If you didn't spend part of your weekend watching or listening to Beyoncé's new visual album Lemonade (which premiered on HBO Saturday night), don't bother asking your friends or co-workers to casually break it down for you. It hasn't even been out for 48 hours, and there are just too many layers to unpack — anyone who tries to give you the 10-minute-or-less CliffsNotes version can't be trusted. Because Lemonade is not just a record, it is an experience. It is a fearless and unapologetic piece of art about a black woman's experience. It deserves your full attention.
Sure, there are songs that will be (and are) singles, but you're doing yourself a monumental disservice if you don't dedicate at least one hour of your life to digesting Lemonade fully, as it premiered, for yourself. (And while it may have been a Tidal exclusive over the weekend, it's now available on iTunes.)
With each listen, with each watch, more pieces come together and Lemonade gets better and better. One surprise that totally slipped by me during my first viewing — because OH MY GOD HOT SAUCE IS HER BAT?!? — is the fact that Nashville's own Jack White appears on the record as both co-writer and co-producer of Track 3, "Don't Hurt Yourself." Why didn't you tell us, Jack?!
The song starts out with some fun calypso vibes, a playful little roll on a steel drum, but in less than a minute, Beyoncé goes for the throat, telling a cheating man he can "watch her fat ass bounce to the next dick." By the time the chorus hits, a storm of White's signature garage rock collides with dirty blues and, with White on backing vocals (and a sample from Led Zeppelin's version of "When the Levee Breaks"), Bey makes it clear that "Don't Hurt Yourself" is not a caring piece of advice for a loved one, but a command from a scorned queen who's on the verge of "fucking up your shit."
Slay, Bey!
And if you, like me (and like so many others right now), are still thirsting for more Lemonade, here are a few really smart essays and discussions you should add to your to-read list:
"Beyoncé’s Lemonade and the Undeniable Power of a Black Woman’s Vulnerability" by Dee Lockett, Ashley Weatherford and Lindsay Peoples for Vulture
"Review: Beyoncé Makes Lemonade From Romantic Strife on Her New Album" by Maura Johnston from Time
"Beyoncé's Lemonade Is Defiant In The Midst Of Upheaval" by Kiana Fitzgerald for NPR.org
"Beyoncé Unearths Pain and Lets It Flow in ‘Lemonade’" by Wesley Morris for The New York Times
And, for laughs:
"God Help Us: Last Night Beyoncé Dropped 6 New Albums, 2 Full-Length Documentaries, a Parenting Book, and a Line of Greek Yogurts" from Clickhole
Beyoncé's Formation World Tour comes to Nissan Stadium Thursday, May 5. Tickets are available here.
