Beyoncé - LEMONADE

Beyoncé
LEMONADE
2016
Exclusive on TIDAL

While LEMONADE may be one of the first "visual albums" first and foremost this is a music record and should be judged accordingly. The first thought that comes when you listen to the record is "holy shit is this literally a breakup album"? With a couple as high profile as Jay-Z and Beyoncé every word either of them says is going to be scrutinized and examined letter by letter to just get a glimpse into their relationship. With this in mind She had to know that Lemonade was going to cause a stir far beyond the fact that it really is just a great record. Beyoncé for the past five or six years has yet to make a misstep and LEMONADE is no difference, but what you have to keep in mind is this is in no way a reflection of what is actually going on in her mind. If you look at the liner notes on this album there are no fewer than five writers on each track and a couple of producers on each. This is not one person letting their thoughts loose on the world, this is writing by committee to ensure the biggest sale. What is different about this record however is Beyoncé sells the absolute shit out of it. When some Pop Stars get a hold of another persons song they cannot make it fly, make it wholly and completely their own, but she does it so well that you never expect anything but the best from Her. She brings excitement because she herself is mysterious and exciting. The buzz around Beyoncé is more about what we don't know than what we do which just further pushes her mystique of invincibility.

LEMONADE could have easily been another trap record or tried to take advantage of the current trends in music, but instead it hearkens to history. "DADDY LESSONS" really is a country record, but with a hip hop sensibility. The description of that sounds completely silly, but with her delivery it absolutely works. That is the same throughout the record, you almost want this to not work but it totally does and you have to serve yourself a fat piece of humble pie. Beyoncé even let's her inner rock star out on tracks like "DON'T HURT YOURSELF" as Jack White likely strums a guitar and sings along. "HOLD UP" is likely some of the best work Beyoncé has ever done and it's flow into "6 INCH" is simply incredible. The features on LEMONADE are little more than after thoughts as Beyoncé dominates the record by sheer force of personality alone. The potential meme's for side girls with lines like "Becky with the good hair" seem almost endless. It would be easy to get caught up in the "what does this mean" back and forth but doing that you would miss out on what in and of itself is an incredible record. For an artist who's biggest hits were party ragers and dance tracks this album feels more cathartic more grounded in reality, even if it is not necessarily her real reality. Again, as expected this record is available only on TIDAL, which readers know my thoughts on, but it is one you simply cannot miss. These songs have staying power and you will be hearing these for a long time to come.

8.7 out of 10