by
Rinny
Some time in the afternoon of February 6, 2016, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles put out the ‘Formation’ music video, which not only snatched the wigs and edges of many, but also came to rightfully shine as a pro-black, black girl anthem for all. Here are the 15 reasons we’re totally and unabashedly here for the New Orleans-based visuals that accompany the latest Beyoncé track.
The Legendary Intro Which Featured Beloved New Orleans Youtube Sensation Messy Mya and also Memorialized Hurricane KatrinaÂ
When She Lets Folks Know Up Front The Illuminati Rumors are Dumb and Dismiss the Hard Work She’s Put in as a Black Woman
When She Collabed with Queen of Bounce Big Freedia and Expressed Her Love of Soul Food
When She Called Herself a ‘Texas Bamma’
When She Lets Critics Know She Loves Blue’s Natural Hair and EFF your Beauty Standards!
ANDÂ That She Embraces her Black Features, While Giving a Shout Out to the Legendary Jackson 5
When She Shot a Scene Inside a Beauty Supply Store and Showed Love to Wig and Weave-Wearing Black Women
The Homage to Beyonce’s Louisiana Roots Can’t Be Overlooked from the Second Line Parade to Mardi Gras Indians
When She Nodded to Black Cowboy Culture, Which is Still Going Strong in the South
When She Showcased Marching Band Leaders from Edna Karr High School in New Orleans
The Crowned Afro She Rocks
When the Themes of “Formation” and “Coordination” Echoed Majorette Dance at Black High Schools and HBCUs
#BlackLivesMatter is Poignant Throughout the Video
Jay-Z and Beyonce’s streaming company, Tidal announced their donation of $ 1.5 million to #BlackLivesMatter Organizations on what would be Trayvon Martin’s 21st birthday, just a day before this video was released.
The Epic #NaturalHair Love Among the Dancers
This African Threading Hairstyle and the Nod to Victorian Era African American Women
Beyoncé is making sure there’s no miscommunication with the message: she is unapologetically black, woke and will continue to slay.
Watch the video in full below:
What are your thoughts on the video? Are there any references we missed?
57 Responses
The video and the song was great, and I appreciate it even more after seeing Beyonce’s full short film/video, “Lemonade,” since “Formation” is actually the last song/video on the visual album. It is even stronger in relationship to all the songs and images that came before.
Finally, someone who sees it the way I do. I feel like she’s capitalizing on what’s on everyone’s talking about at the moment. Her people probably go on social media, then tell her songwriters what to write about.The same way she was all over feminism a while back. All she’s got now is dope production work. Her lyrics are banal and insipid.
I have never witnessed her daughter to have uncombed hair.
i’m not talking trash about a precious baby, but yeah, you know when you just cringe a little bit?
i’m pretty sure people were not clowning beyonce or her daughter for the texture of her hair. it was because she refused to comb it.
Yes, author, you missed one referecnce. Messy Mia is saying ‘what happened at the ‘New Wildins’, which is a club she used to frequent, not ‘what happened in New Orleans’. But either one works I guess, just wanted to put the facts out there. Thx!
wrong! Beyonce comes up with alot of those ideas herself and only chooses other ideas that line up with her vision. Face it, she’s a creative artist who knows what she wants and works hard to achieve it.
I would like to know what I’m wrong about. I’m not saying that she has no creative in put and she doesn’t work hard, I’m simply saying an artist of her magnitude will have a great deal of people working with her to help realise and put forward ideas. It’s the same thing with fashion designers, they don’t necessarily design their collections, they have people who have a lot of the times more vision then they do when putting together a fashion collections. Yes she is a talented artist who seems to deliver great performances but I highly doubt that she is even 50% responsible for every concept shown in her work.
you’re ‘wrong’. Sometimes she is 100% responsible for her ideas and lyrics.
Thank you! We are so quick to discredit her creative agency. But I don’t see that conversation happening a lot for other pop artists.
I feel that the main message for the most part, she was saying for all you critics who have something to say about my family and I, you can kiss where the sun don’t shy (which sounds more like her sister Solange). I’m Queen B and don’t need your approval because I am self-millionaire, you see. Then through imagery not lyrics, she added things that are going on in the black community. So basically, no message here, you have to think for yourself. If I am right, this is ingenious. she has everyone’s attention and we are talking. I’m not a Beyonce fan but I do wish she could be a little more lady like as when she 1st hit the stage with her dad as her manager. However, I see her anger, she is tired of the critics. Many were down right evil when it came to remarks regarding her beautiful daughter’s hair, etc. It’s a lot going on in that video and you won’t catch it all at 1st glance. he who laughs last, laughs the best!
