“If his status ain’t hood I ain’t checkin for him Betta Be street if he lookin’ at me” – Beyonce’ & ‘em.
Apparently some are SHOCKED that I am not a fan of Beyonce and her drug dealing husband and am NOT delighted that one of the most venerable news organizations left would be doing a feature on her carefully manufactured public persona. My response, Have you read this blog?
The entire Beyonce Knowles CONTRADICTION is foolishness. She’s no more empowering Black women than Lil’ kim, Trina, or Lil’ Wayne although in a pinch, a few of you could make and argument that on the scale of empowering entertainers the latter three are ahead of Beyonce. Sasha Fierce is some FIERCE FOOLISHNESS. -creating a fake personality so you can attempt to hold on to your veneer of respectability while engaging in activity that YOU BELIEVE to be beyond the limits of acceptability is hypocrisy. Say what you want about Madonna, she personally claimed hers-( her real name is Madonna, I stand corrected) She doesn’t make out with Leon dressed up as Black Jesus and then say “Sike, just kidding!” Madonna didn’t set crosses on fire in a music video and then say “whoopsies!- That wasn’t me”
For those who don’t know, Beyonce is going to be featured on one of my favorite news shows, in fact, the only news show on a broadcast network as far as I am concerned, 60 Minutes. “To Catch a Predator” does not count.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
It looks like Steve Croft will at least touch on the contradiction, and acknowledges that Beyonce / Sasha Fierce ( I can no longer tell the difference[sic]) is a carefully packaged product, but will 60 minutes have a psychologist on hand to explore split personality disorders or explain to us why this woman has been so OPEN about making sure we know that “its not really her” on stage? Can we talk about how she maintains the image of a nice respectable girl from a “good family” [sic] who sings abotu empowerment while glorifying hooking up with a proud drug dealer? Why don’t we have a great conversation about WHY Beyonce and her handlers HAD to create Sasha Fierce?
Basically “purporting” that she is so terrified of claiming an overly sexualized image ( She and her parents cultivated)that she has to create a alter ego OR that she is marketing herself in a manner inconsistent with her personal values, but she realizes it makes money so she’ll do it any way. Just like Bob and Shelia Johnson producing television, they wouldn’t let their own children watch.
Furthermore, if Beyonce WAS darker skinned like say, Lil Kim or Trina her career would already be over- Let’s not act as if she’s not also intentionally exploiting the obvious.. and PHOTOSHOP. I don’t know what makes Beyonce tick, nor do I have any hope that 60 Minutes will reveal much, although they’ll likely reveal more than anyone else, if they uphold the their history of digging beneath mirages.
If Beyonce was so comfortable doing lap dances and writhing around on the floor in lingerie in front of her parents, then she wouldn’t need to create the lunacy that is “Sasha Fierce” Black women, other than Beyonce don’t get to create multiple personalities in real life. Let alone, the foolishness of a generation of girls growing up thinking they either have the ability to split their personalities in order to claim their sexuality. No, I don’t have a problem with people being sexual beings IN ORDER TO PLEASE THEMSELVES, but not for the purpose of pleasing their Daddy’s lust for money, tantalizing record executives, or hiding the fact that your songs are tacky and you threw your record together in two weeks- um no. Corrine Bailey Rae’s new album is out now!
And to get the Beyonce’ STANS pressure up into to stroke- range, here is a collection of our previous “We Are Not Fans of Beyonce” Post- BRING IT!
Don’t forget, I go on blogcation for the month of February – I’ll leave instructions on how to cope on Monday 
– ALso blogcation means no comments- so say your peace on existing posts before the 1st.
Dear Jonesboro Dance Team, You Are Not Sluts
Guest Post:After President Obama Closes Guantanamo Bay, Can He Shut Down Gangsta Rap too?
The Beyonce Effect- Another Attack on “Empowerment” Anthems
The Sexualization of Childhood
62 comments ↓
LOL.
Beyonce is an entertainer – no more or less – your “outrage” at her existence is amusing.
Last I checked her husband used to deal drugs – continuing to refer to him as a drug deal is beyond disingenuous.
I mean would you like him to publicly flog himself over his past? Would that make it better for you?
And for the record – NOT a Beyonce fan – but expecting a popstar to be anything other than a popstar seems – well – silly.
Madonna’s name was never Maria. Madonna is her birth name.
And I actually happen to think Beyonce would be legitimately foine if she had more of her father’s color. As things stand currently, Solange is flyer than The Yonce, in my opinion.
As to her music, it’s totally disposable and of an upper-mediocre quality (even though it’s infectious and super-catchy – talk about a contradiction.) She has maybe 4 or 5 songs anyone will really be thinking about in 30 years (which lots of artists would kill for, but still, that doesn’t justify her celebrity.)
I don’t know why I thought her first name was maria. Let me go shck Wikipedia.
Beyonce is fake, doesn’t everyone know that by now? Just pure marketing from birth. I mean she makes some good work out and party music, its completely frivolous.
If Beyonce has some light skin advantage then British biracial Corrine Bailey Rae sure does, what do you think has put hear ahead of the black American born soul pack like Ledisi, N’Dambi and Chokolate.
@Scipio Africanus
She has maybe 4 or 5 songs anyone will really be thinking about in 30 years…
I think you’re being generous there.
I don’t think she has ANY songs that anyone will be talking about in 30 years.
She’s disposable music no more or less, that’s why it hard for me to get in any sort of outrage about her postar making habits.
