How Beyoncé handled the situation and what she did for Taylor🤍🤍🤍

EVERYONE was singing to single ladies and doing the dance it was the first viral moment on YouTube and changed pop culture.

EVERYONE loved 7/11 and self titled. They loved drunk in love and partition.

Then.. lemonade came. She tore the bandaid and exposed the brutality that is the experience of black women. How slavery changed black families, and even exposed abuse and cheating and how black women are never protected. She was a voice for the voiceless.

Then she did the black panther outfits at the Super Bowl and was outspoken about police brutality. It went south from there.

Beyoncé was palatable until she started centering the black experience especially the black woman experience in her art.

Now there’s think pieces about her status in country music when she’s from Houston and has Alabama and Louisiana roots.

Just my two cents!

Looking at pics from the I’m that girl teaser (picture posted is from RWT book) when she’s on her hands and knees ontop of the counter at the bar next to the horse…. And she’s wearing a saddle. Are you the horse Beyonce !?!

I know a lot of people think that she should go back to her natural hair color and yes she looks beautiful as a brunette but I just love her with blonde hair.

Her honey blonde is just iconic although I think her brunette hair color makes her look a little more youthful I feel like her honey blonde hair suits her better it’s just so striking and it matches her skin tone and eye shade perfectly her blonde hair just makes her glow

I hope she keeps ignoring the haters saying “she wants to be white”’ bc she keeps her hair blonde 🙄

Sometimes people’s natural hair just isn’t their perfect match and that’s okay 🤷

although I would like to see how she would look with a dark red shade

I’ll be watching Homecoming tn!!! ugh so obsessed with her

I really loved this even though it’s defacing money, I’ll post the artist who did it later, just wanted to share.

Rhiannon Giddens is (imho) a musician who has been doing the most important work musically and culturally. She’s a folk musician who has been tirelessly reclaiming country/folk and reclaiming African American space through education and honestly being a badass. She’s a Pulitzer Prize winner, Grammy winner, one of the most respected names in folk, and responsible for the new rise in Black banjoists like Kaiah Kater, Allison Russell, Amythyst Kiah, etc. She’s the reason I, personally, play the banjo.

The fact that her and Beyoncé collabed…. I used to pray for times like this.

I encourage y’all to check out her solo music/the Carolina Chocolate Drops, and especially her Wondrium series on the banjo.

Upvotes if you’re an official Hag Hive member!!!

I’ve been here since the 90s when I was 12 years old! And yes I’m bragging 🐝

I’ve been a part of the hive since B’Day era and being someone from that era, Bey got everybody fed. Award show appearances, visuals, a tour, interviews etc.

However, as each era progresses I notice a trend which gives me fear for the upcoming Act of the trilogy.

Pre self titled era: Album + Visuals + Tour + Award Show Live Performances + Traditional Promo/Interviews

Self Titled: Album + Visuals + Tour + Award Show Performance

Lemonade: Album + Visuals + Tour

Renaissance: Album + Tour

Cowboy Carter: Album (I dont see a tour announcement coming up for this era)

Even as a long time fan, I sometimes yearn to be fed by Mama, but for the upcoming era I wonder what else would Bey take away from our Hive diet. I know she’s way past the grind of doing promos, but as a fan, I miss seeing her especially this era 😢

A hint or did the first two quarters just take way too long to play?

As we all know by now, Beyoncé announced something’s coming on the 14th of January, probably a tour due to Live Nation reposting. Regardless of what she will announce, the date is like everything she does very intentional and interesting. Why?

• The Feast of the Ass A medieval celebration of the biblical flight into Egypt that took place on January 14th. It waned in popularity after the Middle Ages. The Ass refers to the donkey that Mary rode with Jesus in her arms into Egypt. Specifically therefore there is an emphasis on the donkey and celebrating the animal. In the middle ages, the prettiest girl in town would ride through town to church reenacting the flight on a donkey (sometimes wooden) with a baby in her arms. The Church didn’t like this celebration, as it was seen as mockery, and successfully suppressed it out of existence.

• Peter Bruegel the Elder’s Landscape with the Flight into Egypt (1563) A Renaissance painting depicting the Holy Family’s flight into Egypt. Interestingly, it is not set in Egypt/Middle East, but very visibly in a European landscape. Anyhow, the painting represents the length and difficulty of their flight from persecution.

• Renaissance World Tour How does all this tie to Bey? Well, Beyoncé used this Peter Bruegel painting as a backdrop in an interlude during the RWT. She wears a red Renaissance Couture piece when she stands in front of this painting. During this specific part of the interlude, the now iconic Bey-as-a-child ‘I would like to thank the judges for picking me, my parents who I love, I love you Houston’ plays. Perhaps signifying Bey’s long and difficult way ahead from that moment.

