beyonce – The Double Scoop

A SEAT AT THE TABLE REVIEW

Author: The Double Scoop

Beyonce’ made us get “In Formation” and now younger sister Solange wants us to have a seat and listen. A Seat At The Table which is now the number one album on Billboard 200 is Solange’s 3rd studio album.

The album is such a breath of fresh air because it’s so authentic, personal, and relatable. It’s also such a symbolic album because many of the songs touch on topics that are relevant in today’s society especially regarding black culture. This album really put Solange at the forefront and made many (both of us included) who failed to notice her music before take a second look. For many years people have referred to Solange simply as “Beyonce’s younger sister” but with this latest project she proves that she is a creative genius and a force to be reckoned with.

Solange has been a singer and music writer for years, and she has always been content with being in her own lane and creating the type of music that she wants without looking for recognition.

ASATT is socially conscious, filled with black pride and in true Solange fashion beautifully artistic. It’s obvious she put a lot of time and passion into the creation of this project because everything about the album is so cohesive; from her vocals, to the instrumentation, the lyrics, the artists she chose to collaborate with, and even the location where she created majority of the album which was in New Iberia, Louisiana where her grandparents met.

The album includes interludes from her parents as well as several interludes from rap veteran Percy Miller (aka Master P.), who is one of Solange’s musical inspirations. He discusses reaching major success as a black owned company, the formation of his record label No Limit Records, and being able to recognize your value and worth in the industry.

Tina Knowles talks about black pride and the the stigma that sometimes comes along with that expression, and Matthew Knowles recounts the negative experiences he had growing up during the civil rights era.

Each dialogue presents a different discussion to engage the listener’s ear. I assume this is why Solange named the album “A Seat At The Table” being that most people who sit at a table together engage in conversation. Dope concept! The album is packed with over 21 tracks each delivering their own unique message.

Cranes In The Sky is one of our favorite tracks and one that Solange actually started working on it 8 years ago. The song is so relatable because it speaks on trying to escape a pain or filling a void by replacing it with temporary fixes.

In one verse from the song Solange sings:

I ran my credit card bill up

Thought a new dress would make it better

I tried to work it away

But that just made me even sadder

Don’t Touch My Hair is another favorite of ours. As black women who proudly rock our natural hair sometimes we notice the stares of people who may feel our hair looks too ethnic. The track also speaks of owning individuality and not trying to change or conform to appease others. It’s about not letting others diminish your shine or light.

In the song Solange sings:

You know this hair is my shit

Rode the ride, I gave it time

But this here is mine

You know this hair is my shit

Rode the ride, I gave it time

But this here is mine

solange-dont-touch-my-hair — Photo Credit: Direct Lyrics

The song “Weary” addresses the whole concept question everything and trust no one……

Solange advocates for human equality and urges listeners to question the reasoning for having a social hierarchy .

But you know that a king is only a man

With flesh and bones, he bleeds just like you do

He said, “Where does that leave you?”

And, “Do you belong?”

I do, I do

In the song “Mad” which features Lil. Wayne Solange expresses the anger that many black people are feeling towards the continuous loss of innocent black lives by police officers. It also speaks on being mad without being able to fully express being mad due to possible ramifications.

In the chorus Solange sings,

Why you always gotta be, why you always gotta be so mad (mad, mad, mad)

I got a lot to be mad about (be mad, be mad, be mad)

Lil Wayne raps:

Then I walk up in the bank, pants sagging down

And I laugh at frowns what they mad about?

Cause here come this motherfucker with this mass account

That didn’t wear cap and gown

Are you mad cause the judge ain’t give me more time

And when I attempted suicide, I didn’t die

Other songs like F.U.B.U.which is the acronym for the the 90s clothing like For Us By Us encourages the empowerment/unity of black people in a majority white society.

All my niggas in the whole wide world

Made this song to make it all y’all’s turn

For us, this shit is for us

Some shit is a must

This shit is for us

The album as a whole is a wonderful and creative body of work! Kudus to Solange for staying true to who she is and for putting out music that is relevant and important to what’s going on in society today.

THE 2016 BET AWARDS RECEIVES RAVE REVIEWS

Author: Amy Nicole

Over the last few years the BET Awards has been pretty mediocre in my opinion but this year the show was the best that it has ever been in years!