There’s a reason why Corrine Baily Rae isn’t as successful as Beyonce – being a popstar requires a level of mas appeal, carefully crafted image and one hwll of a marketing team – talent is secondary – hell look at Britney Spears – Beyonce is the black Britney minus the Disney Channel and the mental breakdown.
Sasha “Fierce” was strictly marketing for her last cd. Sasha, her on-stage persona, was mentioned jokingly years ago and people never let it go. I don’t blame her for using it to her advantage. Many stars say they transform on stage and then become shy creatures during interviews. It’s called BS 101 and everyone in the industry uses it how they see fit. You don’t reach her status without being carefully packaged, regardless of race, complexion or genre of music. Beyonce will eventually fade into pop music history. Until then, support the artists you like. Writing about Corrine instead of randomly throwing her name in a Bey post could help her sales. I guess I’m stanning.
Although she is successful, people that dislike her evil bootypoppin’ ways should know that Bey doesn’t top the charts on a regular basis. She doesn’t have top grossing tours. She isn’t breaking records. She just has good PR and a record company that knows how to play the game. She is one of the few pop stars that can deliver live, so yes, she will be performing on every show. But umm she ain’t taking over the world, so breath easy.
“If Beyonce has some light skin advantage then British biracial Corrine Bailey Rae sure does, what do you think has put hear ahead of the black American born soul pack like Ledisi, N’Dambi and Chokolate.”
Touche’ – You have a point.
Madonna really does look like a Maria, though, so I get why you would have thought that.
As to The Yonce in 30 years, I do think “Get Me Bodied” will still plague us, unfortunately. “Bills, Bills, Bills” was so controversial that it will be remembered at least for that reason. And I actually do like “No, No, No”. Otherwise, there’s nothing. So I revise my 4-5 number down to exactly 3.
To teh point about her uneccesarily overt sexuality, one thing that’s always disturbed me about her is her proclivity towards open crotch shots. She loves to do that. I enjoy looking at certain women’s crotches in the appropriate setting as much as the next man, but when she does it it’s vulgar and unappealing. It takes away from whatever sense of beauty and attractiveness she was trying to exhibit in the first place.
She’s a very pretty young woman.
Whenever I see her being interviewed, however, her intelligence doesn’t seem to overwhelm me.
Beyonce IMO is just a highly paid video girl with a stage name. Nothing more, nothing less. Her music is tacky, she can barely speak intelligently, she always has a blank look in her eyes, and her dancing reminds me of looking at any video chick in a slew of hip hop videos.
And this is coming from an attractive light skinned woman (before some of her stans come in saying I’m just some “ole bitter miserable dark woman complaining b/c I’m jealous”). Because only “dark skinned” Black women have a problem with Beyonce *rolling eyes*
The thing about Corinne Bailey Rae is that she makes Starbucks, coffee house type EZ-R&B. Choklate (who is criminally slept on and could really make it, if things line up for her correctly), Ledisi (whose buzz is only growing), and N’Dambi (I’m unfamiliar with her stuff, so I’m making an educated guess here) make straight ahead adult R&B that really only fits well on the local Grown’n'Sectsy station or the overnight Quiet Storm programming.
CBR has more than just Black people in mind as an audience, her music reflects that consideration, and she attracts more than just black fans as a result. I would even go so far as to guess that black folks are not the majority of her fans or of the people that buy/download her stuff and attend her shows. The other 3 ladies mentioned exist almost totally inside just a subset *of* the black listening world right now.
one thing that’s always disturbed me about her is her proclivity towards open crotch shots
Thats b/c she can’t really dance, she probably can work a pole good, but she is not a dancer
I forgot to add. I do believe underneath the oversexualized image is a woman with talent. I do think she HAD great potential for longevity b/c she does have a good strong singing voice as well as being attractive and having stage prescence. Its a shame she and her parents have allowed the industry to turn her into this oversexualized performer that looks and acts more vulgar than sensual.
“her music reflects that consideration, and she attracts more than just black fans as a result”
Her being biracial also works in her favor with white fans. That marketing biracial folks is not something that only gets directed at black audiences. She is not the only black girl doing Starbucks type music, but she is the one who gets the most attention.
Gem you don’t need to have your thoughts justified by any of us.It’s your opinion,which has alot of truth to it by the way.I know you know that but I see some police in here trying to claim your opinions are somewhat irrational,so i’m jus’ sayin’.I don’t care what anybody says I never liked Beyonce.I never will.I did used to like Destiny’s Child, when I was younger I liked the original line up,but I always thought her father was sick and a pimp to be able to watch her doing those suggestive dances in scantily clad clothes on stage.It just seemed weird sickening and wrong to me.I wasn’t raised like that.I also know she has been sold to the highest bidder from the beginning.
Back in the day I loved some Mariah and Whitney and the difference between them and Beyonce were their clothing,lyrics, and most importantly their singing.People made a huge deal about Mariah and Whitney back in the day and to a certain extent they were very popular and overexposed.However,looking back IMO they were worthy of all the attention they got at that time because they could sang.They did things with their voices that many people just couldn’t do.I grew up in church, I even travelled from my church to churches out of state,I heard many beautiful voices but never heard anybody sing the way they did.They were gifted.Despite the fact that i’ve never liked Beyonce as an artist,never liked her image, and made a conscious effort not to listen to her music and change the channel when she comes on tv I still feel like I,along with the rest of the public, is being forced fed this girl and her music.Which is my gripe about her being on 60 minutes.This is yet another show that I like that is showing this girl.
Sometimes when you don’t like somebody it’s best not to see them.Out of site out of mind but the media won’t allow it which is what pisses me off.I could keep my opinions about this girl to myself if I was’nt being force fed her bullcrap all the time at every turn.I need a break.
