Beyoncé
Beyoncé
2013
The beauty of a superstar, global icon naming an album after herself– a unique, one of a kind name, at that– involves refining her legacy as to show that she’s still aware of the top spot she holds when it comes to shaping the music industry and its revolving trends.
trap&B/Downtempo R&B/Trip Hop
BY HARPSICHORD
DECEMBER 13, 2023
The most iconic albums to make a scene during the history of pop music are named after the superstar themself. Self-titled albums have become more than just a marketing gimmick since recorded music became profitable. They are meant to be a statement that gets the audience as close as possible to the artist than they can ever tangibly know.
When you hear the name, Beyoncé, what do you think of? Is it the blonde hairdos? Is it Jay-Z? Is it Destiny’s Child? Is it the vocals or the “uh oh” dance? Is it moving your hand side to side with an invisible diamond on the ring finger? Or is it the surprise album release on a random Friday late night in the middle of December?
In her 2015 collaboration with Nicki Minaj, entitled “Feeling Myself”– the self-proclaimed Diva boasts, “Changed the game with that digital drop.” If you weren’t around (which at this point would be hard to believe– as the “digital drop” literally became a global breaking news event– even in the midst of the most serious worldly affairs), then you missed one of the most important events in human history.
In a time where physical sales of CDs and vinyls were falling behind the importance of digital sales platforms such as iTunes (and the impending slow rise of streaming’s dominance), one of the biggest stars on the planet decided to release a full length, hour and seven minutes album. Accompanied by it was another LP featuring music videos for each track– aptly titled “the visual album.” While most record labels had their artists release an album– or even a project of this magnitude on a Tuesday– Beyoncé opted for the end of the work week, a Thursday night that led into the early hours of Friday. She didn’t care if her fans and loyal followers had to attend college classes that morning or had to clock in their final hours of the workweek. People were going to stay up for the Declaration of Queen Bey.
The concept of a visual album had been nothing new for Bey. In 2007, she decided to gift her fans with a deluxe version of her sophomore effort, ‘B’ Day.’ That ‘Video Anthology’ featured 13 music videos that radiated with fashion and subplots that told the larger story of ‘B’Day.’ From that point on, it became a subplot of Bey’s own legacy. She started to transform more into a visual auteur that respected the importance of crafting a music video. Ten years after the release of her self-titled visual album, Bey’s name is synonymous with Pop Culture visuals. So much so that her latest effort, ‘Renaissance’ has fans crying for the release of its visuals after a seemingly misleading teaser.
Her fifth album in, and with little to no notice for the entire world (including her own family members, industry rivals, and the execs helping her powerhouse machine to thrive), this self-titled project will forever be her most daunting and defining. To kick off the era, Beyoncé released "Bow Down / I Been On" on March 17, 2013. Fueled by trap and the chopped-n-screwed sounds of her native Houston, Texas, the world became alert as she gloated “I know when you were little girls, you dreamt of being in my world.” Then comes a “don’t forget it” times two, before she informs her competitors to kiss the ring, and “bow down bitches!” The song itself had been unlike anything Bey had done before. It contained a hyperactivity that exceeded her most dramatic stage performance ways, as well as more angst than hits “Ring The Alarm” and “Diva.”
Simply put, “Bow Down” had been raw and unfiltered. The most uncensored people would hear Bey on a full song. Nearly nine months later, that would prophesied into “***Flawless” a feminine ego-boost that featured a poet explaining the ways women shrink themselves to compete in a man’s world. Through the track which features an “I look so good tonight,” Beyoncé incorporates the trap into ushering in a digital meme-worthy era of proud feminism. “I woke up like this,” not only represented her own self-pride, but also reassured others they too can be fabulous by their own doing.
From the start of the project, we get Beyoncé as the most candid she probably will ever be on wax. Up into the point of self-titled’s release, listeners often got the surface of what Bey thinks about as an artist. While the clues were buried beneath the lyrics and the paparazzi flashes, she had rarely been this uncensored and inviting into her world. Overnight, a stage performer that we guessed things about until she confirmed in interviews, used the music to express herself in the most earnest way possible.
The opening track, “Pretty Hurts” features her in a music video where she ultimately loses a pageant. The first words of the entire album is a spoken skit. The pageant host asks her in the final question round, “what is your aspiration in life?” Beyoncé, who is giving us a project named after herself, sheds light on a theme that will take place throughout an hour. “To be happy.”