The award show opened with a performance by Beyonce which I was very surprised by because she usually doesn’t attend the BET Awards. Her set started with dancers walking towards the stage wearing African attire while an audio speech from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. played from the speakers. Beyonce appeared onstage standing in water and the dancers joined her in place on the stage. She performed the song “Freedom” from her album Lemonade which is more of a revolutionary song. She joined the dancers performing a traditional African dance and Kendrick Lamar joined her onstage for what became an epic collaboration! Their tribute to African culture and the black lives matter movement was amazing. After the performance was over the camera zoomed in to the audience and you could see the proud faces of celebrities like Spike Lee and Samuel L. Jackson nodding and smiling with satisfaction. I was definitely proud to see my generation use their platform to help evoke positive change!

Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson hosted the show again this year. They started off the show with a parody skit of Hamilton, singing current rap songs from artists Desiigner, OT Genasis, and The Weeknd. Personally I found the skit to be very corny but I’m a huge fan of Tracee so she could really do no wrong in my eyes LOL!

I thought production did a great job of blending new and older artists for the music performance line-up. Some of the performers included Fat Joe, Alicia Keys, Future, Usher and Byson Tiller. I think it was a good blend of artist to target various age groups. Most of the performances were pretty good. Alicia Keys’ performance was my favorite.

One of the top and most talked about award categories of the night was the humanitarian award which was awarded to actor Jesse Williams. If you don’t watch the show Grey’s Anatomy you probably weren’t too familiar with who he was, but aside from being an actor he is also a well known activist who is known for speaking out about controversial issues regarding the oppression of black people. When Jesse accepted his award many people were expecting him to give a brief thank you but surprisingly he turned his acceptance speech into a full out church sermon addressing the injustices of black people and calling out our flawed and bias judicial system. When Jesse left the stage just about the entire audience was standing on their feet applauding him. I was even on my feet watching his speech from my television screaming “Yassss Jesse”! One of the most memorable quotes from his speech was, “Just because we’re magic does not mean we’re not real”.

The highlight of the 2016 BET Awards which I think most viewers would agree was the Prince tribute. I can’t say that I am a die-hard Prince fan but I do enjoy some of his music and I realize how much his music has impacted and influenced many of the artist that our out today. Instead of doing one long tribute all at once the performances were blended into different sections throughout the award show. Some of the performers from the tribute included: Erykah Badu, Bilal, Jennifer Hudson, Maxwell, Sheila E. and Janelle Monae. Each artist performed a different Prince classic and added their personal touch to the song. My favorite tributes were from Janelle Monae and Bilal.

Although the show was pretty lengthy (3 hours) it was definitely worth watching. This year the BET Awards took on more of a polished and sophisticated tone which I really liked. I’m hoping they will keep this new format up in the years to come.

Photo Credits: Billboard, Rolling Stone– Kevin Winter/Getty

LEMONADE REVIEW

Photo Credit: Billboard

Author: Amy Nicole

I’m not shy to admit that I’m no die-hard Beyonce fan. I think she’s talented and I like some of her music, but I’m far from a being a member of the Beyhive. Beyonce recently released her visual album Lemonade and of course just like with every project she releases she pretty much broke the internet! Since I finally got some free time over the weekend I decided to see what all the hype was about.

I listened to the audio album before watching the visual so that I could really grasp the lyrics in the songs. After the first time listening to the album I thought it was decent but nothing extraordinary. After I watched the visual album I will say I appreciated the album a lot more and some of the songs that I initially didn’t care for I ended up enjoying them better the second time around. The album is delivered as a unique short film. My top five songs included: Pray You Catch Me, Hold Up, Sorry, Love Drought, and the song which has finally grown on to me Formation.

“In Pray You Catch Me” Beyonce sings:

You can taste the dishonesty, It’s all over your breath as you pass it off so cavalier

Prayin’ to catch you whispering, I’m prayin’ you catch me listening

In “Hold Up” Beyonce still sings about a cheating spouse but does so with more of an angry tone. The song has calypso instrumentals and a poppy Caribbean feel to it. In the video Beyonce walks around the streets in a yellow dress and heels with a bat breaking windows and smashing cars. In the song she repeats the chorus lines:

Hold up, they don’t love you like I love you, Slow down, they don’t love you like I love you

In one line from the song she sings:

I smell your secret, and I’m not too perfect

To ever feel this worthless

How did it come down to this?

Photo Credit: Independent

The song “Sorry” which is probably my favorite song off the album will definitely be the independent woman song of the summer. In the song Beyonce lets her cheating partner know that she is done with the drama and isn’t going to apologize for it. In the video Serena Williams twerks and dances alongside Beyonce. Serena received some backlash for her role in the video but I think the point was to show her embracing her muscular physique which she is often criticized for. The video is fun and shows women enjoying life and having fun without stressing over a man. So many songs and videos portray women crying and depressed over a guy so it was nice to see women putting themselves first for a chance.