Let me be clear, I needed a Friday topic and this one fit the bill. Second Beyonce HAS talent. But she has also made a choice to intentionally dabble in the lowest common denominator. She’s just “gets by”. Its a form os laziness. Like when she brags she only spent two weeks to record an album. WTH? So what if you did why brag about how you slopped some mess together. As for CBR I don’t think the majority of her audience is Black, but neither is Beyonce’s Neither is Jay-Z’s Remember Nora Jones? SHe’s still touring. Still making money, you just dont’ see her on the TV
*shrugs*
Beyonce bores me .
Gina, my CBR point was in comparison to Choklate, Ledisi and N’Dambi, which was a comparison someone else before me raised specifically. It wasn’t a comparison between The Yonce and CBR. Those two are apples and oranges.
I am not a R&B fan to begin with…some old stuff from my parents day…but that is about it. I don’t much care for Beyonce, “Single Ladies” is catchy but she is not my idea of a popstar. I’m more a Gwen Stefani girl. I can agree with many, I find the hyper-sexuality thing a bit boring after awhile, so I don’t watch.
I love CBR, Nneka and the Noisettes…love the Noisettes.! They are great live, cool vids, the works!!!
http://www.noisettes.net/
As for Choklate, I don’t know who her management team is…but for an AA woman performer to call herself Choklate is already career suicide. It’s like calling yourself blackety, black, darkie. Sorry but for an AA WOMAN to be successful in the American music market today you need to be as race neutral as possible. Hence the Beyonce skin lightening, etc.
You can still be a dark, blackie in Europe and be a popstar, but that may change soon as well.
Or you can be your blackety, black self if you are a Jazz or classical musician because you have better educated audiences.
I’ve questioned before how it is that a woman from a supposedly middle-class background marries a (former) drug dealer who makes his living calling women b*tches seems normal to people?
@Scipio Africanus
Ledisi has been bubbling under for at least 5 or 6 years now. I’m not sure she’s ever going to do any better than she’s doing now.
And on CBR; she has a sweet public persona but people over-look the fact that her husband was a heroin addict. So I think there’s more to her than meets the eye.
Gem, I totally understand what you were saying in your post. I had this conversation with some of my friends when Beyonce first started talking about her alter ego “Sasha Fierce.” I thought it was a way for her to maintain her “respectable Black woman image” while at the same time acting/performing in a very different manner than required by the “respectable negress” trope when on stage.
I don’t care so much about the gyrating, dancing, etc. Well, actually I do, as many young Black boys and girls look up to and want to imitate her…but that’s a whole ‘nother conversation. I was more irritated that it seemed a way for her to not take ownership of her full humanity and womanhood (which, hopefully, includes a healthy sense of her sexuality) while simultaneously upholding the ridiculous Virgin/Whore dichotomy that exists in our patriarchal society. (And clearly Virgin/Whore idea is evidenced in the world of current hip-hop and R&B. Women and men justify the sexism and misogyny in this music by saying that the lyrics refer to “women like that” or “those women over there.” If you’re a virgin, not a whore, you shouldn’t be offended. Ooooookay. But I digress)
Imagine of Beyonce actually owned all the parts of herself. What if she said, “Yes, I like to drop it to the ground when I perform. I also like to read and work very hard at my career. And what of it? Does that mean that I am not worthy of respect? Because I express myself in a certain way on stage, that means you can call me a b**** or a w*****, and ignore the hard work I’ve spent in endlessly marketing and promoting myself?” (Again, this was my what if. I have no idea if or what Beyonce reads. I would love to give her a couple of books by bell hooks. But, again, I digress.)
Clearly, that did not and will not happen. But if she had said something like the above, I would have actually had more respect for her. Because she would be taking ownership for who she is in its entirety. As Gem stated, Madonna did that. Madonna never apologized for being who she was. The Beyonce/Sasha Fierce dichotomy is just more of the same old. I don’t know her and can only speculate about what her thought process may be. But I do think that part of the reason she publicly established this “split personality” was to assuage the egos of the men who seemed to be very prominent in her life (Daddy Knowles, Jay-Z) as well as her protect reputation as a “good girl”. I find it interesting that she is able to be married to a man who didn’t have much (anything?) good to say about women in the majority of his music. I wonder if in order to be in her marriage she had to make herself “wife material” (read not be a h** who likes to drop it)…hence, her alter ego Sasha Fierce.
Anywho, I look forward to the day when women, especially Black women, feel free to be who they are; to own it and be unapologetically themselves.
“Sasha “Fierce” was strictly marketing for her last cd. Sasha, her on-stage persona, was mentioned jokingly years ago and people never let it go. I don’t blame her for using it to her advantage. Many stars say they transform on stage and then become shy creatures during interviews. It’s called BS 101 and everyone in the industry uses it how they see fit.”
BINGO – EXACTLY.
Personally, I love B. And I definitely think she has some songs that I’ll remember 30 years from now. She’s a performer, and a darned good one no less.
Don’t agree with every song or every video, but overall I think she’s a very talented and decent human being.
As for her husband, I can’t judge her based on him. Lots of women marry no-good types (abusers, batters, wife beaters, etc), but it doesn’t diminish the woman as a good person. Although it may just mean that we women sometimes have very poor decision-making skills.
@ Val
Well selling drugs and using drugs are very different indeed.
I think if we turned our backs on every musician who used drugs or had partners who were drug users we would have very few musicians to choose from. I don’t personally believe you have to be drunk or high to create good art or music….but apparently many people do.
