When marketing tactics of the music industry in the twenty-first century becomes a class at an institution of higher learning, the textbooks will be divided into two parts: pre-Beyoncé (2013) and post-Beyoncé (2013). In the new era, any artist with enough notoriety to pay off Pitchfork writers for a positive review that released an album unannounced will be said to have “pulled a Beyoncé.”
It is now 2016, Beyoncé released a visual album on HBO with a 15 second advertisement on Instagram, and the phrase “pulled a Beyoncé” is now dead.
There have been countless articles written about “Lemonade,” mostly in regard to the alleged details of the relationship that Beyoncé had with her husband Jay-Z, while also making references to infidelities carried out by her father. The album goes through every portion of a relationship underneath the stress of cheating, from the beginning to the resolution of the conflict. Authors have speculated on the identity of the woman that rapper and husband to Beyoncé Jay-Z slept with, fueled by speculation and alleged self-incrimination.
There are some excellent discussions of how the album is representative of black womanhood in the United States. The best of these writings includes a ridiculous fan-fiction that touches on themes of the album and of pop culture. However, much of the discussion of the album ignores the music itself.
There is a good reason for this overlooking of the songs on the album, and that reason is how good the songs are. While Beyoncé’s self-titled album permanently altered how music is now released, don’t be too surprised if musical elements of “Lemonade” are reproduced in albums for the next ten years. And while Beyoncé introduced the concept of a visual album in 2013, “Lemonade” is that concept fully realized, with visuals acting as a cohesive piece instead of a series of music videos.
The question now is what Beyoncé will do next. Maybe the next album will be broadcast on national television on every station. Maybe it will be released in theaters nationwide. Maybe she will punch a hole in the moon. In any case, the world is waiting, expectantly.