Formation - Beyonce

Hip-Hop’s Most Updated Powerhouse Call To Arms

Beyonce has been a music idol for years, and this song is much more than just another party song. Let’s divide this review into two sections, the message and the music. The music: When you hear the repeating, echoing “beeps” from the beginning of the song, there is a very definitive ambiance in the song. It has a very unique sound, the drums are irregular, and yet keep a good beat, which hold the song together, but get lost in the rest of the other sounds and her voice. There are too many small samples and sound bits to pin-point and discuss, but they do a good job of playing off each other to keep moving the song along. The best instrument is the bass, which will move very slowly in the chorus parts while mixing it up well in other parts,  but is hard to hear or notice if you don’t have wrap around headphones or a good sub-woofer. Obviously Beyonce is a great singer, hands down, but this song is not one of her stronger vocal pieces. The song breaks into a long bridge and seems to start over after the first minute, which is odd at first, but is nice to see the pattern of the song is more inventive and different than classic A-B-A-B-C-A-A pattern. The message: The lyrics may just be odd to people and make no sense, but there is a lot of discussion and allusions to the black lives matter movement and classic civil rights movement problems and racism in general. I think the song is alright, and all these people making a big deal and hating Beyonce for her trying to embrace her culture and call others to be proud of who they are is ridiculous. First of all, music is a form of expression, art, and you can’t hate someone for expressing themselves, especially when it is an expression of strength and unity, not of hatred or violence. A good song, interesting and non-typical for the sound and the blunt political message that embraces today’s problems and culture.

Originality:8

Instruments:6

Vocals:7

Longevity:5

Red Score:6.5