Pro-black, black girl anthem? Seriously? Music video aside, the lyrics are insulting. She promotes stereotypes in it, talks about being f’ed, and brags about herself throughout it. Just because the video seems to pay homage to something other than her, doesn’t neutralize the problems within the lyrics themselves, which support and promote Black femininity. They seem to do the opposite.
On the contrary, I see her asserting herself as a black woman. Perception is subjective.
Very subjective, which I understand as society and its mores seem ever-changing. But as a Black woman, she’s the last person I’d want as my representative.
I can do bad all by myself – I don’t need or like someone else pushing the idea that I (or Black women in my family, for example, though I love our people as a whole and don’t want them to be portrayed in such negative ways in general) are, collectively, profane, materialistic, narcissistic, self-absorbed or would consider intimacy with my husband to be something as vulgar as “f**king,” and on par with some sort of prostitute-based monetary transaction that results in my “taking him to red lobster” or “buying him Jordans.” It’s as if we revel in a lack of respect for ourselves and our men, and certainly our children, as Beyonce can praise her daughter’s hair all she wants, but she’s giving her daughter mixed signals if she can’t even be bothered to portray her own hair in its 100% natural state (as in both texture and color).
We don’t see such being done or widely promoted by women of other racial communities, and with things like that being propagated by our own, it leaves us with little room to justify complaints about our characters being relegated to the same stereotypes and advertising pushing the same tropes. We have been and continue to be conditioned to accept peanuts and bare minimums while everyone else raises standards and, in turn, receives better. And judging by the fact that Ayesha Curry trended and received backlash for daring to say she likes staying classy, it seems to have worked, sadly.
But that’s just how her song comes off to me based on its lyrics and music video, however. I can understand why others would feel differently.
I get what you mean. Like when she says mix that Creole with the Negro (or the makeup commercial where she is 25% French 25% Indian… from which Black parent?) Both of my grandmothers are from New Orleans, one has gray eyes and had sandy hair, the other had freckles and red hair. My dad has light eyes like his mother and my mother has her mother’s freckles. Creole? Nah, we ain’t, just some Black people with recessive traits. Like New Orleans does not equal Creole.
I know what you mean. From what I understand, Beyonce’s polyethnic shtick comes from her mom’s side, since, as far as I know, her dad doesn’t mind just being “African American.”
I didn’t get the commercial either – I could maybe be more on board if one’s parents were not born in the states, but some of the descriptions used for some of the women used for the True Match commercial sounded like a couple of them just wanted to be special snowflakes lol No one just wants to be Black or White, it seems. Reminds me of a comic who did a joke about that. If you want to check it out, it’s called, “Hari Kondabolu- 2042 & the White Minority” (/watch?v=85fr6nbiMT4). Thank you for sharing your perspective. 🙂
What is so wrong with representing THAT aspect of her culture. She has done so many uplifting woman videos and countless videos where she is not shaking her bootie.
I read an article in EBONY magazine and it was about this guy who worked in an all white office environment had an office party. His famous dish among his family and friends was fried chicken (Old family recipe) but felt that he should not bring that to be a token black guy. How ridiculous is that guys. I guarantee no white person is thinking “oh man I don’t wanna bring my tuna casserole I will be the token white guy”. We have to not be afraid of the stereotypes that we actually hold. We honestly limit ourselves I believe. Malcolm X actually speaks of these exact same things in his book. Us as a community changing what we do in front of the white people afraid of what they think.
I agree with you in showing images of us being educated and positive that is extremely important. I also think it is important to not be afraid of other things that we do and take pride in them. I personally love to twerk (not in public) But at the end of the day twerking and whining is black culture. Hot sauce is our culture.Cornrows is our culture. (Besides hot sauce) and these things actually derive from Africa (African dancing is all about that TWERK and them Braids).
We leave our “stereotypes for white women to appropriate because we don’t claim them with a high head!
