Beyoncé Save Us... Save Us Beyoncé...
A Love Letter to Beyoncé’s Genius and Her Fight for Liberation
Put a finger down if the current political climate left you bedridden last week—and only the power of Beyoncé could get you up. One listen to Virgo’s Groove and Break My Soul, and suddenly the weight on my chest felt lighter. Beyoncé doesn’t just create music; she creates life and energy for the soul.
Beyoncé is more than the will to get out of bed—she’s a vessel of resilience, championing success and artistry across generations. From her start in Destiny’s Child to her record-breaking, multi-platinum solo career, she embodies the art of reinvention, too. Beyoncé is a music industry trailblazer, a performer in her own league while simultaneously dismantling systemic barriers. From early memories of dancing to her music videos in my bedroom (specifically to Check On It and Get Me Bodied) to seeing her Renaissance Tour decades later, Beyoncé has continuously evolved, solidifying her place as a cultural icon.
Beyoncé’s catalogue speaks for itself considering its artistic and cultural impact. With the surprise drop of her fifth album, BEYONCÉ (2013), she not only changed industry norms—shifting album releases to Fridays—but also redefined her sound. Produced in part by Pharrell, Self-Titled signaled a creative maturity, exploring soulful depths of motherhood, loss, sexuality, and intimacy that proved she was still, no doubt, THAT girl.
If Self-Titled was a declaration of creative independence, Lemonade (2016) was a cultural and political milestone. Inspired by the seven stages of grief tied to Jay-Z’s infidelity (cue the elevator footage), the album alchemized personal heartbreak into a powerful ode to Black womanhood, resilience, and systemic oppression. “She wanted to show the historical impact of slavery on black love, and what it has done to the black family,” Formation music video Director, Melina Matsoukas, shared on Bey’s behalf in The New Yorker in 2017. Its southern gothic visuals, triple-platinum status, and other countless elements cement itself as game-changing art and activism. (There is so much more to dive into on Lemonade alone. That requires its own Substack article.)
Beyoncé’s activism for Black liberation continues to be at the center of her work. The United States history of racism still disenfranchises Black and Brown people today, disproportionately impacting socioeconomic success, educational opportunities, higher incarceration rates, and psychological well being. Following the death of George Floyd and 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, Beyoncé and Jay-Z donated $1.5 million to BLM movement, Black-owned business, and other civil rights groups. On top of that, she released Black Parade on Juneteenth 2020, a Grammy nominated song championing Black pride, culture, and defiance. Also, she spoke on YouTube’s virtual 2020 graduation ceremony for the college and high school graduate with the following sentiment:
“Real change has started with you, this new generation of high school and college graduates we celebrate today… Your queerness is beautiful, your Blackness is beautiful, your compassion, your understanding… Your fight for people who may be different from you is beautiful.”
Beyoncé’s activism isn’t just in her lyrics; it’s in the fight to have her art and work recognized in her industry, which reflects broader systemic biases. Multiple repeated Grammy snubs (I Am… Sasha Fierce (2008), Beyoncé, Lemonade, and Renaissance (2022)) reveal how intertwined these inequalities are. Our systems of power aren’t equipped to celebrate, honor, equitize, and protect Black lives and art. America has a problem, y’all. The 2025 Grammy’s is approaching, and Beyonce is the most nominated artist of the night (11 nominations) for Cowboy Carter (2024). Will history repeat itself? Can the Recording Academy read this article? Regardless, Beyoncé is bigger than the Grammys at this point.
Beyoncé’s latest three act project reclaims the forgotten music genres originally founded by Black artists and communities. Renaissance is an homage to house music, Black queer icons, and techno beats. Heavily influenced by the 1980s underground ballroom scene and Paris is Burning (1990), this was THEE moment. The fashion, the callbacks, the vocals, the cuntiness – I'm getting overwhelmed thinking about it. The cultural significance of this album and tour brought communities together to celebrate Black queer liberation in the name of club music. The endorphins from that concert (and film) lasted for days.
After celebrating the vibrancy of Black queer culture in Renaissance, Beyoncé dusted off her spurs and returned to country music with Cowboy Carter. Inspired by her unwelcomed 2016 Country Music Awards performance of Daddy Lessons, this project reclaims a genre that has historically rejected Black artists. Blending bluegrass roots, americana twang, and rodeo hoedown with a Beyoncé twist to it. This isn’t just a Beyonce country album; it’s a reckoning with the past, a way to reimagine the future, and an overthrow to the expectations of genre. She partnered with country icons like Willie Nelson, Linda Martell, and Dolly Parton and featured rising Black country artists including Shaboozey, Tanner Addell, Brittany Spencer, Tiera Kenendy, and Reyna Roberts on the album. She created something truly bigger than all of us, but who’s shocked here?
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is living history and art—a tour de force who reminds us to find strength in our communities in our fight against injustice. If she were reading this (and Beyoncé, if you are, HI OMG), she’d encourage us to embrace love—for ourselves, for each other, and for the world we want to build.
*****
Current Top Three Favorite Songs from each Beyoncé album (I’m a sucker for a deep cut)
Dangerously In Love (2003)
Naughty Girl
Crazy in Love
Baby Boy (feat. Sean Paul)
B’Day (2006)
Upgrade U (feat. Jay-Z)
Get Me Bodied - Extended Version
Check On It (feat. Bun B & Slim Thug)
I AM… SASHA FIERCE (2008)
Video Phone (feat. Lady Gaga)
Diva
If I Were a Boy
4 (2011)
I Care
I Miss You
Countdown
BEYONCÉ (2013)
Blow
***Flawless (feat. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
7/11
Lemonade (2016)
All Night
Daddy Lessons
Sandcastles
HOMECOMING: THE LIVE ALBUM (2018)
Sorry - Homecoming Live
Before I Let Go - Homecoming Live
Don’t Hurt Yourself - Homecoming Live
RENAISSANCE (2022)
ALIEN SUPERSTAR
VIRGO’S GROOVE
PURE / HONEY
COWBOY CARTER (2024)
PROTECTOR
SWEET HONEY BUCKIIN’
FLAMENCO
I continue to be in awe of your work. Brilliant piece!