Anyways, this is what I wanted to analyze. Her mind is insane. January 14 is not a random date. Even down to the red font, that actually appears to be very medieval looking to me. But maybe this is when I start to overread. Let me know what you all think in the comments! :)

BONUS: * The Feast of Fools Celebrated on New Year’s Day and a by-product of the aforementioned Feast of the Ass. Also waned alongside the Feast of the Ass due to the Church not liking it and suppressing it. A Lord of Misrule would be elected on Halloween (Oct 31st) and rule until Candlemas (Feb 2nd). Essentially, this feast parodied the Church and it was seen as mockery too. Nevertheless, I’m having my eye out for New Year’s and Candlemas just because of January 14th having been announced. Probably won’t mean a thing, though.

Total: 13,59M streams.

When does Beyoncé even sleep?? She and the whole crew (dancers, makeup artists, etc) have to travel from city to city in a matter of days (or less). She doesn’t ever look tired or sleep deprived. When does she start getting ready for the next show?? Her voice is finely tuned every night. She does entire impeccable photo shoots of all her outfits before each performance so that the Insta posts keep coming. All the prep work that happened before the tour started…all the costuming is really what’s blowing my mind.

I need a behind the scenes documentary with real raw details cus this is incredible!! What do y’all think?

Songs are always up for interpretation so here is my perspective. I see the song as a story about a western outlaw - a female hangman who killed Beyonce's lover/husband.

I think the song switches between perspectives of The Hangman speaking, Beyonce speaking and even a quick moment of a stranger speaking.

"One by one, you hang them high...I hated you once...I envy you now...you owe me a debt, you stole him from me" - The Hangman kills Beyonce's lover and Beyonce is wracked with pain about her lover's death. She "hated" The Hangman, but over time she grew to "envy" her, because The Hangman doesn't feel anything - "your hands are steady as you sleep at night, how did you turn your heart to stone?" Beyonce wants to be like her. She doesn't want to feel pain.

"When the sun goes down...I feel her eyeing me..." - The Hangman sees Beyonce in town and Beyonce, entranced by the Hangman's power, is curious about her.

The Hangman talks about how she is a "Tyrant". Riding town to town, doing what she wants.

"Send me some shots, are you with me or not?" - The Hangman is inviting Beyonce to join her as an outlaw.

They shoot up the bar and run away together, "scot-free".

"Have you seen her, 5'9, thick and fine...what a tragedy" - sounds like the comment of a townsperson that has seen Beyonce run off with The Hangman.

"Riding you while we trying to get away...sexy and I know it...I ain't afraid to show it" The Hangman is telling Beyonce about her sexual exploits as they travel together now town to town. It could also be interpreted as them being together. She is showing off her power as a "Tyrant" - she takes what she wants.

"Tap me on the shoulder when you reload the gun" - She is training Beyonce on how to shoot as an outlaw. She is warning Beyonce to tap her on the shoulder so that she knows when there is only one gun shooting and not two.

The experienced criminal is on a crime spree with her inexperienced sidekick.

And then the bridge. I see this as a conversation between Beyonce and The Hangman at night over a campfire while they're out west, or maybe in a dark bedroom over a saloon. "How did you get used to the haunting...teach me how not to cry". We discover why Beyonce went on this criminal journey, she wants to be stronger, she wants to get over her pain, she wants to let go of the lover she lost at the beginning of the song, and the person she is seeking solace from is the very woman who took her lover away in the first place. Beyonce has been attracted to the dark side of life, she is looking for leadership from a Tyrant, because she thinks that this is where strength can be found.

"Hangman, teach me how not to cry."

But the Hangman is only able to teach her by bringing her along. So they continue their life together "back outside, and I'm on the road". The Hangman repeats the chorus, talking about her exploits, without ever answering Beyonce's plea.

And by the end of the song Beyonce is still begging her, unfulfilled. She wasn't able to turn cold. She is left envying her and wanting to know how to be stronger.

The last words are "Giddy up, giddy up" - Just keep going.

This song is a fucking masterpiece. The fact that this incredible story is being told over a super catchy trap beat is wild. It sneaks up on you. And the insane vulnerability in the bridge deserves study.

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Edit: Typos

Thanks to my toddler, I believe Beyonce is referencing "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain." So I knew this song was about the rapture. But when I did some research, I learned this popular folk song is a rendition to the negro spiritual, "When the Chariot Comes." It is believed that it was code for the Underground Railroad. And the "she" is a reference to the Chariot. We have seen her driving a bus in the Amen visual during the tour and other vehicles in "I'm that Girl." She sings running through the river in "Riiverdance," which was a common method to escape to freedom during slavery. "She'll be coming around the mountain," originally being a negro spiritual falls in line to reclaiming our history and our culture. The rapture reference also makes sense for the transition to Renaissance and her singing lift off during the tour. Not to mention in the song, "When the Chariot Comes," it ends by she will take you through portals. We also see the imagery of portals in "I'm that Girl" visual.

Honestly may have read this take here a while ago and forgot that’s where it came from so apologies.

