Beyoncé: The Newest Angry Black Woman!

"Best revenge is your paper" 

Beyoncé what have you done? You seem to have ruffled a few white feathers in 'Formation', so much so, that they want to boycott yo Bootilicious booty, whatever that means. Maybe they didn’t know you were black?

Now I need to say like most people who have spoken up about this, I am not a Beyoncé fan. I do listen to her music but it doesn’t move me any other way than physically. I’ll sing along, when I am feeling like going “to the left to the left”, with “all my single ladies” who are “Flawless”.

The Flawless Shorts - Beyonce

What sparks some interest for me looking at her career, is her progression over the years into a moderate liberal feminist. Now this is questionable considering her style choices are clearly inspired by the 'Male Gaze'. However, people seem to listen because of the package the message is delivered in.

This overt sexuality may be the only thing truly holding her back from being the force that she can be. We're still stuck on her booty even though she seems to have grown mentally, but how would we tell? This is only the second time she’s addressed world issues in her music, the first being Flawless that brought pertinent feminist issues to the mainstream media through Chimamanda’s prose.

February 2016 she drops Formation as song that provokes a number of issues African Americans deal with socially. References from the chorus tell us that she likes afros and Negro noses just the way they are. She embodies Southern American Negro culture in dress, and the visuals display these too.

We see a New Orleans cop car submerged in water. A little Negro boy dancing in front of a line of policemen who then raise their hands in surrender/praise of the boy’s skills. I am sure you’ve seen the video, so you know…

The video is powerful display of the current African American experience. A voice at the beginning of the track questions, “What happened after New Orleans”? What happened to America if Formation is what it has become? Has the value of the Negro life diminished rapidly since Katrina? Based on the media reports we see, it seems so. Innocent Negores getting killed just for no reason. It's got us here in Africa thinking I am better off home. There is no milk and honey for a Negro in America, only premature death. 

The following day she performs the song at the Super Bowl. A major sporting event on the American calendar. She does this with a gang of 'nappy headed hoes' for dancers looking like Black Panthers. This is clearly too much black for America. Threatening.

"OK ladies now lets get in formation..."

"OK ladies now lets get information..."

Beyoncé, you’re the honey-kissed, blonde weaved version of the American dream, and how dare you betray her trust. I guess lady liberty also forgot you were black since you transformed your looks to become more appealing and easy on the eye, attaining attributes that have built your success in the mainstream media.

Now I must say the messages Bey appears to convey are contradictory when she is scantily clad and commanding us to “bow down bitches” and “get in formation’, ‘get information”. Bey, it’s difficult for us to trust you when your presence in the blonde and the questionable skin tone is the reason why those cameras that love you render us women as 'docile bodies'. In particular, the black women whose existence head to toe is inadequate. This paradox is perplexing but has a clear answer Bey is just making music that she feels, whatever package she presents it in is her choice, so swallow it. Hair is an accessory just like lipstick. The weave does not diminish the message.

#naturalhair #afros #weaves #slayladies

Now that she’s flipped the script a bit and hit us with a track about Negro empowerment, but it seems Caucasian people don’t like this. What's causing the insecurity? A look at some of these irrational reactions really have you wondering.

The song didn't call anyone out besides the Police force. Or did I miss something? Is the #BlackLivesMatter movement a problem?

Even in the distant shores of Africa I see complaints. This song is primarily about B, her heritage and how she feels about it and her view of life in America and how she #Slays it and will continue to, calling you to join her in #Slaying your own life. Even as a Negro in America despite everything going on.

Are black people not allowed to have a moment? Are we not allowed to talk about how mad we are about our people being killed for nothing? If Formation is a problem it means #blacklivesreallydontmatter. What is so threatening about black people being #woke. Why don’t white people want to hear truth? Do they fear retaliation? Why people getting so hot and bothered by a black woman speaking a truth? Maybe they really didn’t know she was black?!

Beautiful Braids

Yes I said it...