It’s been a long time, we shouldn’t of left you. I know, it’s been a minute since we blessed ya’ll with an article BUUUTTT we’re back (momentarily) with some fiyyyaaaaa. Check out Sunni’s – 1/3 of @thr3ee – debut single “Lil Baby” in which she questions if real love is even a possibility these days.
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New Day by Cash Campain
Staying true to real R&B, Cash Campain is blessing our ears with some heavy neo soul vibes. Crooning over a Hokage Simon production, Cash is making sure that the soul element of r&b is respected. Feed your soul and give New Day featuring Casey Cope a listen.
Feels Visual Recap
All photos taken by Ishmael Yaw Agyapong
Beyonce’s Lemonade: Rage, Grief, and Healing For Black Women – A Queer Black Feminist Review (Part 1)
guest piece by Shah Noor Hussein
INTRODUCTION
Beyoncé’s notoriety, musical legacy and recent string of explicitly feminist and political statements have together ensured that her release of the visual album, Lemonade, exactly two years ago this week, was an instant hit. Not only did the album itself and its visual compliment spark the interest of the media and her fans, it also intrigued the academic and cultural communities who are actively interested in Beyoncé’s artistic praxis. For black women, the visual album was an opportunity to witness a work created by black women and designed for black women. This is a refreshing exercise for us all, to put it lightly, and a life changing experience for many.
Image sourced from Beyonce’s Lemonade Digital Booklet. Discover more on: http://beyonce.tidal.com/us
Throughout this paper I will analyze Beyonce’s Lemonade through the lens of Queer Black Feminism, an ethic that represents the struggles of black women and their communities from an intersectional lens that honors self-care, community building, and revolutionary healing. Using this theory as both the foundation and backdrop of my analysis, I will discuss Beyoncé’s portrayal of black women’s emotional experiences and mental health, focusing primarily on anger and grief, and her search for pathways to healing from trauma.
Image sourced from Beyonce’s Lemonade Digital Booklet. Discover more on: http://beyonce.tidal.com/us
RECLAIMING CRAZY: BLACK MATERNAL HEALTH
It is important to note that Lemonade album has twelve tracks, which are shown in order (excluding Formation) through the visual album coinciding with eleven emotional stages Beyoncé finds herself grappling with. So “Pray You Catch Me” coincides with the “Intuition” and “Denial” pairs with the song “Hold Up,” here the scene opens to a city street saturated with color where Bey takes the road without hesitation, smashing cars and smiling to herself. Here, she is a carefree black girl in flowing yellow garb that represents a lightness she wishes to “deny” herself into feeling. These lively streets are bustling with neighborhood regulars creating a colorful world that somewhat contrasts with Beyoncé’s serious and contemplative lyrics.
Hold up, they don’t love you like I love you
Slow down, they don’t love you like I love you (7 – 8)
After she sings this catchy hook over a relaxed island beat with a tempo that matches the vivacity of the scenery, she repeatedly asks, “What’s worse, lookin’ jealous or crazy / Jealous or crazy? / Or, like I’ve been walked all over lately, walked all over lately?” (19 – 21). Answering the questions boldly and directly, she states, “I’d rather be crazy” (22).
Image sourced from Beyonce’s Lemonade Digital Booklet. Discover more on: http://beyonce.tidal.com/us
These lines are thought-provoking, pivotal and important; they centralize a stereotypical views of black women as either jealous or crazy, both roles leaving them in compromised positions and subject to ill-treatment from their lovers. It’s not difficult to recall the many unpleasant, descriptive terms hurled against black women when society deems their behavior unacceptable. Sometimes they are called manipulative or controlling, while other times they are cast as anxious, spineless or obliviously naive. More often than not, the words are crueler than this. Beyoncé casts all these stereotypes aside as she unabashedly claims that she’d rather be “crazy.” For me, the embracing of this very stigmatized label for women, in particular black and brown women who have been continuously and vindictively punished for their “crazy”, is powerful and intentional act.
One glaring case of the importance of the label “crazy” in the history of black women’s health is exemplified in Malcolm X’s autobiography* when he discusses what America’s mental health system did to his struggling mother.
*Interestingly and not coincidentally, Beyoncé directly references Malcolm in the following scene while also discussing black women’s stereotypes. This is a theme is her recent work.
Thank you for reading part one of the LEMONADE Series. Please consider donating to the production of this work! Your contribution will help support the printing of this series as a novella in the Fall of 2018. Donations of $20+ will get advanced access to Part 2 of the series, where we continue to discuss “crazy”, Malcolm X and black motherhood.
More about the author:
Shah Noor Hussein is a writer, educator, and unapologetic queer black feminist with an M.A. in Anthropology and previous work in gender studies, urban environments, and teaching pedagogies. Shah has self-published two poetry anthologies, Ain’t I A Womxn (co-edited with Fatima Nasiyr, 2015) and Black GRRRL Healing (sole editor, 2016). Their writings have appeared in The Black Aesthetic (2018), CUNJUH (2017), Veudux Child (2015), and MANCHA Mag (2017).
Oe Afrique Presents Pointe Noire
On Friday, February 16th, One Afrique – a collective committed to fostering creativity and collaboration between professionals – is bringing you all Pointe Noire. Pointe Noire is a networking soiree (FREE with RSVP) and party for people of color by people of color. It is a space for us to network, enjoy authentic African foods, good music, and great people.
Who Should Come:
Creatives, strategists, professionals, artists, entrepreneurs…anyone and everyone using their talents to positively contribute to the Culture — and looking to meet like-minded individuals.
What To Expect:
Community. Collaboration. Drinks, and more.
Dress code:
Don your sartorial best
Event Timeline:
8:00pm: Networking soiree begins. Beverages and small bites served – African style hors d’oeuvres, coffee, tea. (FREE with RSVP)
9:30pm – 10:30pm: Doors closed.
10:30pm – 2:00am: Party time. The festivities begin. (Music by DJ Slim)
Pointe Noire is a space for us to exist freely, celebrate joyfully, and slay effortlessly. Buy your tickets today and let your Facebook friends know that you’re going. You won’t want to miss it!
Pointe Noire is an all-inclusive event. Hate, bigotry, and violence will not be tolerated. Good vibes only. All are welcome.
About One Afrique
One Afrique is a collective committed to fostering creativity and collaboration between professionals.
We celebrate creative entrepreneurship and its change-makers by creating space for people of color to build community through workshops, events, and more.
We strive to make our events accessible to attendees and speakers from all industries, backgrounds, and professional levels. We are here to inspire you to find your inner creative voice and let it flourish. We are here to create a space that nurtures and yields a thriving local creative community, bringing friends & strangers together on a monthly basis.
Nook and Kranny Premiere: Cash Campain’s Latest Album “Valley Hi”
“Valley HI”, is a window into Cash Campain’s life, with an unadulterated and raw look at what it’s like for him to be a father, husband, brother, son and man. Not just “love songs”, Cash, exposes his emotions and struggles as he takes us on a journey through his tumultuous upbringing and how he broke the cycles of his father and the men before.
“These moments make us who we are. R&B is all about sincerity, vulnerability and connection. No matter where you are in life, this album will give you something you need. Valley Hi made me the man I am, and I want this album to help make you who you want to be.” – Cash Campain
Nook and Kranny 