The Queen Of ‘Black Is King’: 6 Times Beyoncé Reminded Melanin Queens Who TF We Are
Isn't Beyoncé just the best? But seriously, the singer/songwriter/producer/actress who rose to fame as the lead singer of multi-platinum quartet (and later trio) Destiny's Child has become a centerpiece in culture and entertainment. What's most inspirational is that she's done it all while being unapologetically Blackity, Black, Black, BLACK.
She's constantly reminding us of who we are with projects that feel like carefully-crafted love letters to the Black culture and experience. Her latest work, Black Is King, is no exception—it actually might be her most melanin-rich work yet. The visual album dropping July 31 on Disney+ is a nod to her 2019 project, The Lion King: The Gift, but more importantly serves as "a celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience."
For Black women especially, Beyoncé is always a mood. In honor of her Black Is King release, we're reminded of all the times she put Black women front and center in her work.
When She Introduced The World To Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
In 2013, Beyoncé changed the game with the midnight drop of her self-titled visual album, a first of its kind. This was also the album where we really saw Bey come into her own and shed light on the feminist movement. For the bridge of her song "***Flawless", Bey sampled a TEDxTalk given by celebrated Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie titled, "We should all be feminists".
Adichie's talk is mainly focused on the status of women in Nigeria ("Because it is where I know and where my heart is," Adichie explains), however, Bey chose to feature lines that resonate to all women:
"We teach girls to shrink themselves. To make themselves smaller. We say to girls 'You can have ambition. But not too much. You should aim to be successful. But not too successful. Otherwise you will threaten the man.' Because I am female, I am expected to aspire to marriage. I am expected to make my life choices always keeping in mind that marriage is the most important. Now marriage can be a source of joy and love and mutual support, but why do we teach to aspire to marriage, and we don't teach boys the same? We raise girls to see each other as competitors. Not for jobs or for accomplishments which I think can be a good thing, but for the attention of men. We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys are. Feminist: a person who believes in the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes."
When She Made Lemons Into Lemonade
Lemonade was Beyonce's second visual album drop and premiered on HBO. This project played like an ode to Black women, gave a new meaning to "baby hair and afros", and renamed a style of braids worn by generations as "Lemonade Braids". Here's how:
Where there is sweetness in life, there is also bitterness, and no one has quite made lemons into lemonade like the Black woman. Lemonade represents the Black woman at her fullest self, her most vulnerable, her most angry, and her most powerful. In a series of songs that walked us through a pathway of different emotions, we saw ourselves in visuals and heard our pain and pleasure through sound. She showed the power and strength of Black women, but also our softness, our worries and fears through lyrics, melodies and stunning images. We cried, we laughed, and we ultimately healed. Then, there was the not-so-subtle shoutout to Black hair in "Formation" when she sang, "I like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros" after internet trolls tried to come for daughter, Blue Ivy's hair. And how could we ever forget the summer of 2016, when "Lemonade Braids" went mainstream? #BeyDidThat
When She Brought The Black Panthers To The Super Bowl
At the Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show, Beyoncé and her troop of female dancers strutted across the field for a "Formation" performance in Black Panther party realness. The bold move shed light on the Black Panther Party, a revolutionary socialist political organization which originated in 1966 for the self-defense of Black people. Considering that historically Black women are the most unprotected and underserved demographic in America, seeing Queen Bey lead the charge out onto the field in front of an audience of nearly 100 million people across the country was a MOMENT for Black women everywhere.
When Coachella Became Beychella
The year was 2018. Coachella became Beychella and Beyoncé's performance that paid homage to HBCUs finally gave the institutions the love they deserve. Historically Black Colleges and Universities created specifically for the advancement of the community are an experience like no other––just ASK any HBCU alum!
"So I studied my history, I studied my past, and I put every mistake, all of my triumphs–my 22-year career–into my 2-hour Homecoming performance." – Beyoncé
When She Brought Us All To Homecoming
It's just like Beyoncé to take her epic performance at Coachella and turn it into a documentary that we can watch over and over again. The doc as a whole serves as motivation for any woman trying to achieve a goal, but if you break it up piece by piece, there are easily digestible nuggets of motivation in the inspiring quotes by Black women she sprinkles throughout the film. Toni Morrison, Alex Walker, and Danai Gurira are just a few of the women whose words of wisdom pop up on-screen. Here's one we love:
"To me we are the most beautiful creatures in the whole world, Black people. And I mean that in every sense." — Nina Simone
When She Dropped "Black Parade"
"Black Parade" dropped on Juneteenth (June 19) and every line is an ode to the culture. With Black Lives Matter protests abound in respond to poilce brutality and a pandemic literally killing at rapid numbers, this track was necessary. So, when she says this verse, we really felt it:
"Hold my hands, we gon' pray together
Lay down, face down in the gravel
We wearin' all attire white to the funeral
Black love, we gon' stay together"
Featured image by Giphy.