Just a different perspective. Loved it personally
I get what you saying my problem is that we have enough twerking going on i do believe that as blacks its similar to African dance like kuasa kuasa etc. but all im saying is look past the dancing because there is more to me than that. you know i was surprised to meet black Americans that did not know were their ancestors came from. they tell me about shaka zulu etc. i think if the video really wanted to teach something about being blank it should start at the core. Who are we? BUT if its just a fun video its fine the way it is. But then again i’m not american so i really should’t have much to say. case closed 🙂
Beyond DNA research, which is relatively recent as applied to genealogy, how do you think “black Americans” would know their “ancestors?” Do you think they all were able to maintain that information during a couple hundred years of slavery and codified laws that made such knowledge not only fleeting but dangerous to record? Really? I am continuously surprised by the lack of information Africans have on “black Americans” and their experience, particularly the few who were never colonized in their own nations.
I love this video and everything it stands for! I agree with others that this song is about black women uniting to form a coalition, to get in formation, to be educated (“Come ladies now, let’s get in-formation”), to amass wealth. This is an excellent video. If you still don’t get it, please see this excellent write up here: http://newsouthnegress.com/southernslayings/
I agree with some of the ladies in this thread. This song is about black women. It is not even for black men to fully understand, and I love that. I love how Beyonce takes the woman on the margin, the black woman, and propels her agenda to the foreground. I loved Bey since Destiny’s Child, but after this song I STAN hard for her. Go BEYONCE!
Co-sign
I was feeling the lyrics and the video imagery but the actual music itself not so much. My peeps are Lousi – Miss-Bama so I was loving seeing NOLA represented with the Second Liners and Mardi Gras Indians. Seems to me like a lot of people are unaware or refuse to acknowledge any diversity in black American culture.
BTW Happy Fat Tuesday everyone.
I am not a real fan of Beyonce (and I am not black, I grew up ignorant of real black culture and issues, other than from TV and music, but I am sympathetic), but this song, the video, and the manner it was released represent a BIG move. I haven’t read all the articles — some titles ask if she’s an activist — but I think this is a big moment in music history as relates to civil rights. Well done, Beyonce.
Can a corporate entity like Beyoncé really be “woke” or are all of her choices driven by profits. I have difficulty believing a person can be unapologetically capitalist and conscious at the same time. Just something to think about.
Yes, good point. All those conscious artist out there don’t have the platform she has and are not taken that serious so I can’t help thinking that the imagery is a case of jumping on the bandwagon to create a little frenzy and plenty of bucks.
for some reason I did not enjoy that. felt that it was full of stereotypes it says “i’m black” but it does not say “i’m black take me seriously” it does not say my fro is good enough to rock to work but that fro’s go with butt shaking. It does not say stop killing us but hey I will look glamorous when you kill me. It does not say black women are not sex objects and should be respected but rather hey what you did to Sarah Bartman is cool. A lot of white people will be asking us know ” oh cool afro can you do the formation dance routine?” maybe i don’t get it because i’m not american but as an African women i feel like you guys were just robbed lol. oh ya she like her mans big nostrils but her complexion has gone a few shades lighter she is very proud of blackness.
In one scene I think I saw a reference to Sandra Bland… Overall Hey nailed it!
I love how Beyoncé is comfortable in her own skin. How she mixes up images to express herself. She’s definitely at her artistic peak.
Don’t forget that she has a whole entourage of creatives working around her. It’s unusual for artists, especially of her magnitude to not to have a creative team working for them. She wouldn’t be the person she is or portrays to be without them.
“Y’all haters corny with that illuminati mess / Paparazzi catch my fly and my cocky fresh / I’m so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress (stylin’) / I’m so possessive so I rock his Roc necklaces.”
“My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana / You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bamma / I like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros / I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils / Earned all this money but they never take the country out me / I got hot sauce in my bag, swag.”
“I see it I want it / I stunt, yeah, little hornet / I grind ’til I own it / I twirl on them haters / Albino Alligators / El Camino with the seat low sipping Cuervo with no chaser / Sometimes I go off, I go hard / Get what’s mine, take what’s mine / I’m a star, I’m a star / Cause I slay, slay, I slay, hey, I slay, okay / I slay.”
“When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster (cause I slay) / If he hit it right I might take him on a flight on my chopper (cause I slay) / Drop him off at the mall, let him buy some J’s, let him shop up (cause I slay).”
These aren’t the full lyrics, but a good portion of them.
What part of these lyrics talks about the injustices that New Orleans is still experiencing after Katrina?
What part of these lyrics praises women for being true to their heritage and rocking their natural hair?
