Beyoncé’s recently released single “Formation” has, in typical Beyoncé fashion, set the world abuzz. The song, and its flawlessly shot music video, is nothing short of a visceral sensory experience. The video kicks off with Beyonce kneeling atop a New Orleans police car half-submerged in floodwater, but that is only the beginning.
“Formation” goes on to celebrate afros and “Jackson Five nostrils,” while flipping the meaning of various denigrations, like “Texas bama.” The video also features black men and women adorned in Antebellum-era prestige clothing standing with an air of supreme confidence.
The “Formation” music video ends with a young black boy, wearing a hoodie, dancing in front of a row of cops in riot gear. The police raise their hands — an inversion of these confrontations’ typical outcome — and a graffiti inscribed message,“Stop Shooting Us,” flashes momentarily. Beyoncé, atop the same police car from the video’s beginning, descends into the floodwater.
The result is as much an homage to Beyoncé’s southern roots as it is an embrace of the forward-thinking social politics of the black community at large.
Beyoncé’s ability to release an anthem that grates against her critics almost as much as it emboldens her supporters is unparalleled. She makes no bones about making good on her place as perhaps the most popular musical artist in the world, rapping that she “earned all this money, but they never take the country out me.”
Her contribution to the Black Lives Matter movement is powerful and uplifting. Make no mistake, however — this is a song directed at black women. The song’s hook, “Okay, ladies, now let’s get in formation,” makes that clear. She champions a group that has vociferously carved out its place in the Black Lives Matter movement despite holistic underrepresentation in the social consciousness.
While Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly” explores the subconscious of a young black male undergoing a clash between his Compton upbringing and the social responsibility that comes with elevated social status, “Formation” revels in this burden. One of the main critiques of “To Pimp a Butterfly” is that it does not tell the complete story of black people. “Formation,” though, forgets no parties, telling a story of symbiosis between black males and females for their greater good. Beyoncé’s rich cultural references resonate — in fact, Red Lobster just experienced a 33 percent boost in sales as a result of its inclusion in the song.
Unsurprisingly, this cavalcade of imagery and unapologetic confidence from a black star artist has rubbed many people the wrong way. Rudy Giuliani condemned the music video as an attack on police officers, saying, “This is football, not Hollywood,” in response to Beyoncé’s performance of the song during the Super Bowl halftime show. Raven-Symoné said, “I miss that girl singing.” The message is as transparent as it is ignorant — stay in your lane.
“Formation” brings about the same sort of respectability politics that encumber any brash, confident and fulfilled black artist. What makes these critiques of Beyoncé so unfounded is that she has never looked more at home. She shows off new and improved vocal stylings over pristine Mike WiLL Made-It production, all while sending as profound a message as any song she’s ever released.
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