‘Lemonade’–trouble in Beyoncé’s paradise

BEYONCÉ is a lovely and empowered woman. AFP

Is there trouble in Beyoncé and husband Jay Z’s conjugal paradise, as suggested by the pop queen’s latest collection, “Lemonade”? Judging from the searing honesty and imperious rage that seethe through her sixth studio album, it sure seems that way.

In “Lemonade,” the 34-year-old superstar shares a revealing, music-enhanced emotional journey that captures her thoughts and feelings about raging issues she feels strongly about—woman empowerment (“6 Inch”), parenthood (“Daddy Lessons”), racial discrimination and police brutality (“Formation”), angry defiance (“Sorry”) and, for much of the album, Jay Z’s extramarital indiscretions.

Dogged by rumors of marital infidelity, Beyoncé sings about getting kicked to the curb—and the debilitating suspicions and troubling indifference that are tearing her apart: “My lonely ear/ Pressed against the walls of your world/ Nothing else ever seems to hurt like the smile on your face/ When it’s only in my memory.”

In “Hold Up,” a deceptively upbeat collaboration with Diplo, she discloses how her insecurities have reduced her to the vulnerable woman she has become: “Something doesn’t feel right/ Especially coming up after midnight/ How did it come to this?/ Going through your call list/ What a wicked way to treat the girl [who] loves you.”

With a cleverly incorporated sampling of Led Zeppelin’s 1971 classic “When the Levee Breaks,” the allusion to marital strife gets stronger, more disturbing and, like guest vocalist Jack White’s impassioned singing, angrier in “Don’t Hurt Yourself”: “This is your final warning/ If you try this sh*t again, you’re gonna lose your wife/ Who do you think I am?/ You aren’t married to an average b*tch/ You can watch my fat ass twist/ And keep your money, (coz) I got my own!”

With lyrics like those, who needs veiled threats—or interpreters?

Then, in the resentful breakup song, “Sorry,” she mightily holds her middle finger up for the two-timing object of her ire. Go, girl!

The angry bravado doesn’t come without Beyoncé’s willingness to compromise, however: In “Love Drought,” the melodically ravishing and vocally sumptuous R&B jam is garnished with a floating synth line, as she discusses the kind of love that could “move mountains, calm a war and make it rain.”

Queen Bey considerably calms down when she laces “Forward” (with James Blake) and her intriguingly open-ended ballad, “Sandcastles,” with a hopeful tone.

Then, before she launches into the album closer “Formation,” she talks about how stronger her love for Jay Z has become, in “All Night”: “Our love (is) stronger than your pride/ Beyond your darkness, I’m your light.”

Advocacy

In “Freedom,” her first collaboration with hot-to-trot Kendrick Lamar, she deftly interpolates her struggle with her hubby’s infidelity with Kendrick’s advocacy against institutionalized racism—with producer Just Blaze helping the tune’s disparate elements come cohesively together.

The compelling single is made more significant by the inclusion of a speech delivered by Jay Z’s grandmother, Hattie White, when she turned 90 years old in April last year: “I had my ups and downs, but I always found the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, so I made lemonade!”

“Lemonade’s” strong feminist sensibility is attributed to Hattie and Beyoncé’s grandmother, Agnéz Deréon, for their wisdom and never-say-die spirit.

Musically, the album is a ravishing mishmash of genres that sees the R&B luminary dabbling even in country music, by way of “Daddy Lessons.”

In the provocative track, the songstress revisits her roots in Texas and muses about the lessons she learned from her  father, Matthew Knowles, with whom she had a falling out after she fired him as her manager in 2011.

Another choice cut is the catchy “6 Inch” (featuring The Weeknd) a female empowerment anthem that uses a woman’s shoes as a symbol of power and influence.

With thoughtful introspection, Beyoncé examines the aforementioned themes and mulls over how she figures in the grand scheme of things.

But, wherever that might be, one thing is certain—this lovely and empowered woman will fight tooth and nail first before allowing herself to end up with the short end of the stick.