What part of these lyrics mentions the names of Trayvon, Tamir, Sandra, and the countless others who were unarmed and murdered in the streets/jail cells without giving their murders provocation?
What part of these lyrics celebrates the skill and dedication of the members of HBCU marching bands?
To me, it seems she misappropriated the images in the video to sell records and concert tickets for the images don’t mesh with the lyrics. We are visual people, so if the images appear to address cultural injustices most will assume the lyrics address those issues as well, but the only mention of natural hair is in reference to those who have criticized the hair styles of her child. The only mention of social injust against blacks (negros) is in reference to her husband’s facial features. The only mention of New Orleans is at the beginning when Messy Mya says she’s back. I can’t reconcile the lyrics with the video, the don’t jive!
“Y’all haters corny with that illuminati mess / Paparazzi catch my fly and my cocky fresh / I’m so reckless when I rock my Givenchy dress (stylin’) / I’m so possessive so I rock his Roc necklaces.”
“My daddy Alabama, Momma Louisiana / You mix that negro with that Creole make a Texas bamma / I like my baby hair, with baby hair and afros / I like my negro nose with Jackson Five nostrils / Earned all this money but they never take the country out me / I got hot sauce in my bag, swag.”
“I see it I want it / I stunt, yeah, little hornet / I grind ’til I own it / I twirl on them haters / Albino Alligators / El Camino with the seat low sipping Cuervo with no chaser / Sometimes I go off, I go hard / Get what’s mine, take what’s mine / I’m a star, I’m a star / Cause I slay, slay, I slay, hey, I slay, okay / I slay.”
“When he fuck me good I take his ass to Red Lobster (cause I slay) / If he hit it right I might take him on a flight on my chopper (cause I slay) / Drop him off at the mall, let him buy some J’s, let him shop up (cause I slay).”
These aren’t the full lyrics, but a good portion of them.
What part of these lyrics talks about the injustices that New Orleans is still experiencing after Katrina?
What part of these lyrics praises women for being true to their heritage and rocking their natural hair?
What part of these lyrics mentions the names of Trayvon, Tamir, Sandra, and the countless others who were unarmed and murdered in the streets/jail cells without giving their murders provocation?
What part of these lyrics celebrates the skill and dedication of the members of HBCU marching bands?
To me, it seems she misappropriated the images in the video to sell records and concert tickets for the images don’t mesh with the lyrics. We are visual people, so if the images appear to address cultural injustices most will assume the lyrics address those issues as well, but the only mention of natural hair is in reference to those who have criticized the hair styles of her child. The only mention of social injust against blacks (negros) is in reference to her husband’s facial features. The only mention of New Orleans is at the beginning when Messy Mya says she’s back. I can’t reconcile the lyrics with the video, the don’t jive!
Loved It!!!!! I think people will understand her better as time passes.
I did comment earlier sayin that I didn’t care for it but to be quite honest its’ grown on me. More so because of the msg that’s in the song and the visuals in the video which is very very nice. I didn’t give it a chance. I’m a bigger fan now
Here’s a question… Did Beyonce pay the estate of Messy Mya? I sincerely hope so… it’s a common thing for people to make money off of New Orleanians without thinking twice about it. Not saying this happened, but does anyone know?
I read elsewhere that the footage was sold to Netflix in 2008, and so in the liner notes the director thank Netflix for allowing the use of the footage and thank the original makers of the videos for shooting the images.
The original owner back peddled once it was proven that Bey’s team acquired the footages legally. I guess the original owner/director/creator, who first lobbed a complaint on twitter, didn’t think that Netflix would sell the images for use to other artist.
I would assume so seeing as to how she bought the rights of all the Katrina footage used in the video. She is very good at making sure her t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted.
No. Why do you ask. Did Mya copyright the words?
I believe this question was posed by (jrious) because the audio soundbite is from Messy Mya’s own video which means it’s owned by Messy Mya and now the Messy Mya estate.
Black Panther salute atop the cop car!
I know this discussion is very serious, but she mentions twirling in her song, and all I could think about is Kenya Moore of RHOA fame; perhaps Bey is a fan……??!
OMG I thought I was the only one and it reminded me of Kenya’s song as well LMAO
The reference to her negro’s nose is her husband’s nose. And the people that call him ugly and a camel. The Jackson 5 reference is to before they all had nose jobs.
