They don’t call it pulling a Beyonce for nothing.
Queen Bey has dropped one of her signature surprise singles to mark Juneteenth called Black Parade, and it’s just about made our weekend.
The single dropped in the early hours of Saturday morning (UK time), and is an ode to Beyonce’s roots and her blackness.
The song was released to mark Juneteeth – a day commemorating the end of slavery in the United States.
Black Parade – co-written by Bey’s husband Jay Z – opens with the 38-year-old singing: ‘I’m goin’ back to the South/ Back where my roots ain’t watered down.’
Other lyrics hear Beyonce sing: ‘We got rhythm / We got pride / We birth kings / We birth tribes’ and ‘Motherland drip on me/ I can’t forget my history/ It’s her story.’
The mother-of-three wrote on Instagram: ‘Happy Juneteenth Weekend! I hope we continue to share joy and celebrate each other, even in the midst of struggle. Please continue to remember our beauty, strength and power.
‘“BLACK PARADE” celebrates you, your voice and your joy and will benefit Black-owned small businesses.’
And going the extra mile, Beyonce linked to a directory of black-owned businesses, from beauty brands to restaurants and bars.
The page titled Black Parade Route read: ‘Happy Juneteenth. Being Black is your activism. Black excellence is a form of protest. Black joy is your right.
‘”Black Parade” benefits BeyGOOD’s Black Business Impact Fund, administered by the National Urban League, to support Black-owned small businesses in need.’
While Beyonce doesn’t speak that often on social media, she has been vocal throughout the Black Lives Matter protests, demanding justice over the deaths of George Floyd and Breanna Taylor.
And as she delivered a commencement speech for graduates in a star-studded virtual graduation, Beyonce celebrated black excellence.
The Countdown singer said: ‘One of the main purposes of my art for many years has been dedicated to showing the beauty of black people to the world. Our history, our profundity, and the value of black lives. I’ve tried my best to pull down the veil of appeasement to those who may feel uncomfortable with our excellence.
‘To all those who feel different if you’re a part of a group that’s called other, a group that does not get the chance to be centre stage, build your own stage and make them see you. Your queerness is beautiful, your blackness is beautiful.’
While she is known for her legendary floor-fillers and soaring ballads, Beyonce has made plenty of political statements with her music and concerts in recent years.
Her 2016 single Formation was all about black empowerment and pride, and the video referenced police brutality, as it ended with ‘stop shooting us’ graffitied on a wall.
And her iconic 2018 Coachella headlining set was an ode to historically black colleges and universities.
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