Queen B is back: How Beyoncé subverts capitalism, racism and misogyny through her music

After a lull of about six years, there is now a storm brewing in the BeyHive. Beyoncé is ready to usher in her Renaissance era with a long-awaited 16-song studio album of the same name, expected to drop on July 29. Hours after her album announcement, Beyoncé was announced as the star of the July cover of British Vogue. Her sartorial choices and the aesthetic was widely appreciated by fashion critics. The first single from her new album titled ‘Break My Soul’ dropped. The track is a scathing critique of capitalism and exploitative work cultures around the world. The song has lyrics that would undoubtedly resonate with those who work exhausting 9-5 jobs and struggle to make ends meet often at the cost of their mental, physical and emotional well-being. Work by nine Then off past five And they work my nerves, that’s why I cannot sleep at night After the single dropped on streaming platforms, the Internet was flooded with memes about quitting jobs. The BeyHive lauded Queen B for critiquing capitalism and the rise of hustle culture. This, of course, isn’t the first time Beyoncé has used her music and art to voice her opinion on contentious issues that plague humanity. The music doyen is known to use her art to subvert misogyny, capitalism and racism. Queen B Takes No Misogyny Long before it was cool to be a feminist, back in the early aughts, Beyoncé helmed the rise of female-centric music. Her 2003 songs ‘Crazy in Love’ and ‘Baby Boy’ subverted the male gaze and depicted unbridled female sexual desire which was empowering and very progressive given the times the songs were written in. However, Beyoncé’s gender politics came into effect fully when she sparked a conversation about male privilege through her 2008 hit ‘If I Were A Boy’. 2008 was also the year when Beyoncé dropped the massively popular hit ‘Single Ladies’ which was nothing short of a celebration of womanhood, female camaraderie and sisterhood. It almost seemed as if Beyoncé was on a mission to validate the lives and existence of all women - those who were married, the ones who had kids and of course, the Single Ladies. Her music was inclusive and catered to a diverse female audience in a way which wasn’t seen before. Fast forward to 2011 when Beyoncé dropped the anthem ‘Run The World, Girls’ - the lyrics of which were all about smashing the patriarchy and subverting the gender norms. The anthem subsequently became a war cry for those who championed the cause of women empowerment. Her 2014 VMA performance showed showed her standing in front of a screen with the word ‘Feminist’ written in all caps. It was Beyoncé’s way of giving a subtle nod to the movement she had championed through her career spanning over decades. Beyoncé’s political evolution, however, is intersectional. It aims at subverting not just the misogyny and the patriarchy, but also the systemic racism and capitalistic greed. Beyoncé and #BlackLivesMatter As an African American woman, Beyoncé emerged as a powerful voice for the #BlackLivesMatter movement with the music video for her single ‘Formation’ from the 2016 album ‘Lemonade’. The video showed her standing on top of a police vehicle as a mark of protest against police brutality against African Americans. The lyrics, too, were full of references to the BLM protests. While Queen B received some backlash from the far right groups, she stood her ground which sent a clear message - she would continue voicing her opinion, even if it makes her a target of criticism. For her performance at the 2016 Super Bowl - the same year when Donald Trump got elected - Beyoncé wore an outfit inspired by the Black Panthers, which many African Americans resonated with. What’s more? The visuals for her 2016 album ‘Lemonade’, too, were laced with politically charged imagery and produced a scathing critique of systemic racism. From 2003 to 2022, Beyoncé’s political evolution has come a full circle. From her subtle critique of the socio-economic inequalities to her war cry in Renaissance - Queen B has come a long way and so has the world. As some of the BeyHive says - when Beyoncé speaks, the world listens.

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