Beyoncé is back with another visual album, this time taking inspiration from Disney's The Lion King and transforming her soundtrack to the 2019 "live action" remake The Gift into the ambitious longform Black Is King, currently streaming on Disney+.
Just in case you needed a reminder that Beyoncé and Jay-Z can operate at as high a level as they want, both in terms of Art and Access: The power couple surprise release a music video shot at famed art museum The Louvre, nonchalantly using paintings like the Mona Lisa as their backdrop.
Celebrated film director Ava DuVernay (Selma, A Wrinkle In Time) takes us into the near future where America has been rebooted into greatness thanks to the foresight of some wise and strong founding Mothers.
Featured in the video alongside Jay-Z, Beyonce and their daughter Blue, is a star-studded cast including Thandie Newton, Jessica Chastain, America Ferrera, Mindy Kaling, Michael B Jordan, David Oyelowo, Brie Larson, Rosario Dawson, Rashida Jones and more.
If a room full of rappers banged away randomly at typewriters for an infinite amount of time, would they write something as good as Eminem's "Stan"? Probably not, but this videos let's us into Em's creative process, as we see him metaphorically deal with with living up to his stature and navigating the sometimes icy waters of inspiration.
All hail Queen Bey, who took home an early (pre-telecast) win for Best Music Video:
Beyoncé "Formation" — Melina Matsoukas, video director | Candice Dragonas, Juliette Larthe, Nathan Scherrer & Inga Veronique, video producer | Label: Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records
On Tuesday, the nominees for the 59th Grammy Awards were announced and have already inspired a flurry of conversation about competition within the categories. Will Adele or Beyoncé reign supreme for Album of the Year? Or will be somebody else sneak in and pull off an upset. One category that isn't scrutinized quite like Album of the Year or Song of the Year but regularly brings out strong competition, is the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.
If you have HBO or already bough Beyonce's Lemonade visual album, then you've already had a chance to see this "Sorry" visual. Now everyone gets to dig in, however, on what will be a new video for them.
Beyonce goes very big with Lemonade, a visual album that mixes the personal with the universal with the political in a nearly hourlong special consisting of poetry, music and visuals.
In terms of the visual, the biggest stamp seems to come from director Khalil Joseph, but the longform also has set-pieces (aka: songs) directed by Jonas Akerlund,, Melina Matsoukas, Jonas Akerlund, Mark Romanek, Todd Tourso and Dikayl Rimmasch.
Those New Orleans floodwaters may have receeded, but there's still anger and style a'plenty left behind, especially when Beyoncé busts loose with a surprise, yet unsurprisingly strong video that reconnects her with her roots.
Two predestined lovers awaken from an embryonic underwater slumber to fight against the currents and find each other. Did I mention that it's underwater and absolutely beautiful? Oh, and the vocal is by somebody named Beyonce who I think might have a future in the music business.
Beyonce's suprise game is mad TIGHT. "7/11" comes tumbling down like a perfect crap roll — see what I did there? — and seeming like an off-the-cuff homemovie except that it's a) really good and b) hits almost every hip bulletpoint you can think of: Twerking? Yep. Red cups? Sure, why not. Kale? Of course, it's the vegetable of the year (sorry, Cauliflower).
Michelle Williams has Jesus on her side — and maybe just as importantly, former groupmates Beyonce and Kelly Rowland — in a casual Destiny's Child reunion that takes on a Carribean Christian motif.