I don’t dislike Beyonce. I actually respect her singing ability because none of it is natural — what I hear is an average voice that has been rehearsed and practiced into doing fantastic acrobatics. That takes a tremendous amount of work, and I can respect that, although her music isn’t my taste.
Even so, I had mixed up a big jug of haterade for “the Beyonce machine” years ago when an insider told me the real story about the original girls from Destiny’s Child. The other girls were flat out ABUSED, financially raped, and openly used as props to make Beyonce shine. The way they were treated is unspeakable.
Beyonce reminds me of Whitney Houston. A basic dunce with good looks and singing ability who is a human marionette for some seriously evil people.
I don’t watch videos so I can’t speak for the hypersexuality, but frankly all pop stars seem that way to me.
Shock!! I am agreeing with JJ on this, so far. Beyonce and more than 80% of today’s artists want be around. Heck, I so disinterested in black music I didn’t know the Grammy’s were this Sunday. I used to be an avid music fan, but now I find myself listening to my old CD’s and the throwback music station.
Beyonce, Jay Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne and the rest of these no talent, wanna be moguls are destroying black entertainment. Our pop culture is so disposable and shallow that is has nothing but commercial value. Even after the years since the death of Tupac and many other black artists, black music is to me nothing but oversexualized noise. Even my daughters, 11 and 17 would rather listen to Corrine Rae, Taylor Swift, and Colbie Calliet. Funny my girls love to watch CMT and VH1 over BET. They say at least the white singers actually have well written songs they can relate to.
I mean ‘won’t’ be around in the next ten years.
The madonna/whore aka sasha fierce/beyonce dynamic is troubling, but not surprising in a world where we still scrutinize women’s sexuality. People enjoy the crotch shots, but demand the she be “respectable” in every other regard. In addition to benefiting from her looks, her upper middle class background is also part of what buys her goodwill in the black community. If you compare her life to Keyshia Coles for example, it’s night and day. However if you compare their lyrics and videos, Beyonce is far more “ghetto” than any of her peers. Yet Michelle Obama taking her kids to a Keyshia Cole concert would get a much bigger side-eye than when she took them to see Beyonce. Beyonces just symptomatic of a lot of our own hipocrisy.
I find it interesting Corrine was mentioned. Her new CD is great. It’s not lost on me she’s a foreign “other” and biracial, but it’s not as if black people rushed out to buy her CD when it first came out. She tours with mostly white male musicians as was her husband.
Look at the way we drool over Sade. In the UK she’s considered just an average artist (I know!) but we practically worship her Stateside even though her male love interests in her videos have been exclusively white! Her light skin makes certain people forget and the irony has never been lost on me. Of course she puts out superior quality music…but so do a lot of artists who’ve never had the amount of support bestowed on them.
John Legend and some other black male industry types embraced Corrine hence the “coolness” factor. But this is about Spicy Creole. Of course her career would’ve been over – or at least diminished. I’ll never accept her as a superstar because her music stinks and she’s full of it. Yes Madonna has plantation fantasies and is a huge cultural appropriator but she’s mostly been authentic as far as what she’s done she hasn’t ever apologized for.
She wasn’t ashamed. Madonna created music (and yes she does actually WRITE and CO-WRITE her own music versus stealing credits) that still holds up 20 years later. I can’t even remember the drivel Beyonce puts out from one month to the next.
And yes Jay-Z is an unrepentant drug dealer: has anyone actually listened to the lyrics to Empire State of Mind?
We’ve got great indie artists we should be supporting who put out great product:
Choklate
Ledisi
Lalah Hathaway
N’Dambi
VV Brown
Nneka
J*Davey
and so many others..heck give India.Arie some love people!!
Am so intrigued by only the first couple paragraphs (must finish article after work); you are hitting the nail right on the head. The contradiction that is Beyonce baffles me. How does she get away with it? How has she/her management (this includes Jay-Z, who himself is a product now) been able to convince everyone that it’s possible to do/be EVERYTHING to EVERYONE? Empowering, this is not. Delusional and therefore discouraging and disempowering is more like it.
@ Shecodes: “Beyonce reminds me of Whitney Houston. A basic dunce with good looks and singing ability who is a human marionette for some seriously evil people.”
I completely agree. This probably one of my major annoyances with black popular music. What’s with all the dumb black chicks! I use to like Mariah Carey, but she comes across pretty much the same. Sure they’re making a lot of money, sometimes I think they overinflate their earnings for PR *shrug*, but like the good book says, A fool and his money are soon parted.
God rest Michael Jackson’s soul, but I got a funny feeling Beyonce is going down the same road of trying to make themselves out some kind of pop culture diety.
The madonna/whore aka sasha fierce/beyonce dynamic is troubling, but not surprising in a world where we still scrutinize women’s sexuality.
Yes, and its ashame the Beyonce is 30 years old and still dealing with that silly dynamic instead of standing up for herself in the industry. Most its all about the dollar bill. Its the business of music
Susan Boyle is a perfect example that a woman doesn’t have to dress or act like whorish to become famous. People aren’t that dense. True talent will shine through. Beyonce comes off as Schizophrenia to me with the whole Sasha Fierce nonsense. If you want to play the role of a lavacious woman then own it. Bouncy is someone who I consider to be “double-mind” and you know a double minded man is unstable in all his ways LOL…I don’t mean to get biblical on folks but I wonder what is going on with Beyonce internally. Maybe she as a case of cognitive dissonance?