But as the album progresses, it shows that a woman who seems to have everything in life, is in fact all but happy. In fact, she’s on a Beowulf styled quest to prove that she is happy– ultimately having to give away that act by the second track. And even when she is not happy, she makes sure that the public **does** know that to be actual and factual. Through its dark and broody soundscape, ‘Beyoncé’ provides an alternative to its creator’s own sound. Things in her life are not all rainbows and smiles, even when she can adorn a poker face during a “Irreplaceable” or “Flaws And All,” from previous albums. The opening track that rips apart beauty standards (with the ringing of a morose code-like siren) leads into “I don’t trust these record labels, I’m torn” in the “Ghost” section of “Haunted.” With the first two tracks, Bey lets audiences know that her profession causes high levels of stress.
After all, this is the album that rebounds in the beginning days of social media influencing musical output. Her legion of BeyHive stans had to defend her worth from ‘4,’ the fourth LP that did not commercially boast a No. 1 single like her first three. ‘4’ suddenly became labeled a “flop,” and if anything, Bey found herself needing to unjustly “comeback” while still maintaining an all around fruitful mainstream career. Throughout her self-titled album, she’s not only fighting to let the world know how she’s doing. She’s also fighting to show that she can remain relevant when the industry tried to cast her out. “Legacy act” criticisms be damned. There is a second life to mainstream success.
The reason why self-titled succeeded so well is because Beyoncé utilized tools that she always had as a successful pop star into repositioning the narrative thrusted upon her 15-year longevity. “Drunk In Love '' embraced the trap&B sounds of the early 2010’s, but did so with terms that infiltrated lingo (''surfboardt,” “Drankin watermelon”). “Partition” and “Blow” upped the ante on the sexuality audiences bore witness to on “Dance For You” from ‘4.’ With “Partition” even dazzling in a French monologue that mirrored a tiny aspect of Bey’s own French-Creole heritage. Then there is her ability to rap, as showcased by her newly introduced alter-ego, “Yoncé.”
As an album named after her, it takes on the energy of an actual human being. There are the up’s (such as the punching “***Flawless”) and the down’s (as the confessional “Jealous”). A part of her legacy will always be Jay-Z, who at the time had a more private relationship in the public eye. It rarely leaked to tabloids what could be possibly going on between the two megastars. But with self-titled there are confessions: they enjoy filthy sex (“Rocket” starting with “let me sit this asssss on ya”), there is some animosity (“Jealous”), and there may be trouble in paradise (“Mine” which features his at-the-time friendly rap rival, Drake, roleplaying as Jay’s own vulnerable response).
While Beyoncé is known for perfecting her craft, there are mistakes made throughout what is now hailed as a masterpiece. The production features ticking and sonic cacophonies (like on “Mine”). Her voice can sound intentionally dry, as drawn out on “Haunted,” a song that zombily chants “working nine to five just to stay alive,” invoking the guise of Madonna’s own “Justify My Love.” Under the cloudy Third Ward vibes of Houston, she lets us know she’s “No Angel”– the song’s representation on the printed tracklist being a strikethrough of the word “Angel.” And sometimes her higher octaves strain like in “XO,” a failed attempt of sorts to appeal to adult contemporary radio listeners, but also an important marker of vulnerability towards the fans and husband who can agitate her at times.
By the end, all of the emotions are justified by the reality of motherhood. Recorded during her pregnancy with her firstborn out of three, Blue Ivy, Bey sings a dedication song– offering a ‘Ray of Light’ moment. This comes after the shocking revelation of a miscarriage on “Heaven” where she cries out in distraught. This gut-wrenching juxtaposition underlies how multifaceted the singer can be when performing on specific topics. “Blue” is light and airy, while.”
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Upon its release, ‘Beyoncé’ became all that people could discuss leading into the new year of 2014. Although the project went No. 1 with only three days of sales in a tracking week that would eventually become the new standard, the era itself became something digestible to individual tastes. While the superstar herself remained a global force, this LP brought about a first of many divides. Either people enjoyed Bey and declared it to the world, or they started to question why she seemed to suddenly change. The surprise release embraced where things could go wrong– and it owned that to the max, leading way to bolder releases in the following ten years. Assisted by a platinum deluxe project a year later (which featured the Tik Tok precursor “7/11” and the momma saluting divorce anthem “Ring Off”), ‘Beyoncé’ will remain the most important self-titled release that has ever revived someone’s career when their back was against the ropes.
“Drunk In Love” for being an ode to wasted, sloppy shenanigans in the best trap way possible; and for immediately becoming a part of the Pop Culture vernacular.
“No Angel” for being a lowrider song that celebrates Houston, as well as the falsetto of a singer whose range knows very few limits.
“Mine” for its fast paced energy and earnest lyricism that has more layers than what can meet the ear at first listen.
“Blue” for being a strong dedication to her firstborn child; reminiscent of the work of Sade, but in a way that only she knows how to pull it off.
“7/11” for being unapologetic fun— proving Bey can also make silly sound so good!
Key Tracks
Simply put, it not only changed the game, it became the most concrete record to showcase all the sides of what makes Beyoncé a complete artist.