In the song Beyonce says:

Sorry, I ain’t sorry, Sorry, I ain’t sorry

Middle fingers up, put them hands high

Wave it in his face, tell him boy bye

At the end of the song Beyonce drops the infamous line:

He only want me when I’m not there, He better call Becky with the good hair

Most fans speculated that she was referring to Rita Ora or Damon Dash’s ex wife Rachel Roy who have both been rumored to have had affairs with Jay Z.

Photo Credit: WowOne

Love Drought” is another good one off the album. The song is about a spouse losing interest in the relationship.

“Ten times out of nine, I know you’re lying, But nine times outta ten, I know you’re trying

Tell me what I did wrong?

Feel like that question has been posed, I’m movin on

The majority of the songs on the album are about betrayal, heartbreak, and infidelity which is why many people speculated that Beyonce was airing her dirty laundry about her husband Jay Z. The album also includes songs like “6 inch” featuring The Weeknd which is about an independent successful woman. Another song “Freedom” which features Kendrick Lamar touches on institutional racism and encourages women empowerment. In the video the mothers of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner make an emotional appearance holding the pictures of their slain sons. There is also the song “Daddy Lessons” which is a song that pays respect to Beyonce’s dad for helping her become the woman she is today.

Photo Credit: Fader

Overall the visual album helps sells the entire project. I give respect when respect is due and Beyonce is a marketing, artistic genius. The short film is broken into different sections which include: intuition, anger, apathy, emptiness, accountability, reformation, forgiveness, resurrection, hope, and redemption. Beyonce recites poetry in between each section and also adds personal clips of her family and documentary footage. The visual album is beautiful and definitely pays respect to the black woman. It also encourages sisterhood and highlights the diversity of beauty among women of color. Throughout the entire visual there are women dressed in antebellum attire and women uplifting and encouraging each other. The album includes many celebrity appearances including Serena Williams, Zendaya Coleman, Quvenzhan’e Wallis, Amandla Stenberg, and Winnie Harlow.

Photo Credit: Bone Magazine

Photo Credit: Vogue

Photo Credit: Bone Magazine

The last song on the visual album is “Formation”. Initially I did not like the song but just like with the entire album the visual makes you appreciate the song more. In the video Beyonce addresses the Black Lives Matter Movement by sitting on top of a sinking police car which signifies the loss of respect for authority that many people (specifically black people) are starting to develop due to a bias judicial system. The most popular lyrics from the song are:

I like my baby heir, with baby hair and afros

I like my Negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils

In these two lines Beyonce is letting the world know that she embraces her blackness.

Photo Credit: Slate

Many people were curious to know why Beyonce named the album lemonade and she addresses this question in the album. In the short film a clip is shown of Beyoncé’s grandmother-in-law Hattie giving a speech at her 90^th birthday party. In the clip Hattie says: “I had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.”

Lemonade is a very uniquely creative album. Beyonce has been in the music industry for a long time and now she seems to be taking on more of a political/revolutionary approach to her music. Many people have argued that she is not doing enough to support change in the black community but I think she is making a change in her own way the best way she knows how. At 34 years old Beyonce is a musical mogul and she has definitely earned the title Queen B.

The Revolution Will Be Televised

Author: Amy Nicole

It has been a little over a week since Beyonce’ shut the Super Bowl down with her pro-black halftime performance. Many people (mostly white) thought her performance was offensive and some even called it racist which led to an attempted boycott of the singer’s newly announced Formation tour.

Before the hype of Beyonce’s performance could die down Kendrick Lamar set the media on fire once again with his performance at the 2016 Grammys. His performance was an artistic and powerful tribute to black men.

In the beginning of his performance he marched out on stage shackled in chains with other black men wearing prison uniforms. He approached the microphone and performed his single “Blacker The Berry”.

“You hate me don’t you?”

“You hate my people, your plan is to terminate my culture”.

It was obvious who Lamar was speaking to in his lyrics hence the awkward and uncomfortable expressions by the mostly white audience.

Lamar ended his performance with his single “We Gone Be Alright” accompanied by dancers dressed in traditional African attire sending the message that despite the hardships that black people have been through we will still persevere.

As a black woman I see nothing wrong with black people embracing our culture. For so many years we have been oppressed, de-humanized and belittled as a race. Black people are once getting starting to embrace who they are and I’m so glad to be alive during this revolutionary period in black culture.

Photo Credit: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP

Photo Credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for NARAS