What’s utterly insane to me is that Beyonce is held in high esteem while the women mentioned in Gina’s article (Lil Kim, Trina etc..) are considered whorish and bottom barrel. Beyonce is in the same boat in my opinion as all of those entertainers (men and woman) who exploit their body and sexuality for a dollar. They are glorified prostitutes.
I d agree with you what Beyonce out on the stage and in the media is not beneficial for young women it is a extremely seducing it’s like a jezebel and the young women are idolising that which i think is unfair because she wants to separate herself from that person on the stage who young people want to emulate and who she is poisoning. I appreciate that it is part of showbiz but do you have to lose yourself just for entertainment, i don’t think she performs the way she does just for the money i think she enjoys very much but she still wants to keep her good girl image whilst acting like a whore on the stage. These days young people cant move in the world for a minute without sex being shoved in their faces or subconscious. Although Beyonce is clear a hard worker and very talent if not one of the worlds greatest i think that her performs are not good for young women today. Concerninh he light skin she is light skin get over it she doesn’t have to a apoligise for that it’s us the audience, the media included the African American media who say that because she is light skin she is prettier than a darker skin girl that have to sort our heads out.
@Blkchk
Thank you for knowing about and mentioning N’dambi. She is definitely one of my top 3 faves along with Ledisi and E. Badu.
I don’t think being middle-class or light-skinned has anything to do with beyonce’s success. I mean, just look at Vanessa Willams, who is lighter than beyonce and comes from upper middle class people (and to boot has blue-green eyes). but she never has, and never will have the success or national and international audience that beyonce carries in that form of entertainemnt.
Beyonce is extremely talented, as are many other artists, but the difference is that beyonce is a TRUE performer – meaning she puts her all into her shows no matter where or what (just go to one of her concerts , and she’s like the female version of michael jackson in black and pop music). She doesn’t just stand there and sing, she does it all, and that to me makes such a difference in her appeal. And she does a lot of it live, non-lipsynched.
I think that has a lot to do with how well an artist does – Neither Rihanna or Alicia Keys, while both popular and and talented to a degree, can outperform her and do not have the level of appeal or overall talent because of their overall skills in entertainment – meaning the whole package – stage, video, performance,dance, and musical abilities,whether singing or instrumental). You’ve got to have the whole package to be as huge in the industry as B is, and she does while many others don’t. Thus her success.
(** @@ BTW, rolling my eyes at the insinuation that her success in the music industry is because she is lighter. While of course their is color preference, black people of all shades have always basically performed since the days of slavery, and have had a good deal of popularity/success doing so. See Janet Jackson and others. When she was at the top of the industry, noone was complianing and saying that she got there because she was dark-skinned and pretty. And Janet, in her heyday, has always been considered attractive and talented with worldwide appeal and sold millions of records on an international level).
So now it’s B’s turn – beyonce is now just as successful or even moreso, and at the same time happens to be light and from middle class people, so what? She’s still a black woman with talent, who has successfully made it to the top of her game. And I don’t think she’s lost any of her morals along the way.
And Corrine Bailey Rae is extremely boring – maybe that’s why she’s not as popular?
Beyonce has talked about having an alter stage ego – Sasha for years. There have been reports (ok, VH1’s ‘Driven’) that Beyonce was kind of using a separate personae to perform when she was 10. A shy kid needs help to do what she loves in front of others, so she creates an alter ego/character to perform. What’s the big deal?
Is the outrage and contempt, because of how she decided to use that character’s sexuality in later years? If she were a “soul” singer wearing loose fitting clothing, natural hair, etc. would we be mocking her/questioning her sanity? Or would we be saying – “that’s just how sensitive artists are able to create/perform”?
In a recent article, soon to be published in Glamour/Red Book or some other women’s magazine, Beyonce says she no longer feels the need to have Sasha to help her express herself. It should be on newstands in Feb/March.
So, Sasha Fierce has apparently left the building.
That’s Beyonce fully claiming that’s her on stage p-popping because she wants to. If you can respect Madonna for it, you can respect her too.
It’s not that serious, as I said before. Once again, people stand on their high horses and lash out useless criticisms. I’m sure our daughters will be “inspired” and “uplifted” by the comments some of you have posted here.
*eye roll*
I am a Kelly Rowlands fan. I always thought she was the better singer.
I am a Kelly Rowland fan. I always thought she was the better singer.
All of the coochie popping and the bodysuits is too much for me…we all know our stuff needs to breathe but on stage? really….
I like Beyonce. I think her songs are catchy. I also like that she sings LIVE and dances at her concerts. I also like the fact that she’s thick and hasn’t widdled herself down to a size zero and she hasn’t derailed like other popstars. i.e. Britney, Mariah’s breakdown, Whitneys crack… She’s not perfect but I like her image (off stage). Beyonce has been in the game for 10 years strong. So, she’s steadily achieving icon status. Especially, when todays popstars are soo disposable.
All that said, she needs to take some speaking and diction classes. She always sounds so dumb in interviews. It’s like she’s searching for an answer and she’s not bright at all. She needs to read or pick up a book or do something. I do wish she would tone it down in her videos and concerts. Her video phone video was VULGAR. She has to understand that she is a role model and that young girls looks up to her. I just wish some of her videos were more classy. But what do you expect from someone who is not all that educated. I’m sorry but Britney’s spears videos aren’t as vulgar as Beyonces….. It’s like the record companies have no problem marketing black women as ultra whorish but when it comes to white women, they make them hold back….
But all that said, I like her.
