Fierce

Tooling around Youtube the other afternoon, I landed on Beyoncé’s vevo page. After spending a solid 20 minutes viewing the 5 part documentary mini series on the production of her recently released self-titled visual album, I finally felt impelled to see what all the fuss was about. Coughing up the $15.99 for an album I was already skeptical about, I eventually (after a sequence of pressing “Buy” and then “Cancel”) gave in, ready to partake in highly publicized experience. Let, me preface all of this by saying, I really wasn’t going to spend my $15 Christmas iTunes gift card on a pop album. I love Beyoncé as a person, respect her talents, and even enjoy many of her songs, but iTunes cards are rare and I didn’t intend to spend this one on just anything, especially if the album requires an extra 99 cents out of pocket. No, I was going to go down the much safer route of the new Childish Gambino album, or perhaps finally complete my Aesop Rock album that I’ve been slowly buying one song at a time. This, however, all changed with my exposure to the Youtube documentary.

Listening to Beyoncé talk about her creative vision and passions reminded me what a unique gift she is to the pop industry. Her understanding of self-growth, family, the power of womanhood, and artistic process spoke to many things that I find important in my own life. So, I finally confirmed the “Buy.” You could probably find every molecular aspect of the album already analyzed by just typing it into Google, so I’ll keep my reaction brief: wow. Okay, not that brief. This album showed me a side of both Beyoncé and myself that I had never before experienced. I felt myself relating to her as she embraced her sexuality, intelligence, and power as a woman in the world. This work is a taste of Beyoncé that not many people are used to, and thus for many it is relatively hard to take. It is very sexually charged, but the message holds throughout: be proud of who you are, don’t let anything stop you. Her artistry in the production of her album has also noticeably opened her music up to a new audience, outside of the pop genre, who relate to her experimentalism and honesty. I highly, highly recommend watching the mini documentary. It shed light on so much of the album that I might have written off as merely sex for the sake of sex had I not heard her speak about it.

Finally, my absolutely favorite part of the album is a moment in the song “Flawless” where a clip of a speech made by Nigerian writer and feminist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Last night, I listened to the entire speech she gave at a Ted Talk on her experience as a feminist. It put everything I’m so passionate about into such eloquent terms. Beyoncé’s inclusion of this quote enlightens so much of the more profound message promoted in her vision. The documentary, the album, and the Talk compliment each other beautifully and set the tone for what a modern woman in any society can look like: fierce.

Adichie is a beautiful speaker. A summary won’t do her speech justice, so please click the link to view the Talk.