I was thinking why of all people would Beyoncé feature Miley and Post Malone so prominently on Cowboy Carter, when they’re both well known for being culture vultures.

BUT then it clicked for me. Both of them started in hip-hop/pop just like Beyonce, and both were allowed to switch to country with zero objection. Moving into the country genre was presented as them maturing out of some phase they were in, and returning to their roots. 😒

And guess who can’t do that switch seamlessly, despite having a very similar, if not more robust, resume to both Post Malone and Miley.

So was that one of her points? You’ll accept them with no fight and no proof that they’re “real country” but you won’t accept me? And I’ll remind you that you did accept them by featuring them on my fusion hip-hop-pop-dance-country album.

Tyrant is by far my most streamed song on the album. At first I liked it because of the production, vocals, and, lets be real, it’s a hot girl anthem! The more I’ve listened to it though, the more the lyrics are blowing my mind and giving a whole new meaning to this album as a whole. This song is in different areas!!!!!!! After listening to it 30+ times, I finally feel like I have a working theory on what the song is about. Obviously, this could be totally wrong, but it’s what I’m going with because it’s enhancing my experience of the album. I hope you guys enjoy my analysis below!

Okay so my theory on this song is that Beyonce is actually singing from 2 perspectives. POV 1 is Beyonce herself. POV 2 we will call Jolene (duh) who is the “other woman”. I have highlighted Beyoncé’s perspective in blue and Jolene’s perspective in purple in the pictures.

The song starts out with a Dolly Parton feature which is intentional to show that this song is about infidelity. Obvious callback to Jolene prior on the album (I also think there’s more to this link but I haven’t gotten that far with my theory yet).

There are two character nicknames in this song: 1. “Hangman” which I believe is a reference to the Western movie The Hangman (1959) in which the main character has that nickname for hanging guilty men who have committed crimes. This represents the woman, Jolene, who sleeps with men in relationships and completely destroys them and their partner, leaving their relationship… hanged (dead) when she is gone. Hangman is what Beyonce refers to Jolene as. 2. “Tyrant” is what Jolene refers to herself as. She is beautiful and uses her power over men to ruin their lives. She is cruel and unbothered that she causes all these issues in the lives of others.

To begin the song, Beyonce explains the legend of the Hangman (Jolene). She destroys relationships “one by one” “hanging them high.” Jolene has steady hands and sleeps well at night and Beyonce doesn’t understand how she can do that because of all the chaos she has caused in her own life. She says she has hated her, but now she just envies her and wants to be just like her. She is begging Jolene to help her to become what she is, I’m assuming to help her get rid of her emotional pain. The first page of lyrics helps to build up the legend of the Hangman.

The first chorus is when we get a perspective shift. After the line “she’s a tyrant” the pov switches to first person and we get Jolene’s perspective. She is cruel, powerful, controlling, beautiful, and alluring all at once. There are multiple references in the next verse about the law, running away, and getting off “scot-free” which is a reference to her affair with Beyoncé’s man. Beyoncé interjects with one line during Jolene’s verse. Jolene says the whole city is after her and Beyonce interjects like she is looking for her with description of Jolene as 5’9, thick, and fine… what a tragedy! 🤭

The bridge is my favorite part of the song and I think the most ground breaking! The perspective shifts back to Beyonce and she is left asking Jolene once again how she is numb to the haunting from the ghosts of all the relationships she has killed. She doesn’t understand her, but she is envious and wants to be just like her. Beyonce begs Jolene to help her become what has destroyed her relationship and her happiness. She wants to become numb to love and life just like Jolene. “Dry eyes send me across the divide, Hangman teach me how not to cry.” This is a moment of transformation for Beyonce. The “divide” she is talking about is the divide between right and wrong. Beyonce has now become the Hangman herself.

Beyonce now starts singing about the Hangman again, except this time when she is talking about the Hangman she doesn’t reference her as “she” or say “her body”. She says “you can hear THIS body howl” and refers to herself as the tyrant to start the chorus. She is now the Tyrant!

The song is cyclical so it finishes out the same way it begins. The cycle continues, except now Beyonce is the new Jolene to someone else. It finishes with a third woman singing the beginning of the song, except this time they are not singing about Jolene, but Beyonce.

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

This song really opened up the album for me and the fact that it’s sandwiched between II Hands II Heaven and the Patsy Cline sample is making me think there’s so much more to this story on the album than one song. Bodyguard to Daughter and Oh Louisiana to Sweet Honey Buckin’ match up a ton with their references and lyrical content. I plan on exploring all of those next.

Anyways Beyonce is a genius and I can’t wait to dive into analyzing the rest of this album and putting more pieces together. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed my insane ramblings!

Self titled turns 11 tomorrow and I’m feeling emotional. This album changed my life. Asking all hive, where were you when that digital dropped?

Favorite song on the album? Favorite visual?

looks like Act 1 is officially removed from her bio links. ACT 2 incoming 🤞🏼