First of all mass media will always celebrate the pop tart over the real female talents. I think the real frustration is that we see media as saying this is the best of the black women when we know that ain’t necessarily true. It’s sad we only get to see one deminsion of ourselve portrayed in the media and just like mass media prefers selling the gangster image of blcak men they like selling the hoochie image og black women. But unlike the guys who want us to actually think they are gangsters to maintain street cred. Beyonce wants us to know the image on stage isn’t really how she is but she and her parents know taht trash is the quicker way to the cash so they have always walked this thin line. ie: revealing outfits but early on mom made them so they didn’t show too much.
Ultimately this is more about tapping an untapped market than an assault on black women outright. They are just playing to our cultural like they’ve already played to the white culture to get their dollars.
First Madonna, then Brittney and even Paris got the little white girls to wearing bras as tops and belly shirts at 7. Now they are using Beyonce to get the little black girls begging their mom’s to dress like prostitots. But see marketer know that middle-class black mothers, the ones with the cash, won’t let their daughters immitate an outright hood chick like a Lil’ Kim (we go to church still you know) but if you make sure that Beyonce maintains at least an air of respectability and the clothes that are promoted are just provocative not actually revealing then you got a shot. Mo money, mo money!
I also think a certain segment of the media are banking on her being the next seemingly good girl gone train wreck. (remember Whitney). They see this split persona thing and wonder just how long it will be before she breaks. OOOh what will it be this time…crack, alcohol, a shaved head, a crotch shot in a limo…they just can’t wait.
Oh and the whole I may act like a stipper on stage but I’m really a good girl thing keeps middle-class white America buying her CDs as well. “See Bob she’s not a hood rat. She’s just like us. She’s okay let Becky buy the record.”
Okay. I have only one major problem with the reign of Beyonce. I do believe that many singers have had their careers derailed/demoted or demolished to make way for Beyonce i.e. Kelly Rowland or Lauren London. I do not take away from the work she has put into maintaining her reign on the pop culture landscape….I believe this is why she basically does not take a break…she can’t stand the idea of eventually being replaced in the pop culture throne room. That said I generally speaking do not enjoy her music…I like dance music…I primarily listen to House music BUT Beyonce’s music leaves me cold and bored. I am writer…so I enjoy the lyrics more often than the melody. This is why I think Cole Porter or Stevie Wonder or Jill Scott is sacred shyte. If I had my druthers I’d be more than happy to see any of the following Black women artists sell as many if NOT more records than Beyonce…not because I have anything against weave wearing/crotch swing dancing entertainers BUT because in the way they express themselves: Corinne Bailey Rae, Brittany Bosco, india.arie, Jill Scott, Erykah Badu, Muhsinah and yes even Solange Knowles.
Baby sister Knowles sounds a lot like Beyonce BUT definitely has been taking a different tack with her musical expression i.e. Stillness is the Move http://prettymuchamazing.com/mp3/solange-stillness-is-the-move-dirty-projectors-cover
Toodles.
(shrug)
Many artists feel the need to constantly reinvent themselves to remain relevant. I believe this is especially true for female entertainers.
I happen to love Beyonce, and I respect her…er…work ethic, but I’d never look for her to show up at any feminist/womanist rallies; although I’m sure she’d be welcome–coochie suits and all.
I see her as a business woman exploiting every avenue available to her, including her sexuality.
But I hate that picture above, the one with the kids dressed in those clothes. And I agree with the suggestion that many of her lyrics are simple, at best; socially irresponsible, at worst (like the one glorifying a man with “hood” status). But even then she was just exploiting her audience, giving them what she thought they wanted. Because I don’t think for one second she (or Jay Z) would want a child of theirs to marry a person with “hood” status. Which brings me back to my point about her being a business woman, first. Who knows what she is after that.
I haven’t been able to get into Corrine Bailey Rae. She sounds like a twelve year old trying to sing blues/jazz.
Interesting, I don’t feel outrage at or contempt for Beyonce. I just don’t much care for or about her. However, my disinterest in the majority of her work doesn’t preclude me from attempting to analyze the dynamics, does it?
@Lena: I do indeed think part of Beyonce’s success has been due to her being light-skinned and the pigmentocracy that permeates our culture. I think she has enjoyed a lot of crossover success (in various communities) due to the pop catchiness of her music, relentless marketing of her and her brand, and her lighter skin. Lighter skin + less phenotypically (West) African features + long straight hair = more crossover appeal and greater success. It’s just the nature of the beast. Ever notice how the more successful female singers of color become, the less “ethnic” they look (see Beyonce, J-Lo – she used to look much more like a Boricua, Shakira, etc.). It’s something I call the “Blonding Effect”. It is what it is…but it is there and has helped Beyonce.
@Kjen: If it were a “soul” singer who came up with an altar ego to explain what they were doing on stage, I would call shenanigans. Especially, if they seemed hell bent on maintaining an air of “propriety” while making music that is anything but. I’m glad she’s going to finally retire the Sasha Fierce trope. Good for her for finally owning everything she does.
I forgot that the Beyonce fans go hard. Lol!
Well, being thoughtful, reflective critics of this society’s cultural ups and downs, etc., is something we should take seriously, especially when it comes to how African people and our sisters in particular are portrayed. The psychological warfare against us is unrelenting, constant, sometimes subtle, sometimes not so subtle, BUT ALWAYS DANGEROUS! Hence this discussion about how we are portrayed in media and elsewhere in this society.