Jazmine A. Ortiz is a creative born and raised in Bushwick, Brooklyn and currently living in Staten Island, NY. She started in the entertainment industry in 2012 and now works as a Lifestyle Editor where she explores everything from mental health to vegan foodie trends. For more on what she's doing in the digital space follow her on Instagram at @liddle_bitt.
ItGirl 100 Honors Black Women Who Create Culture & Put On For Their Cities
As they say, create the change you want to see in this world, besties. That’s why xoNecole linked up with Hyundai for the inaugural ItGirl 100 List, a celebration of 100 Genzennial women who aren’t afraid to pull up their own seats to the table. Across regions and industries, these women embody the essence of discovering self-value through purpose, honey! They're fierce, they’re ultra-creative, and we know they make their cities proud.
VIEW THE FULL ITGIRL 100 LIST HERE.
Don’t forget to also check out the ItGirl Directory, featuring 50 Black-woman-owned marketing and branding agencies, photographers and videographers, publicists, and more.
THE ITGIRL MEMO
I. An ItGirl puts on for her city and masters her self-worth through purpose.
II. An ItGirl celebrates all the things that make her unique.
III. An ItGirl empowers others to become the best versions of themselves.
IV. An ItGirl leads by example, inspiring others through her actions and integrity.
V. An ItGirl paves the way for authenticity and diversity in all aspects of life.
VI. An ItGirl uses the power of her voice to advocate for positive change in the world.
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You've Never Seen Luke James In A Role Quite Like This
Over the years, we've watched Luke James play countless characters we'd deem sex symbols, movie stars, and even his complicated character in Lena Waithe's The Chi. For the first time in his career, the New Orleans-born actor has taken on a role where his signature good looks take a backseat as he transforms into Edmund in Them: The Scare—a mentally deranged character in the second installment of the horror anthology series that you won't be able to take your eyes off.
Trust us, Edmund will literally make you do a double take.
xoNecole sat down with Luke James to talk about his latest series and all the complexity surrounding it—from the challenges taking on this out-of-the-box role to the show's depiction of the perplexing history of the relationship between Black Americans and police. When describing the opportunity to bring Edmund's character to life, Luke was overjoyed to show the audience yet another level of his masterful acting talents.
"It was like bathing in the sun," he said. "I was like, thank you! Another opportunity for me to be great—for me to expand my territory. I'm just elated to be a part of it and to see myself in a different light, something I didn't think I could do." He continued, "There are parts of you that says, 'Go for it because this is what you do.' But then also that's why it's a challenge because you're like, 'um, I don't know if I'm as free as I need to be to be able to do this.' Little Marvin just created such a safe space for me to be able to do this, and I'm grateful for everything I've been able to do to lead to this."
Courtesy
Them: The Scare, like the first season, shines a light on the plight of Black Americans in the United States. This time, the story is taking place in the 1990s, at the height of the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles. While the series presents many underlying themes, one that stands out is Black people and the complicated relationship with the police. "For the audience, I think it sets the tone for the era that we're in and the amount of chaos that's in the air in Los Angeles and around the country from this heinous incident. And I say it just sets the tone of the anxiety and anxiousness that everybody is feeling in their own households."
James has been a longtime advocate against police brutality himself. He has even featured Elijah McClain, the 23-year-old Colorado man who died after being forcibly detained by officers, as his Instagram avatar for the past five years. So, as you can imagine, this script was close to his heart. "Elijah was a soft-loving oddball. Different than anyone but loving and a musical genius. He was just open and wanted to be loved and seen."
Getty Images
Luke continued, "His life was taken from him. I resonate with his spirit and his words...through all the struggle and the pain he still found it in him to say, 'I love you and I forgive you.' And that's who we are as people—to our own detriment sometimes. He's someone I don't want people to forget. I have yet to remove his face from my world because I have yet to let go of his voice, let go of that being [because] there's so many people we have lost in our history that so often get forgotten."
He concluded, "I think that's the importance of such artwork that moves us to think and talk about it. Yes, it's entertaining. We get to come together and be spooked together. But then we come together and we think, 'Damn, Edmund needed someone to talk to. Edmund needed help... a lot [of] things could have been different. Edmund could have been saved.'
Check out the full interview below.
Luke James Talks Ditching Sex Symbol Status For "Them: The Scare", Elijah McClain, & Morewww.youtube.com
Featured image by Getty Images