmosphere of the video.
Formation is Beyoncé at her best showcasing her own personal reinvention as a woman who is analyzing herself finally and how she has become the artist she is today. While she’s out killing the game, Beyoncé stays humble in a way that everyone can agree with, “Always stay gracious, best revenge is your paper.” Watch the video here!