The question is not if Bey is talented; of course she is, and so to for the others mentioned. But why does she get rammed down our throats and the throats of our children, especially our young girls? The fact that Bey’s parents played active roles in how she is marketed, promoted is very troubling for me. Why Bey and not India.Arie (her latest, Love and Politics: Testimony Vol. 2 IMHO is her best yet — soulful, spiritual, intellectual, reflective, political, Pan-African), Ledisi, Angie Stone, Lizz Wright (have you heard Lizz’s new cd? OMG!! FANTASTIC!), Choklate, Corrine Bailey Rae, et.al.? Must a sister always be a video you-know-what to be taken seriously as a singer/artist? Can’t we be sexy, grown, intelligent, passionate, soulful, spiritual, creative AND still be taken seriously as singers/artists?
Lastly, I am also greatly trouble by all the millions certain singers/artists make, yet they don’t go to college. WTH?? For example, of all the grown Jackson family children, not one has a college degree, in spite of the millions they made. WHY IS THAT? Suppose they had taken time off for four to six years to go to college, get degrees, entertainment law degrees, MBA degrees, accounting degrees/CPA, music education degrees, etc., and then they could have ably negotiated their own contracts, etc. Why is it that Gary, IN has nothing to show for the Jacksons being from there but a plaque? Why not take those millions, and for example build a WORKER-FRIENDLY, WORKER-OWNED flip flop factory, make designer flip flops, employ say 5,000 to 10,000 people, teach people how to start and run a business, marketing/advertising skills, contracts administration, transportation coordination, on-site day care, on-site community health clinic, etc.? So Bey’s latest record label contract is worth $$$ and she never talks about going to college? WHY? Then if she won’t go to college, is she sending anybody else to college? You mean with all the brilliant, yet working class young people we have that can’t afford college (and don’t want to take out a $75,000 to $100,000 college loan), Bey and them can’t send five to 10 young people to college out their pockets? If not, THEN WHY DO WE BUY THEIR MUSIC?
oops! and another thing, why does Bey and/or “her people” insist on booking her concerts in Muslim countries where clearly she is not wanted, i.e., Indonesia, etc? Who in these countries is so greedy and down with U.S. cultural imperialism that they keep trying this? I’m a Mahalia-Jackson-every-Sunday-morning-out-the-door- to-church Christian sista and I’m offended.
Shecodes said:
I don’t dislike Beyonce. I actually respect her singing ability because none of it is natural — what I hear is an average voice that has been rehearsed and practiced into doing fantastic acrobatics. That takes a tremendous amount of work…
Menelik says:
Wow, shecodes, if she is as good as you suggest then surely it is due to her natural singing ability of which her “hard work” merely exentuates!
You sure you don’t dislike sister Beyonce?
Menelik Charles
London UK
I am a Beyoncé fan and proud of it. All I know is that instead of big upping White female artists I will support sista artists while we still have them.
Also a fan of Corinne, Angie, Alicia, Rihanna,Toni Whitney, Erykah,etc………
ROFLMAO!
All of this over an entertainer??? Nah … couldn’t be. But yeah, it is. Wow … Beyonce hate to the highest degree. And yeah, I am a stan. But mad at you? Nah … I have a life. LOL! Here’s to your journey to get one … CHEERS!
Beyonce annoys me. She’s vapid, her music doesn’t add anything, she’s just plain pop. However, she has the minds of the kids and teens on lock and they keep supporting her.
All I know is that I vote for who I like by my pocketbook. She doesn’t get my money and its a-ok for me.
I’m not a fan of Gucciman, Soldier Boy or the various “Li’l” or “Young” iterations type of music. If it happens to come on, I change the channel.
I don’t get why so much time, effort or emotion goes into dissecting Beyonce’. She’s just an entertainer. I agree, the real outrage is in why she and so much of pop culture has hijacked the “news.”. With so many cable news outlets, the competion for viewers has caused media execs to dumb down the news. With Haiti, 2 wars, an economy in the toilet, global warming, Russia slowly returning to socialism, China hacking into the Pentagon and becoming the number 1 exporter of goods….etc; there are so many more important topics that warrant outrage. Why so much energy toward an entertainer? Beyonce is being criticized for being lazy and putting out low quality albums in two weeks when the real tragedy is in how we allow media outlets to provide low quality news and replace real stories with coverage of pop artists. Why is there more coverage of Beyonce, Brangalina or American Idol than there is of the soldiers and innocent civilians that are dying in the Middle East?
I like to be entertained, dance and work out, but I don’t think about Beyonce outside of those 2 arenas of my life. I also like to be informed/prepared and prefer not to have Beyonce mixed in with my weather, traffic and current events. Soon I will have to treat some if these news broadcasts/channels like I treat the radio when I hear Gucciman, Soldier Boy and the various “Li’ls” and “Youngs.” For now, I will just pray that C-Span won’t start covering the Kardashians since one of them just happened to shake hands with the president.
@ Altlanta Sistah You mean “all this” as in a discussion on a blog? I realize that intellectual discussion for the pure joy of exchanging ideas is foreign to you, but that’s fine we enjoy it and have fabulous lives as well. Now go back to watching Tiny and Toya meets Frankie and Neffie & ‘em
Beyonce’s songs are catchy. It is just pop to me which I do not take seriously at all. She is not Chrisette Michelle, LaLah Hathaway and I don’t expect her to be. Her songs are risque to attract attention of the masses. She is trying to stay relevant but her music is merely catchy and passable . No young lady should have her as a mentor etc.
Ahhh as an aside, I see someone interesting has entered the conversation. The comments will be a observation at first, insults later and finally a crucification of bw everywhere, so please do not be in shock when it occurs. This commentor is crafty & sly but after a while the intent is obvious. Just a heads up.
