Perhaps you have seen the word ‘Lemonade’ being thrown around a bit too frequently over the past day. Perhaps it was in the same sentence containing Beyonce, Bey, The Hive or Queen Bey.

Perhaps you were so confused you tried to ignore it. Well, here’s a breakdown for you so the next time any of those words come up you can give a little nod of admiration and move on. Or engage. Up to you.

On Saturday evening Beyonce’s new visual album, Lemonade, débuted on HBO. The crowd went wild. I had a friend who began writing a piece applying Alain Badiou’s theory of The Event to its release. It’s big.

You see, the album takes you on a personal journey of who Beyonce is – dissecting her personal life, her view on politics and welcoming you to a world of other people through a variety of collaborations.

But let’s start at the beginning. Why Lemonade? Referring to the maxim “if life gives you lemons…”, during a spoken word segment, Beyonce speaks of her grandmother:

Take one pint of water, add a half pound of sugar, the juice of eight lemons, the zest of half lemon. Pour the water into one, then to another several times. Strain through a clean napkin. Grandmother. The alchemist. You spun gold out of this hard life. Conjured beauty from the things left behind. Found healing where it did not live. Discovered the antidote in your own kitchen. Broke the curse with your own two hands. You past these instructions down to your daughter, who then passed them down to her daughter.

Basically, the title is a celebration of metaphorical lemonade-making: an ode to overcoming hardship, turning things around, and triumphing over adversity.

In terms of Bey’s personal life, spitting lyrics can be heard throughout the album referring to a cheater, AKA Jay Z.

Who the fuck do you think I am? You ain’t married to no average bitch, boy, You can watch my fat ass twist, boy, as I bounce to the next dick boy.

Although that piece of information is not confirmed, it’s pretty obvious as scandals of his infidelities have always haunted the couple. However, towards the end of the album, Bey makes it clear the two are a force to be reckoned with.

Formation gave us all a little insight in B’s political side, but Lemonade took it that one step further. At one point, Malcolm X is featured muttering:

The most disrespected woman in America is the Black woman.

The videos also feature cameos from mothers whose sons have been killed as a result of police brutality, including Trayvon Martin’s mother Sybrina Fulton, who is pictured holding a photograph of her son.

And that’s just the beginning – Beyonce’s 12 songs each come with a video that, at the end of the day, talk about black sisterhood and are a visual treat.

Read the rest of the breakdown HERE and watch it for yourself below (if it has disappeared, then you need to get a subscription to Tidal).

[source: telegraph]