Warning: The following content is based on explicit media

  30 seconds into the second track of Lemonade, the reggae style captures my attention and has me grooving in my seat. Since 2003, Beyoncé has produced some of the most critically acclaimed albums. In 2013, Beyoncé sold over 800,000 copies of her self-titled album, Beyoncé, without any promotion or any mention of the album until its sudden release. Unlike Beyoncé, Lemonade was promoted days before release, yet it still gained the #1 on Billboard charts. Its iconic tones, visuals, and messages provide listeners with great music to relate to.

 After immediately downloading Lemonade, I plugged in my earphones and listened from beginning to the end. Lemonade is one of the most genre-diverse albums I’ve heard. It isn’t specific to one person’s taste, but to a diverse many. The only thing that was wrong with the album was that the album was too short. By the end of it, I certainly found myself wishing for more. “[Lemonade] sounds different than all these same old pop songs. It has sick visuals and funky groovy beats, along with amazing vocals,” Frosh. Jaelan Williams said. The album is unique compared to many of the albums getting released nowadays.

   Within the variety of genres, Lemonade has different social messages, from feminism to racial equality. In the song “6 inch”, Beyoncé depicts a story of an independent woman who works for her own money. The music and beats are inspiring and fit the message the song portrayed. “Freedom” was one of the most upbeat songs and confronted racial equality. “Singin’, freedom! Freedom! Where are you? Cause I need freedom too!I break chains all by myself. Won’t let my freedom rot in hell,” Beyoncé sung in her song, “Freedom”. Additionally, from the the first song to the seventh song, Beyoncé shows how she is hurt and healing from the alleged affair her husband Jay-Z had. The way she delivers this message is so powerful and contributes to Lemonade’s relatability.

  Since Beyoncé dropped her first single off Lemonade, “Formation”, she musically showed the theme of the racial injustice happening in the United States. After releasing her music video, many police officers spoke out and even planned to boycott and not patrol at Beyoncé’s Formation tour. In an interview with Elle Magazine, Beyoncé said ,”Let’s be clear: I am against police brutality and injustice. Those are two separate things.” Beyoncé mentions other conflicts related to this topic. She decides where her stand is in all these big controversial topics.

 The visual aspect of Lemonade made up for many of the missing messages the audio could not have included. The visuals included Malcolm X speeches, subliminal messages, and beautiful imagery. Without these visuals, Lemonade would still have been good; but with them, the album was utterly spectacular.

    In the visuals during the song “Forward”, which premiered on HBO, Beyoncé shows the mothers of three of the black men killed by police, Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, and Eric Garner. Not only does she speak racial injustice through this, but she raises attention of how black women are one of the most disrespected and unprotected minority.   

  In all, Lemonade was amazing, and it was easily a 9.8/10 and many would agree. From “Pray You Catch Me” to “Formation”, Lemonade is an album that many will remember for its themes, beats, and fascinating visuals.

Links to the album-

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lemonade-Explicit-Beyoncé/dp/B01EQGOW8E

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/lemonade/id1107429221

Link to steam it on TIDAL: http://listen.tidal.com/album/59727856