@Nikita spare us all the trouble and just drop a dime on them now so I can ban them and we can go back to our happy little world.
I agree with you article wholeheartedly! I have always been confused about her empowerment of women stance that she expounds in her music. I reconcile the fact that she is a well-crafted packaged product and as a consumer; I just choose not to purchase the product. My ears are just tuned-in to soul music that really touches my soul. Beyonce is just not that artist for me!
@TMA:
“I do indeed think part of Beyonce’s success has been due to her being light-skinned and the pigmentocracy that permeates our culture. I think she has enjoyed a lot of crossover success (in various communities) due to the pop catchiness of her music, relentless marketing of her and her brand, and her lighter skin. Lighter skin + less phenotypically (West) African features + long straight hair = more crossover appeal and greater success.”
OK…I got it, Black people, we have color-issues no matter what. I’m sorry, but while I can see that being true in many industries, I don’t see that being true for music because Black people have always been the headliners in American music. And our music has always been picked up by the “mainstream” culture – no matter the color. Unfortunately, I see it as a result of slavery that so many of us choose performing over education, but at the same time, I think it’s fortunate that many have been able to use it as a way to raise out of poverty, lessen the effects of racism (especially in the old days), or even make our musical style world reknown, etc (all of these things are good to a degree, and are by no means absolute. For example, the international appeal of SOME styles of rap and r&b is very unfortunate). And Yes, yes I know so many Black stars die broke and in the projects).
But generally, as far as musical entertainers, Black performers have run the gamut of the color line and it hasn’t stopped their appeal because they were just seen as Black, and that’s it.
Mahalia Jackson, Marian Anderson, Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughn, etc – all these ladies are huge icons in their musical and entertainment category and most are dark-skinned except Lena Horne.
I still have to use Janet Jackson back in the 80’s and 90’s – she had HUGE appeal WORLDWIDE, sold a crazy amount of records, was a stellar onstage performer in dance, has had numerous hits – video and audio, people still love her to this day, consider her extremely attarctive and beautiful, and she is not light-skinned at all, doesn’t have european features at all, whatever that means (and neither does B by the way), and had incredible crossover succes.
Also, Whitney Houston in her glory-before-crack days had that same crossover appeal and huge success, nationally and internationally.
But neither of them used the same industry “tactics” as Beyonce. While Janet has always been a great dancer and performer, her voice has always been weak and thin. While Whitney was always an AMAZING singer, she has never been or tried to be a dancer. And she was always a bit to skinny and straight-up and down like to ever be considered “sexy” – attractive matbe, but not sexy.
I think in Beyonce’s case, she combines all of these things and has used them to be a huge success – she has a great figure (in many peoples opinion), she is a stellar performer in BOTH dancing and singing, and she has a nice face that works well in the industry. Plus, she has currently got to be the hardest working woman in the music industry today.
Nothing to do with light-skin.
Now I do think that a Beyonce is chosen over an Erykah Badu or Jill Scott because her musical style is more pop, r&b, light-weight kind of stuff. The same with Michael Jackson’s music. While he usually tried to put positive messages in manyu of his songs, most were stillpop and lightweight. And I think that’s what’s been “in” in the music industry for a few decades now, as far as what gets face time. The deeper, more thought-provoking music hasn’t gotten as much attention in the American music industry for along time now. I think thats more a reflection of the “dumbing down” of America than any color/shading preference. And sometimes I think lightweight is good, especially in hard times. People want to be entertained and see things that seem fun and upbeat, that don’t necessarily reflect the daily hardships of living, instead of crying the blues at music that reflects a current situation.
That’s what much entertainment is for – an escape from reality.
p.s. also, i’ve had the opportunity to travel globally a lot, and many Black Americans that we may think look West African, don’t look West African to the Africans in those countries, who will bluntly tell you so. Just letting you in on a little-known secret. So just because you don’t “look West African” means squat. Lots of Black Americans look East African, North African, South, and some not continental at all – and I’m strictly talking those that are dark-skinned now.
sorry for the long post!
There is room for everyone! I like B (though I’ve never purchased any of her music), I like CBR more, and I have purchased her music. I love Janelle Monae. I love Lauryn, Tracy Chapman… They all contribute something, and variety REALLY IS the spice of life. W/O it, we’d be a boring bunch of *****…{-_-}, and no, I’m not gay, I just like say *******
@ Lena, I agree with you on the dumbing down of U.S. society, just look at not only SOME music, but also the news and so called journalism, Black Exploitation Television, all the dam cable channels that basically say the same thing, NOTHING OF SUBSTANCE, Cathy Hughes’ campaign on TV One to get over like a fat rat on artists, net neutrality, etc. But the question is, what is our responsibility to solve this mess?
As for light skin vs dark skin, yep, that’s still with us too; it keeps getting dug up every now and then by SOME White folks, and then again, sometimes by some Negroes we don’t care too much for either, i.e., Chris Rock’s flick, “Good Hair”, etc. So yes, Bey is getting a lot of face time on the media due in part to her being light skin, but it’s also other reasons as well. I ain’t mad at her, she’s extremely talented, works hard, etc; I just saw the spot on her on 60 Minutes. Even a very good thing shouldn’t be rammed down your throat for a zillion times. Ok, now I gotta go, Bey’s now on the Grammy’s, with all these male dancers in military gear (ain’t that kind of fascist, with the U.S. military now over extended in wars all over the world, at war with five Muslim countries, one of which is in Mother Africa, Somalia?) OH MY HOW FAR WE SLAVES HAVE COME!