“Before they all had nose jobs” Lmao
Loved this video so so much! It thrills me to see her so defiant, strong, principled. And her performing it at the Super Bowl was the cherry on top of the whipped cream. I haven’t been as big of a fan up to now but I am blown away by this video. Thanks for the additional details here!
I’ m 56 years old. Member of the Connecticut Bar. Mother of 2 teenage sons. 3 time a week church goer. 5 year old “renatural”. Trust when I tell you, Bey slayed this. Great video. I was rocking to the beat on this one. And the images….Congratulations Bey. BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!
I’m not even part of the Bey-Hive and I am honestly here for everything this video/song is and stands for. Especially the parts about how she gives no f**ks about what people say about her daughter’s hair and her husbands Black facial features.
This is so lame. It’s an attempt to stay relevant with the evolving consciousness. I’m confused how she is unapologetically black when she refers to herself as being creole, which is a culture. She’s said before that she wishes she was Latina. Many times when I see photos of her, I’m not sure it’s her unless there is her name. She seems to be imitating a white woman.She has gotten lighter and lighter as the years have gone by. Also, this song seems extra ignorant on purpose. Which I’m not gonna knock, however it feels like she is poking fun, as the has people who help her write and who make the videos for her.
Because she hasn’t done anything to lift up the Black community at all ever. Like Bey and Jay been bailing out protesters like in Baltimore AND I even heard Ferguson, Bey and jay also did a lot for Katrina, she gave to the Charleston AME church last year (even showed up to pay her respects), she bailed out protestors, built a huge homeless shelter all in silence. Because she does her giving in silence compared to these other celebrities who do it strictly for press she’s suddenly lame and imitating white women? And as a creole we recognize the fact that we are Black, we’re just a different kind of black. Like how Jamaicans or Senegalese people may consider themselves Black in America.
you say you’re not going to knock it… yet you are. theres always a hater in the room
Creole is just having African, Native American and French Canadian ancestry. A lot of African Americans from Louisiana are creole.
Gurl gots prollums.
You missed the little boy wearing a hoodie, dancing freely, in front of riot gear wearing police officers and then the graffiti that said “Stop Shooting Us”.
I read a comment that said “the video is nice I just don’t get what she’s saying.” Well, sir, because you’re not a black woman and you didn’t try to understand because the message is very clear to US. In the last few years that have been so many calls to arms as black women to stand firm against the injustices against our black men but no one stands up for US. I am here for this video for the sole purpose of unity amongst BLACK WOMEN/WOMEN OF COLOR regardless of hue!!!
I agree…. A male commenter on facebook who happens to be black said he doesnt get it either. He said he liked the sensuality that was in “Drunk In Love.’ So he “gets it” when she’s in a bathing suit singing about sex. He can’t comprehend Bey doing a women’s empowerment visual. And even though she has some #BLM stuff in the clip, it dawned on me that, this video it’s not necessarily even for black men! Many dont see the black women message of empowerment. And the men who do like the video are homosexual (via the many reaction videos on Youtube), and they just like the fact that she’s “slaying”, cause gay men emulate the black woman anyway.
Calls to arms as Black women’…..This doesn’t seem strange to you?….it does to me….and I hope to GOD Beyonce doesn’t become some musical sista soldja….let her live…….
it’s not her song that is making this a thing. her lyrics directly address all of the negative things people have said about her. it’s the VISUAL that she placed behind the music that has people up in arms. her lyrics are repetitive and quite basic as she gets right to the point. the imagery and representation of the history of Louisiana, paying homage to our ancestry and bringing it back to the haunting image of the young black boy dancing in front of the police and he made THEM put their hands up to his boldness. there hasn’t been that much blatant black visual stance in videos since the NWA. if people paid attention to the video they would understand why it’s still being talked about
Not gonna lie, I love Beyonce.
Also not gonna lie and say I don’t believe in the illuminati.
I truly believe Beyonce works/worked hard for everything she has. I believe she earned her fans and deserves the title of Queen of Pop.
Personally I don’t think any of the major or minor stars are the illuminati.
I think that there are dues that must be paid, and they will always collect whenever they feel the desire. I think most hate the system, including Beyonce, but I don’t think Jay cares about anyone but those within his bloodline.
Hey, I’m a conspiracy theorist and I love Bey. This video was awesome and none of my conspiracy flags rose up. I think she only works for the system so she doesn’t get fined, lol.